Back in April, Microsoft announced that developers would be able to run Android and iOS apps on Windows with minimal reworking. It appears that Microsoft is backtracking on half of that announcement. They are still working to bring iOS apps to Windows, but they have pulled back on Android porting.
According to Windows Central, Microsoft has removed employees from the Android porting team, and the Android developer forums are now a ghost town. More importantly, Microsoft has removed the subsystem that make it possible for Android apps to run on Windows. The reasons are unclear, but it seems performance and security were concerns.
What does this mean for Android fans? Not a lot. It would have been cool to be able to use Android apps on a Windows device, but ultimately Microsoft’s plan is to bolster apps on Windows phones. It’s a workaround solution for a problem that has failed Windows phones for years. At the end of the day, most popular Android apps are available on iOS, so it’s not a bad move by Microsoft to focus on one. What do you think of this news?
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