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Rumor machine: Microsoft is expected to develop a new software infrastructure that will allow Android apps to be converted, simply and quickly, into an MSIX app package that runs seamlessly on Windows. If the project is successful, some of the most popular Android apps could become available in the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft’s ambitious project is codenamed Latte, according to Windows Central. The report adds that Microsoft plans to announce Latte next year, with the goal of releasing it as part of the Windows 10 Fall 2021 Update.
Microsoft’s first attempt to run Android software on Windows was Project Astoria, and its goal was to bring Android apps to the Windows phone ecosystem. It didn’t work, and its failure is partly to blame for the rejection of the Windows Phone concept; because without it, Microsoft would not be able to bring enough apps to its app store. And they still can’t.
Snapchat, which has over a billion downloads from the Play Store, is not readily available on Windows. It’s the kind of ecosystem divide that makes Windows tablets and hybrid devices like Microsoft’s Surface Pro series a tough buy for consumers in general. Latte exists (assuming it exists) to make Windows more competitive against iOS and Android.
Lately, Microsoft has developed tools that allow more applications to run on Windows devices. UWP (the Universal Windows Platform), for example, has made apps more portable, and the additional support for PWAs (Progressive Web Apps) has streamlined app development. So it’s no surprise that Microsoft has set its sights on Android apps. The aforementioned software also provides a solid foundation for Latte to use.
Windows Central assumes that Latte will be based on the recently released WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux). If Latte uses a secondary subsystem for Android in addition to WSL, the burden on the developers will be very minimal. With any luck, the developers could finish converting from Android to Windows before they’ve finished their morning lattes …
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