Microsoft is ending support for its Android subsystem in Windows 11 next year. The software giant first announced it was bringing Android apps to Windows 11 with Amazon’s Appstore nearly three years ago, but this Windows Subsystem for Android will now be deprecated starting March 5th, 2025.
“Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android™️ (WSA),” reads a new support document from Microsoft. “As a result, the Amazon Appstore on Windows and all applications and games dependent on WSA will no longer be supported beginning March 5, 2025.”
If you currently use Android apps from the Amazon Appstore, then you’ll continue to have access to these past the support cutoff date, but you won’t be able to download any new ones once Microsoft makes its Android subsystem end of life next year. On March 6th (tomorrow), Windows 11 users will no longer be able to search for Amazon Appstore or associated Android apps from the Microsoft Store.
It’s a surprise move after Microsoft has been continually updating its Windows Subsystem for Android over the past few years. Amazon says it will deliver “a smooth end of support experience for developers and customers of Amazon Appstore on Windows 11” alongside Microsoft. “Developers will no longer be able to submit net new apps targeting Windows 11 after March 5, 2024, but developers with an existing app can continue to submit app updates until Amazon Appstore on Windows 11 is fully discontinued,” says Amazon.
Android apps on Windows 11 originally seemed like Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s progress with its M1 chips and running iOS apps on macOS. Microsoft partnered with Amazon, but without official access to Google’s Play Store it was always a subpar experience if you just wanted to easily download popular Android apps on Windows. That’s probably a big part of the reason Microsoft has chosen to simply kill off its Android apps on Windows 11.
