In this guide, I'll show you the steps started with Android apps on Windows 11, including setting up the platform, installing and launching apps, and removing the Windows Subsystem for Android.

Windows Subsystem for Android works like Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), which Microsoft introduced in 2016. Both WSL and WSA use virtualization to install and run apps.

Thankfully however, the arrival of Windows Subsystem for Android lets you run apps from Google 's mobile operating system to run natively in Windows 11, albeit with some help from Amazon.

Microsoft execs shed a few more details on how they plan to enable Android apps to run on Windows 11, and a new Windows Subsystem for Android is at the heart of its strategy.

While Windows 11 was released in October 2021, the Windows Subsystem for Android did not become generally available until February 2022 -- four months after the initial Windows 11 release.

Microsoft is pulling support for the Windows Subsystem for Android, a Windows 11 feature first released in October of 2021 that allowed Windows PCs to run Android apps alongside native Windows apps.

Ahead of that, Windows Subsystem for Android is getting a new feature that’ll make streaming videos better. Microsoft recently rolled out Android 13 for Windows Subsystem for Android.

Microsoft has improved networking on the Windows Subsystem for Android, so that Android apps can connect to devices on the same network as a Windows PC.

The latest version of Windows 11 Subsystem for Android, in testing, runs all of your apps on the latest Android 12.1.

Microsoft is updating its Windows Subsystem for Android with new features and improvements, including Android 12.1, aka Android 12L.