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Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

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Re: Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

#111

Post by kyriakos »

PreInternet01 wrote: post #18

So, this is the second time a "run your Android apps on Windows" initiative fizzles out: before WSA (which was Amazon-centric), there was a late-2020 "Your Phone" feature that (briefly) allowed Samsung apps on Windows desktops. Not sure if this means anything other than "phone apps run best on, well, a phone", especially since I can't think of anything from my phone that I would truly like on my desktop, other than i…

"Your phone" feature still works. Apps don't run on your PC but are displayed on the PC desktop from your phone. I have a Samsung phone and use this feature dialy.

Re: Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

#113

Post by akira2501 »

PreInternet01 wrote: post #18

So, this is the second time a "run your Android apps on Windows" initiative fizzles out: before WSA (which was Amazon-centric), there was a late-2020 "Your Phone" feature that (briefly) allowed Samsung apps on Windows desktops. Not sure if this means anything other than "phone apps run best on, well, a phone", especially since I can't think of anything from my phone that I would truly like on my desktop, other than i…

> especially since I can't think of anything from my phone that I would truly like on my desktop

The SMS and Calls.

Seriously, at this point, my phone is the least useful device I own for managing both of these functions. The only utility in having them in some broken down hard to use form is for the slight convenience of being able to use them outside of my home if I wanted to. I rarely want to. I'd much prefer these functions to be on my PC.

It'd also mean I could just ignore my phone much more effectively and just pick up on everything at my desk when i get home.

Re: Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

#114

Post by skrowl »

PreInternet01 wrote: post #18

So, this is the second time a "run your Android apps on Windows" initiative fizzles out: before WSA (which was Amazon-centric), there was a late-2020 "Your Phone" feature that (briefly) allowed Samsung apps on Windows desktops. Not sure if this means anything other than "phone apps run best on, well, a phone", especially since I can't think of anything from my phone that I would truly like on my desktop, other than i…

[dead]

Re: Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

#115

Post by pquki4 »

syntheticnature wrote: post #15

The fact they're ending this makes me wonder if the rumors of Amazon fully abandoning AOSP as the basis for FireOS are true. If so, it would be ending it because there won't be an appstore with updated apps before long.

It's not possible before Amazon can build their own browser that runs on their own OS. (Or, if they can somehow get the Android/Linux version of Chrome run on the OS.) As simple as that.

Re: Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

#116

Post by kyriakos »

bonton89 wrote: post #62
zoeysmithe wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine not only is this a technical challenge in general, but the "best" apps require google integration and google is giving devs and big companies incentives to require the google play libraries, which this can't use. This has been google's main dirty trick since the beginning, which is why you don't see much competition in the android space. Its a few big licensed players. Niche, homebrew, emulated, etc players…

Is the Windows store popular now? Aside from Microsoft dog fooding I didn't get the impression it was very much used even after all these years.

Not popular but usable now they allow any kind of application and not just "modern apps". Main benefit that applications update automatically but even though I do install apps via the store I don't ever remember finding apps through it. Maybe discoverability is just bad.

Re: Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

#117

Post by cherryteastain »

creshal wrote: post #105
mook wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would have been WSL1, right? As in, the thing that tried to implement Linux syscall interfaces on top of the Windows kernel? The current thing (WSL2) is "just" a VM (with lots of work to make it work nicer)…

> As in, the thing that tried to implement Linux syscall interfaces on top of the Windows kernel? It's really funny, NT was supposed to be great at three things: - be easily ported to different hardware architectures, which then never actually became relevant (and nowadays macOS is the best example for actual architecture migrations!) - have a much more sophisticated and elaborate security model than those filthy uni…

>macOS is the best example for actual architecture migrations

Eh, they did 2 migrations while supporting at most 2 architectures concurrently. Nothing compared to Linux which is maintained for x86, POWER, ARM, s390x, MIPS etc concurrently

Re: Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

#118

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

bane wrote: post #76
PreInternet01 wrote: post #18

So, this is the second time a "run your Android apps on Windows" initiative fizzles out: before WSA (which was Amazon-centric), there was a late-2020 "Your Phone" feature that (briefly) allowed Samsung apps on Windows desktops. Not sure if this means anything other than "phone apps run best on, well, a phone", especially since I can't think of anything from my phone that I would truly like on my desktop, other than i…

Not super well supported, but there's a Samsung Dex app for Windows and MacOS (I think unsupported now) that let's you plug your phone into your computer, and get Dex in a window. Runs the phone apps on the phone, gets your android store etc. but you get an "ok" minimal desktop that lets you do your phone stuff with a mouse and keyboard. After I figured that out I basically dropped all the run Android on a desktop th…

There's also https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy which works for any Android, not just Samsung

Re: Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

#119

Post by alkonaut »

Kwpolska wrote: post #23
ComputerGuru wrote: post #3

This is kind of weird since much of the tech is shared with WSL. It also makes me question the future of WSL, though that would be insane to deprecate given it has worked miracles for rehabilitating Microsoft‘s image and Windows’ usability.

WSL is an important developer tool, with a lot of (paying corporate) users. WSA was a limited toy.

WSA is apparently also a godsend for android app developers on windows.

Re: Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA)

#120

Post by alkonaut »

stephc_int13 wrote: post #5

I think that WSL is useful and used by many. WSA, not so sure. Who is using it? They very likely have telemetry and thus usage.

> Who is using it?

Android app developers on Windows is a disappointed group on Twitter at least

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