Windows Subsystem for Android Arrives in the Microsoft Store
You can now (sort of) download the Windows Subsystem for Android, assuming you meet the requirements and enjoy disappointment.
As you must know, the Windows Subsystem for Android will enable Windows 11’s most eagerly-awaited new feature, Android app compatibility, and the related Amazon Appstore for Android store-within-a-store. Microsoft announced this new feature at the Windows 11 reveal back in June, but it failed to mention that it wouldn’t even ship it this year, let alone when Windows 11 first ships to the public on October 5. Instead, it will arrive later in 2022, either as a standalone cumulative update or, less likely, as part of Windows 11 2.0 in October 2022. News of the Windows Subsystem for Android arrived, as these things do so often via the Walking Cat on Twitter, who pointed the world to its Microsoft Store listing on the web. And, go figure, there is actually some interesting news tied to this leak, the first being that the Windows Subsystem for Android will be delivered via the Store. Its predecessor, the Windows Subsystem for Linux, is delivered via the Windows Features control panel.
But that’s not all: the Windows Subsystem for Android will require 8 GB of RAM, double the minimum requirement for Windows 11 itself, but Microsoft recommends 16 GB of RAM or more. It also requires Windows 11, of course—or, as the Store listing puts it, “Windows 10 version 22000.0 or higher,” and I love that it leaves out the superfluous comma after “Windows 10” that Microsoft usually adds. It will run natively on x64 (64-bit Intel-style) or ARM64 PCs.
But my favorite bit about the Store listing is the description, which reads: “Microsoft Confidential – For testing purposes – Please do not take screenshots or communicate about the content.” Suffice to say, I didn’t take that warning seriously at all, but in my defense, it’s probably just placeholder text from when Microsoft employees were testing this internally.
Speaking of which, yes, you can install it, at least on the Dev channel build I’m currently using. But when you run the app, you get a blank, non-interactive window. Because it’s obviously not ready yet. No harm, no foul.
Source: Microsoft
The Tech Platform
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