Here's how to run Android Apps on Windows 10 Mobile

Bayberry

Neowin just posted an article containing instructions for running Android Apps on Windows 10 Mobile

XDA forums has more detailed information (and probably more informed discussion) as well.

Note that this is just an unreleased beta - it's not a trivial process, and you could even damage your phone if you try it. But it demonstrates that the opportunity to address the "app gap" with Windows 10 is a reality.

theothernt

The end is nigh ;-)

jimmynokia

Still wont save windows phone.. Making services available on Android and iOS why would you bother now...this also proves MS is giving up on native apps..

Bayberry

jimmynokia wrote: »

Still wont save windows phone.. Making services available on Android and iOS why would you bother now...this also proves MS is giving up on native apps..

Huh??? Windows 10 was released 10 days ago, and it's already running on over 25 million devices. By the time that Windows 10 Mobile is released, Windows phones will be part of an ecosystem with over a hundred million desktop, laptop and tablet devices that can all run the same "native apps". At the same time, Microsoft are working to remove some of the excuses that app developers give for not creating apps for Windows Phone.

If every Android developer on the planet ignores this development, Windows phone won't be any worse off than it is today. On the other hand, if even a few developers of Android apps decide to take the time to test their apps using the methods outlined in the linked articles, and decide to deploy their apps through the Windows store as a result, then Windows Phone will be better off. In the meantime, Windows developers that haven't been interested in developing Windows Store apps, because the Win8 install basis wasn't big enough to make it worthwhile, are weighing up the benefits of using the store to distribute their apps.

Microsoft can't make developers develop apps, they can only make it attractive for developers to develop for Windows 10 (and Windows 10 Mobile). This development makes Windows more attractive to Android developers, by lowering barriers. If popular Android apps turn up in the Windows Store because of this, it will also make the Store more attractive to Windows developers as well.

jimmynokia

Bayberry wrote: »

Huh??? Windows 10 was released 10 days ago, and it's already running on over 25 million devices. By the time that Windows 10 Mobile is released, Windows phones will be part of an ecosystem with over a hundred million desktop, laptop and tablet devices that can all run the same "native apps". At the same time, Microsoft are working to remove some of the excuses that app developers give for not creating apps for Windows Phone.

If every Android developer on the planet ignores this development, Windows phone won't be any worse off than it is today. On the other hand, if even a few developers of Android apps decide to take the time to test their apps using the methods outlined in the linked articles, and decide to deploy their apps through the Windows store as a result, then Windows Phone will be better off. In the meantime, Windows developers that haven't been interested in developing Windows Store apps, because the Win8 install basis wasn't big enough to make it worthwhile, are weighing up the benefits of using the store to distribute their apps.

Microsoft can't make developers develop apps, they can only make it attractive for developers to develop for Windows 10 (and Windows 10 Mobile). This development makes Windows more attractive to Android developers, by lowering barriers. If popular Android apps turn up in the Windows Store because of this, it will also make the Store more attractive to Windows developers as well.

I am a WINDOWS user have been a fan for years and still am.lets look at market share and go forward then shall we.... Compare it today and compare it next year mark the calender...
Really - i do hope MS come up with some decent high ends before xmas and are logistically available worldwide and secluded into certain zones for a period of time and then sell elsewhere when things are tough..
I do know some things I cant mention here but I do hope there is a turnaround for mobile,but for now its not good at all,face it im right..
Nadella has not got a clue what he is doing and again that's been proven,even recent he said if he cant get new OEMs he will do it himself,that is lazy, they fcuked up the Nokia buyout and lost their shirt on it,overlapping phones trying to be like samsung..

I do hope I am proven wrong in the next two years but we shall see...Another point to include here is when was the last flagship,nearly everyone I know has ditched Windows Phone for Android or iOS due to this and lack of apps,universal apps is not microsofts saviour for mobile if you think that you are just a fence sitter,I have been one long enough but still hanging around in hope.

