Windows 10 users can benefit from using Android apps on their PC through the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) with a freshly discovered fudge – but it’s not something we recommend for the average user.
As you probably know, one of the big steps forward taken by Windows 11 was the support of Android apps with WSA, which Windows 10 had missed until now. Because Lilliputian (opens in a new tab) noted, a patch has been released that can be applied to Windows 10 22H2 to provide Android support.
We’re talking about patching, but we don’t get the impression that it’s just downloading and applying a simple file to implement a workaround.
The method provided by this GitHub project (opens in a new tab) is a bit convoluted and involves extracting files from Windows 11, modifying installers, and various other tinkering that is probably beyond the scope of computer knowledge that many people have.
Still, if you’re confident enough to take on this kind of task, there’s nothing stopping you from running the Windows Subsystem for Android on Windows 10.
Analysis: Question marks around risk factors
Even for those tech-savvy enough to handle the procedure for enabling WSA in Windows 10, there are obvious questions here. How stable will this fake WSA be exactly? And can it even corrupt your Windows installation (especially if something goes wrong while running this)?
For those who are unsure but still like the idea, a safer way to play around with Android apps (or games, of course) on a Windows 10 PC is to use a solution like Bluestacks. This is an emulator software with a solid reputation and a long track record at this point, though keep in mind that even Bluestacks 5 (the latest incarnation) is now advertised as optimized for Windows 11.
While the emulator may not be as slick as WSA, which is tightly integrated into the operating system, we have doubts that a rigged WSA installation like the one in Windows 10 could present some of its own problems, as noted.
By Neovin (opens in a new tab)