In recent days, a series of reports have pointed to the possibility that Microsoft allows the installation and execution of apps for Android in Windows 10. With minimal changes or directly without modifications in the code, developers will be able to send their apps to the Microsoft Store to be downloaded and installed on PCs. It is not the first time that Microsoft has tested this possibility and it makes much more sense than it seems.
As indicated in Windows Central, the project has the code name ‘Project Latte’. Through it, Microsoft is looking for a viable solution to migrate Android apps to Windows 10 so that they can be distributed comfortably.
Currently there is some other fix to install emulators or official Microsoft solutions for certain mobiles. However, the idea here would be to distribute them directly through the Microsoft store and without depending on external sources.
In the Microsoft Store and frictionless for the developer
Microsoft’s idea seems to be to allow easy migration for developers. A software for developers that allows with hardly any code changes to export an app to the Microsoft Store in an MSIX package. MSIX is an app installation package for Windows. The easier the migration, the more likely it is that developers are willing to put in the effort and put their apps on the Microsoft store. Once in the store, the user could download the app on their Windows 10 PC and install it without any problem to use it.
When this will come (if it finally does and does not stay in a rumor or failed project) is something that is not known for sure. From Windows Central they point out that it could arrive during this next year, with the second important update of Windows 10 for 2021 . We may see a preview of it months before, in spring or summer.
The important aspect here is not so much the technical difficulty as the compatibility with Google Play Services. It will be difficult to have Google services in a store that is not yours and through an external distribution. This may mean the absence of important applications or many of them without certain functions. An example of this we have in Huawei.
On the opposite side of Microsoft, Apple has integrated iOS applications (its mobile system) into macOS (its desktop system) with the arrival of the Mac with Apple silicon. Apple’s new processor has its own architecture inherited from the chips for iPhone and iPad, so it can run any iOS app without any problem.