Windows 11: a free update that allows you to download and run Android apps

(CNN Spanish) – Windows 11 will arrive as a free update that will combine modifications in the interface, more optimal operation, Xbox technology and for the first time it will allow Android apps to run natively.

Since Windows 10, Microsoft has tried to make its operating system the most flexible on the market, offering the possibility of offering a similar experience on both desktops and laptops as well as cell phones.

Windows 11 takes a slightly different step toward that flexibility. After the fall of Windows 10 Mobile (also known as Windows Phone) which represented a significant loss in that concept of a universal operating system (that works on all kinds of devices), Windows 11 does not want to be an operating system that is everywhere , but a platform that better integrates different functions, apps and technologies from other systems.

READ: Microsoft finally gets rid of its most hated product

Probably the most important for many is the new compatibility with Android apps, something that has been expected for many years.

With this new native Windows 11 support, Microsoft is combining the general experience of the two operating systems most popular in the world (Windows and Android), offering the apps we already know from Windows, as well as the popular Android apps.

However, this does not mean that the Google Play Store reaches Windows at this time as it did Chrome OS (Chromebooks), Google’s operating system, but that it is actually arriving with a new integration of the Amazon app store (Appstore).

This means that not necessarily all the Android apps you have on your cell phone will be available on your computer, but it does increase the number of apps you have access to and Microsoft promises to offer an experience similar to the one we have on our cell phones.

The Amazon Appstore was launched in 2011 as the Android app store for Amazon devices, then it enabled the possibility of downloading this store for all kinds of Android cell phones as a complement, offering a free paid app every day.

Currently, it has been possible to run Android apps on Windows through apps like BlueStacks, but these simply generate an emulation that does not always work in the best way and in many cases they have a much more limited catalog of apps. The native integration of Windows 11 would allow greater fluidity and a better experience for the users, simply because it is part of Windows 11 thanks to the development of Microsoft and the Intel Bridge technology.

Windows 11 also brings other novelties, such as a focused start menu and different changes in the interface, better alignment with the Xbox video game experience thanks to Auto HDR, deep integration of Microsoft Teams and a redesigned app store, among others.

The redesigned Start bar and what an Android app, like TikTok, looks like on Windows 11.

When will Windows 11 be available for download?

Microsoft revealed that users will be able to download Windows 11 for free this fall in the United States, but has not revealed exactly if there will be some limitations in terms of hardware, similar to what happened with the upgrade to Windows 10 that the company also offered for free.

Windows 11 beta

Those interested in testing the beta version of Windows 11 will be able to do so from June 28, but as usual it is not recommended to install this kind of beta software on main devices, since they often have some errors.

In order to download Windows 11 beta it is necessary to be registered in the Windows Insider Program.