Windows 10 must allow access to Android Apps to be successful on Tablets and Phones

[gadgetebz]

I think being part of Windows 10 will ensure the OS features for Phones and Tablet devices will be on par with Android and IOS but unless people can get the APPS they want the lack of ecosystem will prevent growth above 5-10% worldwide... Windows has to find a way of running Android APPS!!

I recently upgraded from my Nokia 1020 to a Samsung Note 4 and while I miss many things about Windows Phone the number Apps and the quality is way beyond what is offered on Windows Phone. As a number of people have said even Microsoft Apps are better on Android.

If Microsoft had a store that supplied Android APPS as well as Windows Apps they could potentially get revenue from full Android devices using the Microsoft store in the same way I have the Amazon APP Store on my Note 4 in addition to the Google Play Store.

I don`t think Windows developers would be put off as they would be writing to target Desktop, Laptop and Xbox in addition Tablets and Phones.
I think the Windows APPS should be about original APPS for Windows not bad ports of Android and IOS APPS...

To be honest a number of people I persuaded to try Windows Phone 2 years ago are now going to Android and IOS as there is a lack of new flagship device plus missing games and APPS they want to use.

APPS is the number one issue holding Windows Phone and Tablets back Microsoft need to make the big decision as universal APPS on their own will not fix this issue. If Microsoft added this option I think they could get 25% of the Market within 2/3 years..

Maybe this run Android APPS option could be enabled on mid/high end Snapdragon and ATOM devices not the really cheap phones etc..

 

[gMaesterUK]

This whole android apps thing is getting a little tiring, the biggest obstacle I see is the fact android apps are mainly java with some c++, so apart from needing to run an additional android runtime engine you also need a virtual machine for java. Even with the high end hardware this will still be a very slow process. BlackBerry was able to use android store because its written in Java so that's the biggest drain already taken into account.

With universal apps, and nearly all the major ide's have the ability to create cross platform, it's a matter of time and users. Time to develop and users to keep pestering companies. Plus with the enterprise app store coming with win 10 I personally think alot more developers will jump on board.

Just my input on the subject.

G

 

[jabtano]

I agree with some, my wife did the same with her L925 left WP for the note 4 because of as she put it there are no high end devices for WP and we are not switching to AT&T. I have to admit it's one heck of a device. I keep looking at my L925 and thinking hum it does not sync with my Nokia tablet or my surface pro, it doesn't sync with my desktop. whats the point and i'm really tired on the "coming soon" thing that we have been hearing sense wp7.

 

[RichardBurt]

How many times does it have to be said? Android apps on WP can't happen. IDE's and languages are just two of the reasons why.

Do WP apps suffer from this? Report: Malware-infected Android apps spike in the Google Play store | PCWorld

Do WP apps suffer from this? Borepatch: Android users, your apps are spying on your location

the quality is way beyond what is offered on Windows Phone

Excuse me while I laugh my head off...

WP: Quality v's quantity.
iOS: Quality v's quantity.
Android: Quantity v's quality.

The only reason why there are such a huge number of Android apps is because (until recently) Google didn't curate their app store. Since Google started curating they have removed hundreds of fake apps. WP and iOS doesn't suffer from this problem.

...about original APPS for Windows not bad ports of Android

You, like most of the other supposedly knowledgeable posters on this forum seem to think that the app situation is Microsoft's fault. Who creates the apps? Who has the ideas for apps? Microsoft or app developers? Correct, the answer is developers. Whinge at them. If the situation is that bad for you then instead of jumping to another OS why not write your own apps for the ecosystem?

[/end_rant_mode]

 

[gpobernardo]

Backing G on the matter, there has been recent a forum thread on how the "lack" of windows phone apps makes WP users feel.

For me, it's all about quality over quality - which is the reason why we should be making the most out of the app feedback and "Report concern to Microsoft" features to weed out the apps that simply don't deliver or deserve to be in the store due to poor quality or construction - such as web page maskers and weather apps that display more ads than weather data and couldn't even detect your location automatically.