Bayberry

jimmynokia wrote: »

they fcuked up the Nokia buyout and lost their shirt on it,

I'm not going to bother arguing with you, Jimmy. I'll just point out that MS didn't buy Nokia because they thought it was the best way to make Windows Phone a success, they bought Nokia because they had no other choice - if they hadn't bought Nokia, Windows Phone would be dead now.

MS is still going ahead with the development of Windows 10 Mobile, though because Mobile still matters to Microsoft, and phones are only part of that story. Opting out of the mobile world was never an option, the deployment of Microsofts own applications to the IOS and Android platforms was inevitable, if only to keep those users in the MS fold. MS has lost a huge amount of ground, but Windows 10 has given them another chance. And they have a bit of a history with getting things right on the 2nd or 3rd try.

jimmynokia

They bought Nokia because they had no choice... Where on earth did you get that from.
They bought nokia to stop going Android full stop, shelved the X series and then the X2 which barely seen the light of day . it was clear MS was not happy at first announcement of the x series. And now look at them, making apps for Android and iOS..

But google or apple ain't so good a returning the favour are they. NO...

unkel

Bayberry wrote: »

haven't been interested in developing Windows Store apps, because the Win8 install basis wasn't big enough to make it worthwhile

Indeed. And if (big if!) it now will just be just a matter of presenting your android / iOS app to the Windows Store and then just sit back and see your revenue increase, they will do so

And then Windows Phone will increase in market share

Fingleberries

jimmynokia wrote: »

And now look at them, making apps for Android and iOS..

But google or apple ain't so good a returning the favour are they. NO...

Behind every (major) app on other platforms is a Microsoft Account, Maybe an extra user on OneDrive, with Cortana on other platforms it brings a huge amount of additional data into the system and makes the system better.

Customer stickiness is the key. If people enjoy the experience, the may consider the hardware for the next device - how many people have gone iPod -> iPhone -> iPad -> Mac in recent years? Would that have happened if Apple had only let iPods sync with Macs?

Coming back to the thread... Running native APKs is probably not a great user experience, as many apps are probably tied in to Google APIs. However knowing that it is technically possible means that it could be easy for Android devs to just bring their code across and cash the cheques.

Best would be if they took the little extra effort to modify their code a bit and leverage all of the Windows 10 / Universal app features like Cortana integration, Xbox Live, etc as appropriate that are available in the native APPX (compiled for Windows 10 / mobile) format.

MJohnston

jimmynokia wrote: »

Still wont save windows phone.. Making services available on Android and iOS why would you bother now...this also proves MS is giving up on native apps..

Speak for yourself - I'll continue to buy Lumias when I can get the tight integration with other MS services and devices, great quality hardware that only Apple competes with, and a simple, clean, and efficient OS like Windows 10. Android holds zero interest for me, and I got bored with iOS back during the WP7 era and it hasn't changed much since.

jimmynokia

MJohnston wrote: »

Speak for yourself - I'll continue to buy Lumias when I can get the tight integration with other MS services and devices, great quality hardware that only Apple competes with, and a simple, clean, and efficient OS like Windows 10. Android holds zero interest for me, and I got bored with iOS back during the WP7 era and it hasn't changed much since.

I am,plus I am an avid lumia fan and user and own every model there is,as said already time will tell..

MJohnston

Anyone want to give Hailo a try with this and see if it works? That's the app that I miss the most from other platforms.

theothernt

MJohnston wrote: »

Anyone want to give Hailo a try with this and see if it works? That's the app that I miss the most from other platforms.

I believe it uses Google Maps (part of Play Services) so it won't work on Windows Phone.

Fingleberries

Performance is quite good. Tested with the Nest app - some pop-ups about Google play services, but otherwise really responsive.

Tested on Lumia 920

wheresmybeaver

theothernt wrote: »

I believe it uses Google Maps (part of Play Services) so it won't work on Windows Phone.

