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Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11

theverge.com

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Re: Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11

#71

Post by projectsforlife »

tetrisgm wrote: post #9

This is great. Finally a non hacky way to run mobile apps on a desktop. This is less about competing with Apple’s universal binaries, and more about increasing Windows’s versatility. You can already run Linux on Windows. Now you can run Android. No need to mess around with Archon, Nox, Genymotion anymore. Got a weather app you like? An audiobook player? Done. Hopefully this means more interoperability with Microsoft’…

Absolutely. Way less janky than Mac's implementation of running iOS apps. While you can use mobile apps on your Windows laptop using native touch controls, on your Mac laptop you have to use that weird trackpad-driven interface. Which would you prefer? https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mac-m...

Re: Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11

#72

Post by an_opabinia »

NelsonMinar wrote: post #8

The article says this relies on "Intel Bridge Technology". Anyone know more about it? All I could find easily was https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/discre... Want to highlight one paragraph from that description: "Intel Bridge Technology is run-time post compiler that can be integrated into Android-in-Container to enable certain Android apps – those not written in Java or compiled to run natively…

There are few categories of apps this targets.

“Clubhouse for Android” category: avant- grade apps that launch first on Android or define android platform. Nonexistent.

“Median phone user ecosystem:” The TikTok Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Snapchat, China app ecosystem and India app ecosystem. The experience of all these is bad on Windows browsers or unavailable.

”Games”: hard to say, because Windows is a better platform for games than Android by 10x.

This doesn’t sound very strategy driven. If it’s UX driven, hard to see how it competes with the median user getting an iPhone. This is the case with the consumer in China, where despite 30 Android app stores and lots of innovation / competition the iPhone is still preferred by those who can afford it.

Re: Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11

#73

Post by 9wzYQbTYsAIc »

projectsforlife wrote: post #71
tetrisgm wrote: post #9

This is great. Finally a non hacky way to run mobile apps on a desktop. This is less about competing with Apple’s universal binaries, and more about increasing Windows’s versatility. You can already run Linux on Windows. Now you can run Android. No need to mess around with Archon, Nox, Genymotion anymore. Got a weather app you like? An audiobook player? Done. Hopefully this means more interoperability with Microsoft’…

Absolutely. Way less janky than Mac's implementation of running iOS apps. While you can use mobile apps on your Windows laptop using native touch controls, on your Mac laptop you have to use that weird trackpad-driven interface. Which would you prefer? https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mac-m...

Where’s the screenshot of what user input looks like for Android on Windows?

I’d love to compare those side by side to make a judgement of which looks more janky.

Re: Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11

#74

Post by smusamashah »

CarelessExpert wrote: post #58
smusamashah wrote: post #16

Some years later everyone will realize that desktops are not phones and are meant to utilize more available screen space. Then everyone will come up with "revolutionary" desktop interface ideas and we here at HN will call it out that we already had these back in 90s. I am waiting for that time. Windows 10 is "phony" already and becoming more like it's built for people with low vision. I hate it's UI. I hope bringing…

I know you're being a bit sarcastic but: > Some years later everyone will realize that desktops are not phones and are meant to utilize more available screen space. Keep in mind there's plenty of android apps designed to function on tablets with much larger screens. Obviously there's not nearly as many as on the iOS side of the world where the iPad is far more successful, and there's a wide variability in how good th…

> those apps are designed with a touch-based UX

And now days every desktop app is made as if "mouse" doesn't exist. Or as if `market research has shown that bigger buttons engage more users`. I like to see more on my screen in one go.

That's why we get multiple monitors or bigger monitors. To see more content.

And everyone is hellbent on wasting it. More CPU/RAM got us more web-as-desktop apps. Higher resolution, bigger screens are giving us bigger, emptier GUIs.

Re: Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11

#77

Post by wtetzner »

tootie wrote: post #69
wvenable wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're struggling to think of a case where an OS can run applications written for another OS would be useful?

I think the majority of mobile apps are very coupled to the mobile ecosystem. Or they exist to coverup the poor mobile web experience. I can use social media and messaging from any desktop web browser already. Anything geared around mobility or photography won't be very useful on a desktop. And at least a few apps just have "mobile only" as their edgy marketing strategy. I get why this is potentially useful but I can…

A big part of the reason Windows Phone failed was a lack of a good app ecosystem. Maybe they’re working their way toward a new Windows Phone that is compatible with Android apps?

Re: Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11

#78

Post by Ashanmaril »

williamtwild wrote: post #45
Ashanmaril wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, in some cases mobile apps are higher quality than desktop versions. Mainly because the standard for mobile is to make native apps for the platform, while on desktop everything is Electron

EVERYTHING is electron? Thats a bit overly broad and inaccurate.

Stop being so intentionally obtuse, you know what I mean

Re: Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11

#79

Post by ForHackernews »

015a wrote: post #39
handrous wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google's well on their way to replacing Android, no? I thought a lot of their announcements at events the last couple years had been about their from-scratch Android replacement. Maybe another big company will pick it up, but if not, I don't see much benefit to the hobbyist community over the current status quo if Android gets "opened up" more but also loses 99+% of total corporate backing toward its development. Eve…

I don't think Google is in a position to "replace" Android. They simply don't control the hardware; they can ship Fuchsia to their Home assistants and thermostats, but when it comes to phones and personal computing devices, they don't have many cards to play (beyond Pixel, like 0.5% of the Android market). The power lies with hardware manufacturers and developers. Their new wearables partnership with Samsung may help…

I thought Samsung had their own OS[0] that they were using for watches/smart TVs, and also keeping in their back pocket as a hedge against Google's influence? Are they giving that up?

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tizen

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