7 votes

Microsoft's 'Project Latte' aims to bring Android apps to Windows 10

13 comments

  1. [6]
    KapteinB
    Link
    This gives me flashbacks. During the latter days of Windows Phone there was a lot of articles written about Microsoft wanting to bring Android apps to that platform. It was their Hail Mary to...

    This gives me flashbacks. During the latter days of Windows Phone there was a lot of articles written about Microsoft wanting to bring Android apps to that platform. It was their Hail Mary to close the app gap and breathe new life into their mobile dreams, but it never materialised.

    As a Sailfish user, I'm vaguely hopeful this will make some app developers redesign their apps to not be dependent on Play Services, which should make them run on my phone as well as on Windows.

    That depends on this feature becoming popular with users though, and so I'm curious; which Android apps are my fellow Tildesians looking forward to running on their Windows computers? Personally I can't think of any. We probably have some Chrome OS users here too, who already have a similar feature available; which Android apps do you folks run on your computers?

    5 votes
    1. skybrian
      Link Parent
      I’m biased against mobile apps, but it seems like popular, essential apps tend to have a web equivalent that works well enough, especially on desktop. I did install the Brother Android app on my...

      I’m biased against mobile apps, but it seems like popular, essential apps tend to have a web equivalent that works well enough, especially on desktop.

      I did install the Brother Android app on my mother’s Chromebook so she can scan photos, but it mysteriously stopped working after a while. Next time, I’m going to see if I can get her something with a web interface.

      1 vote
    2. [2]
      hamstergeddon
      Link Parent
      I'm on an iPhone, so this won't help me, but iOS apps will (or currently do, not sure) work on the ARM-based Macs, so similar scenario. Looking over my apps, there are only a handful that might...

      I'm on an iPhone, so this won't help me, but iOS apps will (or currently do, not sure) work on the ARM-based Macs, so similar scenario. Looking over my apps, there are only a handful that might prove interesting on a proper computers:

      • Games that didn't get a PC/Mac release (more of a big deal for iPhone/Mac users since old PC games get ported to iOS/Android more frequently than they do Mac).
      • Some social media apps where the desktop version is missing features or gets them much later than the app version does
      • Roku's official remote app might be nice since only 3rd party or half-baked browser variants exist on PC/Mac
      1 vote
      1. babypuncher
        Link Parent
        iOS apps run very well on the new Macs, though using them with a mouse can be a little unintuitive. I expect similar growing pains with Microsoft's Android app support in Windows

        iOS apps run very well on the new Macs, though using them with a mouse can be a little unintuitive. I expect similar growing pains with Microsoft's Android app support in Windows

        2 votes
    3. [2]
      BlindCarpenter
      Link Parent
      Is SailfishOS a fork of Android?

      Is SailfishOS a fork of Android?

      1 vote
      1. KapteinB
        Link Parent
        No it's Linux-based, partially descended from Nokia's last in-house operating system. But the paid version comes with an Android compatibility layer.

        No it's Linux-based, partially descended from Nokia's last in-house operating system. But the paid version comes with an Android compatibility layer.

        1 vote
  2. [3]
    ohyran
    Link
    So its like anbox for Windows?

    So its like anbox for Windows?

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      skybrian
      Link Parent
      I haven't used anbox, or even heard of it before. How do you like it?

      I haven't used anbox, or even heard of it before. How do you like it?

      1 vote
      1. moocow1452
        Link Parent
        It never worked that well for me, but I was using it on a lighter machine in the early days. Android x86 worked better on that hardware.

        It never worked that well for me, but I was using it on a lighter machine in the early days. Android x86 worked better on that hardware.

        4 votes
  3. [3]
    skybrian
    Link
    From the article: [...]

    From the article:

    Microsoft is working on a software solution that would allow app developers to bring their Android apps to Windows 10 with little to no code changes by packaging them as an MSIX and allowing developers to submit them to the Microsoft Store.

    [...]

    It's unlikely that Project Latte will include support for Play Services, as Google doesn't allow Play Services to be installed on anything other than native Android devices and Chrome OS. This means that apps which require Play Services APIs will need to be updated to remove those dependencies before they can be submitted on Windows 10.

    1. [2]
      novov
      Link Parent
      Given the monetary incentive, I wouldn't be surprised if they cut a deal with Google to include the Play Store. That being said, Microsoft may actually not want to do that given they have rivals...

      Given the monetary incentive, I wouldn't be surprised if they cut a deal with Google to include the Play Store. That being said, Microsoft may actually not want to do that given they have rivals to most of Google's services, and instead sell Android apps through their store...

      1 vote
      1. skybrian
        Link Parent
        Yes, it seems sort of like what Amazon tried to do? That didn't seem to get very far. But I could imagine some kind of compatibility layer to make it easy for developers who want to sell their app...

        Yes, it seems sort of like what Amazon tried to do? That didn't seem to get very far.

        But I could imagine some kind of compatibility layer to make it easy for developers who want to sell their app in both stores.

        1 vote