Right now, we're already slightly having trouble looking for a good app in the store, e.g. type in "compass" in the store and you'll be presented with pages and pages of app matches (there are even drawing apps there for who knows why). Just imagine what would happen if we usher in the volume of Android apps, a certain number of which I'd like to refer to as "crap apps".

Android phones may initially get the attention of users through the number of apps they have, but as soon as users learn how these apps deter the functionality of their phones with time (a lot of my Android-using friends and acquaintances are already complaining how their "high-end" Android devices are slowing down, getting hacked or loses personal info*), they would realize that phone functionality (keeping only the essentials installed) matters more than games and fireworks.

About "app deficiency", we've reached the half-million (or million?) app mark already - but do we really need that much? We can only do so much with our phones. Instead of encouraging tens of thousands of developers giving birth to apps as much as they can for revenue, why not encourage them to be part of organized teams of developers that focus on particular apps? App quality would increase without flooding the store.

*- Then of course I show them my L1020 and usher them into the world of Live Tiles.

 

[Wall-SWE]

Stop talking about APPS, when you obviously only mean GAMES. I have a Nexus 5, and the Google Play store lacks ALOT of GAMES that are available on the iOS Store. Some examples, Costume Quest, Monkey Island 1 & 2, Bastion, OceanHorn, almost every LEGO franchise game(+10 games), Bioshock. And many many many more quality games. I would like for these games to exist in the Google Play store and of course in the Windows Store as well.

 

[Darthbobcat]

Microsoft if addressing a lot of this with the dev tools that are coming out. The trick is to make it as painless as possible to take the app you're making for iOS and put it on Windows Phone.

But if you make Android apps run in Windows 10, you've just removed EVERY INCENTIVE TO DEVELOP FOR WINDOWS, AS WELL AS ANY INCENTIVE TO BUY A WINDOWS DEVICE. Look up OS/2, or the phrase "Better Windows than Windows" to see how complete compatibility with a dominant platform doesn't help you win market share.

 

[JamesPTao]

I think being part of Windows 10 will ensure the OS features for Phones and Tablet devices will be on par with Android and IOS but unless people can get the APPS they want the lack of ecosystem will prevent growth above 5-10% worldwide... Windows has to find a way of running Android APPS!!

I recently upgraded from my Nokia 1020 to a Samsung Note 4 and while I miss many things about Windows Phone the number Apps and the quality is way beyond what is offered on Windows Phone. As a number of people have said even Microsoft Apps are better on Android.

If Microsoft had a store that supplied Android APPS as well as Windows Apps they could potentially get revenue from full Android devices using the Microsoft store in the same way I have the Amazon APP Store on my Note 4 in addition to the Google Play Store.

I don`t think Windows developers would be put off as they would be writing to target Desktop, Laptop and Xbox in addition Tablets and Phones.
I think the Windows APPS should be about original APPS for Windows not bad ports of Android and IOS APPS...

To be honest a number of people I persuaded to try Windows Phone 2 years ago are now going to Android and IOS as there is a lack of new flagship device plus missing games and APPS they want to use.

APPS is the number one issue holding Windows Phone and Tablets back Microsoft need to make the big decision as universal APPS on their own will not fix this issue. If Microsoft added this option I think they could get 25% of the Market within 2/3 years..

Maybe this run Android APPS option could be enabled on mid/high end Snapdragon and ATOM devices not the really cheap phones etc..

They could easily do it, but it would be very very foolish. It would help short term and lead to wp's failure not soon after. Instint way to strip any motivation for devs to develop for WP.

 

[bijak_riyandi]

No. Just no.
Please bury this idea deep in the Earth's core...

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

Ask BlackBerry how Android compatibility has helped their business.

 

[UncleGrandpa]

It really is about the apps. IOS and Android equivalents aren't even equivalent...the same apps are superior, even MS own IOS and Android apps are better on those platforms than its own WP. Windows 10 won't bail them out.

 

[JacobV]

Has allowing Android apps saved Blackberry? It wouldn't be any different for Windows Phone, in my opinion.

 

[se312]

This would be a great idea. Just set up Windows 10 so that it can use any app from any OS. Never happen though, Android, Apple and Microsoft are so into themselves, they'd never do it.

