There aren’t too many ways to run Android apps on Windows albeit several official methods are on the horizon. Microsoft announced last year that Android apps would run on Windows 11 thanks to a partnership with Amazon. Windows 11 is widely available now, but the Android functionality is only beginning to roll out in preview. Even when it’s ready, you might not be able to enjoy this particular feature. Microsoft has provided recommended specs for Android apps, and you’ll need some serious hardware, reports PC World.
Microsoft’s new support page for Android app functionality says you need at least 8GB of RAM, but 16GB is recommended. 16GB is pretty standard for high-end office machines and baseline gaming, but plenty of PCs still come with 8GB. Those machines will probably have a bad time running any hefty Android apps. Some computers even still have 4GB of RAM, and they won’t be able to run Android apps. After all, most basic Android phones only have 4GB of RAM, and they’re not running a full desktop operating system on the side.
It’ll probably be a little easier to hit the storage spec — Microsoft says you’ll need an SSD rather than a spinning drive. SSDs have considerably faster performance than even the most efficient traditional hard drives. The CPU situation will rule out more machines, though. On the Intel side, you need at least an 8th Gen Core i3, which launched in 2017.
AMD fans will have a little more trouble as they need a Ryzen 3000-series, which came out in 2019. Yes, even those beefy 8-core second-gen chips won’t work. It’s unlikely this is a matter of raw power — Ryzen 3000 only boosted performance by about 15 percent. The newer Zen 2 and Zen 3 Ryzens may support technologies that Microsoft needs. For the very few Snapdragon-powered Windows machines, you’ll need the Snapdragon 8c or above. That said, here are three steps to run Android apps inside Windows 11, brought to you by best usa online casino.
1 – Fire up the Microsoft store
You’re going to need to open the Microsoft Store to then download the Amazon Appstore, which is slightly confusing—this whole process will ideally get more streamlined over time.
Open the Microsoft Store by clicking the Start button and searching for it. From there, search for “Android” or “Amazon” to find your way to Amazon Appstore. Click through to the Amazon Appstore page and click Install.
2 – Initial setup
The first time you launch the Amazon Appstore, you’ll be prompted to do a one-time installation of some virtualization software. It’s basically infusing some Android-y underpinnings into Windows so that it can run Android apps reasonably gracefully. Step through that process, and you’ll be prompted to restart your computer. Once restarted, the Amazon Appstore should pop up, and you’ll find yourself face-to-face with a bunch of apps.
3 – The actual experience
Now, this being a preview, things are still a bit sparse. On the apps front, you’re basically presented with “Editor’s Picks” apps, kid-friendly stuff, and then a list of all apps and games with no ability to filter or sort. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to how the complete list is ordered, either, and games seem to outnumber other types of apps by a lopsided amount.
For a more fully-featured Android experience, I recommend a venerable free Android emulator called BlueStacks, which can be used to visit top online casino sites.
Setup is a bit more involved, but it’s not rocket science. You basically choose an Android device you want to mimic from a list of popular phones and tablets, and then have access to . . . well, Android. It’s also available for Mac and earlier versions of Windows as well.
