Windows Insiders who are running the Windows 10 preview builds
could get the ability to run Android apps natively as part
of the ‘Project Latte’. According to references spotted in a
private document, the rumoured project is apparently real and
Microsoft wants to release it in the second half of next year.
As you may know, Microsoft previously enabled support for
Android apps in Windows 10 for its mobile devices (Windows
Phone lineup). At that time, the initiative was codenamed
‘Astoria’ and it worked better than expected as users were able
to run most Android apps on Windows Phones.
Project Astoria was ultimately abandoned and Microsoft started
focusing more on the UWP apps.
In 2021, Microsoft is planning to revive the idea and bring
Android apps to the Windows Store.
Project Latte will basically allow app developers to publish
their Android apps as an MSIX package after ‘conversion’. Once
done, developers can publish their apps on the Microsoft Store
and the process won’t require code changes as long as Google
services are not involved.
According to references spotted in a private document,
Project Latte is real and
it’s all about Android apps support for Windows 10. Windows
Subsystem for Linux (WSL) powers this feature and Microsoft
will also create its own Android subsystem to make Android apps
run on the desktop.
It’s also worth noting that the upcoming Windows 10 21H2
preview builds will include support for Linux-based GUI apps
via WSL. This would also contribute to Android apps support.
Project Latte won’t include support for Play Services, as
Google limits its Play Services to select business partners and
mobile devices.
It will be possible to replace the Google Play Services APIs in
the converted apps with Microsoft’s APIs and this would remove
those dependencies without breaking the mobile apps.
Do you like the idea of Android apps on Windows 10? Let us know
in the comments below.
