Windows 11 will let you run Android apps directly on the desktop

With Microsoft's announcement of Windows 11 today, they also revealed that users would soon be able to run Android apps directly on the desktop.

Last year, we reported that Microsoft is working on an Android subsystem for Windows that allows users to run Android apps within Windows.

Like the immensely popular Windows Subsystem for Linux, Android on Windows will create a virtualized Android environment to display graphical Android apps on the desktop.

During today's Windows event, Microsoft has announced that Android apps are coming to Windows 11 and can be run just like any other application installed in the operating system.

To demonstrate the feature, Microsoft launched the TikTok Android app directly from the Start Menu and used it just like any other app, including support for the new Windows Snap Group feature.

Running TikTok Android app in Windows 11

Microsoft has partnered with the Amazon Appstore to quickly bring Windows 11 users an extensive catalog of Android apps.

This partnership will allow Windows 11 users access to games and a wide assortment of utilities and productivity apps.

Android apps section in the Windows 11 Microsoft Store

It is not clear how they plan on running Android apps in Windows 11, but it is likely to be similar to WSLg, the recently revealed Windows Subsystem for Linux GUI feature.

Like WSLg, Android apps will run in a virtualized environment that sends their graphics output to a Wayland server to display it directly on the Windows 11 desktop.

Microsoft states that they plan on bringing this feature to Windows 11 later this year and will likely be available in Windows Insider preview builds to test.