In June of 2021, Microsoft announced that Android apps are officially coming to Windows 11. This Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) is now being deprecated.
This leveraged the Amazon Appstore, with Android applications integrated into the Windows experience, including the Start menu, taskbar, and windowing options. After a long testing and preview period, it officially launched in October of 2022 in 31 markets with over 50,000 Android apps touted.
Since then, WSA has seen updates to Android 12.1 and Android 13, as well as more features that apps can take advantage of. That said, the last major update was in June of 2023.
As of tomorrow (March 6), Windows 11 users “will not be able to search for Amazon Appstore or associated apps from the Microsoft Store.” Developers can still update their apps, but won’t be able to submit new ones.
Existing apps already on your PC will continue to work until March 5, 2025.
Meanwhile, Amazon today said its “Appstore will continue to be available and supported on other surfaces, including Fire TV, Fire Tablet, and Android devices.” Looking at the landscape, ChromeOS offers more Android apps via the Play Store on Chromebooks, while iOS apps can run on the Mac.
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