Microsoft rolls out update to Windows Subsystem for Android to Insiders

Andrew Romero | Feb 9 2023 - 2:14 pm PT

Windows Subsystem for Android if the foundation for Android apps coming to Windows 11. Since launch, there have been a lot of improvements made, with the most recent one focused on stability with several crucial system updates for Android apps in Windows.

Microsoft’s Windows Subsystem for Android is a relatively new structure. Launching sometime after Windows 11 officially rolled out, the Android foundation really only became stable with version 1, which dropped back in October of last year. With that, the corresponding Amazon Appstore expanded to 31 different regions, which allowed many more users to download a selection of Android programs to their Windows 11 PCs.

While it’s been quiet since then, Microsoft officially announced today that a new update (2301.40000.4.0) is now rolling out to Windows Insiders in all corresponding channels. There are no massive feature updates, however, a lot of small aspects are getting tweaks in order to streamline Android app performance on Windows machines.

One major improvement comes to apps using a connected camera. Now, those apps have access to metadata, which was initially hidden from the program prior to this update. With that, audio input latency and reliability have been improved, bringing the audio-visual part of WSA up to par.

For those who use more demanding Android apps on Windows PCs, framerates have also improved with varying results in the update. For machines on ARM, expect to see a 10%-20% improvement. On x64 PCs, the framerate should be enhanced anywhere from 40% to 50%.

In addition, the changelog states a couple more changes and improvements made with the Windows Susbsyetms for Android update:

Fixed zooming out in apps using touchpad or mouse
Improvements to platform reliability
Using latest Chromium WebView to version 108
Synchronizing global microphone and camera privacy toggles between Windows and Android apps
Android 13 security updates