So is the idea that in the final release of these tools apps that require Play services (eg Google Maps) will work "out of the box", or will the app dev have to modify their code considerably to use a different mapping service? In the case of Hailo I would imagine this to be a huge task.

MJohnston

wheresmybeaver wrote: »

So is the idea that in the final release of these tools apps that require Play services (eg Google Maps) will work "out of the box", or will the app dev have to modify their code considerably to use a different mapping service? In the case of Hailo I would imagine this to be a huge task.

From what I've read, the full developer tools for people with access to the source code and not just the apk (I've no idea if it's possible to obtain the former from the latter) will include additional porting tools that'll interop most of the Google Play Services API calls to equivalent Microsoft ones seamlessly - see the quote on this piece where "Examples include Google Maps being replaced by Bing Maps, and Google Cloud Messaging converted to Windows Notifications."

So it'll just take the developer a few minutes really. The question isn't how much work they're willing to put in initially (which is extremely minimal anyway), it's how much they'll want to take on a new support channel, and/or be responsible for all the W10 platform bugs in their app, even though they don't have a Windows developer in house.

Edit: this is why I'm hoping you can de-compile an APK into the original source code, because even if the dev themselves isn't willing to port their app, we can just do it for ourselves on a case-by-case basis (without 'releasing' it to the store obviously).

Bayberry

wheresmybeaver wrote: »

So is the idea that in the final release of these tools apps that require Play services (eg Google Maps) will work "out of the box", or will the app dev have to modify their code considerably to use a different mapping service? In the case of Hailo I would imagine this to be a huge task.

I don't think that it makes sense to think of these tools as an "out of the box solution". A tool that allows a small minority of technical users who know how to acquire .apks and are comfortable dealing with the issues that that raises won't really address the app-gap, but a tool for ordinary end-users would involve actively encouraging users to go against the wishes of developers who don't want their apps distributed outside of the official app stores.

I think the tools are designed to allow android app developers to test their apps on Windows devices. Even if some sort of translation layer was put in place to automatically translate Play Services API calls to Windows API calls, I think MS would still want to make sure that ordinary users would only be using apps that are delivered through the Store, so that developers will still be able to get get paid for paid apps, or to get ad revenue from ad-supported apps. MS needs buy in from developers, even at risk of some developers refusing to port to Windows for political rather than technical reasons (for example, the referenced Nest application will probably never be officially supported on Windows Phone, as Google own Nest).

Fingleberries

Bayberry wrote: »

I don't think that it makes sense to think of these tools as an "out of the box solution". A tool that allows a small minority of technical users who know how to acquire .apks and are comfortable dealing with the issues that that raises won't really address the app-gap, but a tool for ordinary end-users would involve actively encouraging users to go against the wishes of developers who don't want their apps distributed outside of the official app stores.

I think the tools are designed to allow android app developers to test their apps on Windows devices. Even if some sort of translation layer was put in place to automatically translate Play Services API calls to Windows API calls, I think MS would still want to make sure that ordinary users would only be using apps that are delivered through the Store, so that developers will still be able to get get paid for paid apps, or to get ad revenue from ad-supported apps. MS needs buy in from developers, even at risk of some developers refusing to port to Windows for political rather than technical reasons (for example, the referenced Nest application will probably never be officially supported on Windows Phone, as Google own Nest).

I agree. It's one of the bridges Microsoft talked about during //BUILD. The tools in the current form are not designed for public use and should not have been released - but now that they are out MS are going to try to understand the impact from people running the apps.

The ideal would be to show Android developers how little work exactly is required to bring their Apps across - some small changes to translate the Google Play / Maps calls to the equivalent MS calls and they could even add Cortana / Xbox Live integration with a couple of extra lines of code.

Performance of the Apps I have tested with, including some simple Android Apps I have pootled around with coding myself, is decent. So, if with some small additions using the developer tools when they're released (I think they're planned for beta soon) could make it easy for a developer to make some extra money for very little outlay.