Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

You can sideload Android apps on Windows 11, but you probably shouldn’t

Jacob Roach
By

One of the most exciting announcements to come out of Thursday’s Windows 11 event is the ability to install Android apps on Windows 11. In the original announcement, Microsoft said it’s partnering with Amazon to bring Android apps to Windows 11 through the Amazon App Store. However, a Microsoft engineer has clarified that users will also be able to sideload any Android app.

Miguel de Icaza, who has worked with Microsoft in various capacities for several years, said that users will be able to load APK files — the file extension for Android apps — from Windows.

Android apps running on Windows 11.
Microsoft

The need for sideloading apps is clear when comparing the number of apps on Google Play to the number on the Amazon App Store. Amazon’s service has several key apps missing from its library, including many leading password managers, Google apps, and Slack. The apps that are in the catalog don’t benefit from Google Play Services, either, which is at the heart of many of the most popular Android apps.

Recommended Videos

Sideloading gets around the problem by allowing you to install apps from anywhere, not just from a supported marketplace. Although that’s great for accessing apps you otherwise wouldn’t be able to use, the loophole is often used as a vehicle for piracy. Between 2013 to 2018, for example, pirated apps accounted for around $17.5 billion in lost revenue.

Related

That’s bad business. Google responded to the rising rates of piracy by implementing antipiracy measures for Android games. The issue is that, although these measures can deter some piracy, they don’t get around security risks. Apps that don’t come from a traditional app store can contain malicious code, especially if they’re paid apps that you’re sideloading for free.

It’s not clear what role Android apps will play on Windows, though. It’s true that the Amazon App Store is missing several key apps, but many of them are still available as native Windows apps. With a theme of user “agency” running through the Windows 11 announcement, the ability to sideload apps looks like a way for Microsoft to give more control to users, not to offer apps that aren’t available.

Microsoft hasn’t clarified if Windows 11 will feature any security measures for sideloaded apps. With hardware encryption as a requirement for Windows 11, though, that’s probably a safe assumption.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jacob Roach
Jacob Roach
Senior Staff Writer, Computing
Jacob Roach is a writer covering computing and gaming at Digital Trends. After realizing Crysis wouldn't run on a laptop, he…
The Windows 11 Android app dream is dead
A photo of the TikTok app running on a Windows 11 laptop

Microsoft first brought over the option to run Android apps natively in Windows 11 in 2021, but the dream is coming to an end after just a few years. Today, the company quietly updated its documentation for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) to indicate that it will be ending support for the feature on March 5, 2025. Amazon has also published updated guidance for the same issue about its Amazon App Store on Windows 11, which powers the WSA.

What's causing this change is unknown, as Microsoft did not dive into specific details. Left to speculate, we can assume it's due to either lack of use or licensing issues, but until we hear more, it's left ambiguous.

Read more
A new Windows 11 hardware system requirement may be incoming
A man sits, using a laptop running the Windows 11 operating system.

Microsoft appears to finally be putting its foot down on how far back it's willing to go when it comes to supporting older hardware. As of the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 build, Microsoft will require that your processor supports the POPCNT instruction. If you're wondering what that is and whether this will affect you, you're not alone.

This new addition was spotted by Bob Pony on X (formerly Twitter). According to the user, if the CPU doesn't support the POPCNT instruction or it's disabled, Windows won't work at all. Multiple system files now require this instruction, starting with the Windows 11 kernel. Long story short -- no POPCNT, no Windows 11 24H2.

Read more
How to start Windows 11 in Safe Mode
Windows 11 on a tablet.

If your Windows 11 PC is having issues, one way to troubleshoot those issues is start your PC in Safe Mode. Safe Mode is essentially a very basic version of Windows 11, without all the bells and whistles and only a restricted set of features, drivers, and files. This mode essentially lets you take a look at your computer and helps you figure out exactly what issue is plaguing your PC.

But booting into Safe Mode on Windows 11 isn't as easy as just pressing a single button. You'll need to navigate through a series of menus first and the method for getting there depends on your PC specific situation (Is your PC still working or is it just a blank or black screen?).

Read more