Microsoft has announced a Windows 11 update that brings some Android apps and games in the company’s storefront through the Amazon Appstore.
(Sign up to our Technology newsletter, Today’s Cache, for insights on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, business and policy. Click here to subscribe for free.)
With the Amazon Appstore preview, Windows 11 users in the U.S. will be able to access popular apps like Audible, Kindle, Subway Surfers, Lords Mobile, Khan Academy Kids, among others.
The Windows maker is also adding over 1,000 more apps and games in partnership with the Amazon Appstore, Microsoft CPO Panos Panay said.
This update is in line with the Windows 11 launch announcement from last July when the software firm introduced a new Microsoft Store and promised Windows users access to Android apps in its storefront with the option to download them via the Amazon Appstore.
To bring the Android experience into Windows 11, Microsoft joined forces with Amazon, as well as Intel, to use its Intel Bridge technology.
Microsoft, which shifted to an annual update cycle for the Windows 11 and 10 operating systems, plans to release smaller feature updates like this one more frequently.
In addition to the Amazon Appstore preview, this update includes new improvements to the Taskbar like mute/unmute and share any window features, a weather widget, date and time display on the Taskbar of a second monitor, and two redesigned apps – Media Player and Notepad.
