When Windows 11 was announced for release back in 2021, one of its key selling points was the ability to run Android applications through the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA). However, despite the Google Play Store not being available on Windows 11, you still get to download Android apps from the Amazon Appstore. If you are adventurous enough, you can even sideload those Android apps that are not available on the official store.
Now two years down the line, Microsoft is rolling out a preview for Android 13 in the Windows 11 Subsystem for Android. The update is available for all Windows Insider Channels and includes reliability fixes and performance improvements. The complete changelog is as follows;
- Windows Subsystem for Android updated to Android 13
- Improvements in boot performance
- Improvements to mouse click input
- Improvements in clipboard stability
- Improvements to application resizing
- Reliability improvements to media files opening in Windows
- Jumplist entries for applications supporting app shortcuts
Before being rolled out to all users in the Insider Program, Microsoft had a short preview period in the month of December that was only available to those on the Windows Subsystem for Android preview program. If you are interested in joining this preview program, your PC must meet certain conditions including having 8 GB of RAM or more, a 64-bit processor, and you must also have the Amazon Appstore installed on your computer.
In their official roadmap, Microsoft still has a lot of upgrades planned for its Android integration, including picture-in-picture support and file transfers. Finally, it is not yet clear when every Windows 11 user will get the Android 13 update, taking into consideration that Microsoft just rolled out the Android 12L update a few months ago.
