Windows 10 users can benefit from using Android apps on their desktop, through the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), thanks to a freshly discovered fudge – but it’s not something we’d recommend at all. the average user to take the plunge.
As you probably know, one of the big advancements in Windows 11 was to support Android apps with WSA, which Windows 10 has lacked until now. Because like Liliputing (opens in a new tab) spotted, a patch has been released that can be applied to Windows 10 22H2 to bring Android support.
We say fix, but don’t feel like it just involves downloading and applying a simple file to implement the workaround.
The method provided via this GitHub project (opens in a new tab) is somewhat complicated and involves extracting files from Windows 11, modifying installers, and various other tinkerings that are likely to be beyond the scope of computer knowledge of many people.
Still, if you are confident enough to take on this type of task, there is nothing stopping you from running Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 10.
Analysis: Question marks around risk factors
Even for those savvy enough to handle the WSA activation procedure in Windows 10, there are some obvious questions here. How stable will this rigged WSA be, exactly? And could it even damage your Windows installation (especially if you get the implementation wrong)?
For those who aren’t sure but still like the idea, a safer way to play Android apps (or games, of course) on your Windows 10 desktop is to use a solution like Bluestacks. This is emulator software with a solid reputation and long track record at this point, but note that even Bluestacks 5 (the latest incarnation) is now touted as being optimized for Windows 11.
While an emulator might not be as smooth as WSA, which is tightly integrated with the OS, we doubt that a rigged WSA install like this on Windows 10 would present some of its own issues, like noted.
Via Neowin (opens in a new tab)