 

[NeoDerGrosse]

I understand that it's difficult to allow Android apps on WP and I also see the Problems with not motivating developers to develop native apps. But when I just can't buy public transport tickets on my phone I'ts not about usability or nice looking Interfaces, it's just about Basic functionality. And if the companies just don't recognice Windows Phone it doesn't matter how easy it is to port them, it just doesn't happen.

 

[gadgetebz]

Guys its not bull**** the average consumer want a much better APP choice than we have now.......... It seems to me most people on this forum don`t care about APPS but a large percentage of people will call Windows Phone **** because of the things its missing.

My bank is HSBC no APP!! I want to watch SKY GO(Satellite TV) when on the train No APP!! Wife and Kids have been playing Candy Crush for the last year and again no Windows Phone APP until a few days ago..

If it is not the lack of APPS what other reason is there that Windows Phone remains are 3% in the USA and 10% at best in the EU please GET REAL !!

I would prefer native Windows APPS but it just ain`t happening... Every time I see my friends and relatives I encouraged to get Windows Phones they are complaining to me about the lack of APPS.. This is not the same issue as Blackberry or Amazon because people like the OS design and the Phones they just want more and better APPS.. If Microsoft cannot deliver that they have no chance of gaining traction!!

You would think if anyone would do this Microsoft would as they only really care about selling Microsoft Services as they have shown by porting to every known OS

 

[AstroPop]

Nope. Windows must allow installing upscaled windows phone apps on tablets like Android does.

They should merge the two windows stores and have just one marketplace like android & ios with all millions of apps there.

 

[gadgetebz]

If Blackberry had acted before their customers jumped ship with a good android app support and kept a good keyboard design I would probably still be using one myself for work. Most people I work with selected Iphone over Blackberry as a company phone about 3 years ago.. They were basically too slow

Even if you combine Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 APP its still not a great selection and not enough to attract or keep people on the Windows Platform. I don`t love Android or IOS but love the APP selection.............. Even something like getting an APP to lock my Gallery, my Messages or my Email is something I cannot do on Windows Phone..If I want to shop at a Store or Restaurant the APP will be there for it.. I so want that on Windows Phone.. If Microsoft give priority to other OSes why should developers bother with Windows it`s concerning to me..

Maybe Microsoft was arrogant and basically chose the APPLE model locking everying down and thinking developers would flock to them when they should have been more open and chose the GOOGLE model which would have been a more natural progression from Windows Mobile anyway.

This sums it up for me 100% we been waiting 5 years and people are feeling things are not going to improve without something totally different. In my view Microsoft do not care any more about Windows Phone users than the do about APPLE or ANDROID users and in fact evidence is showing they care more about them!!

 

[BitPusher2600]

Ask BlackBerry how Android compatibility has helped their business.

This really is a bit true. I was head over heels crazy about Research In Motion and had a good many years of diehard loyalty to the BlackBerry platform. I have not been alone in looking at other platforms the very day they announced incorporating Android into the OS and believe me, it broke my heart. There are people who have no trust whatsoever in anything that involves Android or Google and as such, choose something else. I refuse to voluntarily use anything involving Google Inc or Android OS (including the AOSP) and Apple isn't for me, hence how Microsoft has my faithful business now.

As someone pointed out earlier, if you exclude games from the mix, I'm not sure WP even in it's current state is really missing anything that's actually relevant to a grownup. If it is, what the heck is so genuinely critical that WP should really be suffering? Nah, if they were to start supporting Android apps, the only alternative for people who have any number of reasons to want nothing to do with it, is Apple. That's would be a sad state of affairs.

 

[gadgetebz]

I have a Lumia 1020 and most of my friends don`t care about the live tiles or when I tell them it`s 41 mp ............. They are impressed I can PIN stuff to the Home Screen but are not impressed how slow the camera is even if has great quality

I am afraid we are brainwashed by all these companies I don`t see why any of them deserve our loyalty.......

I actually don`t play that many games on my Note 4 but it`s great that I can watch Premier League Football, do some Internet Banking, Order Take Away Food from a local restaurant and turn on my Gas Central Heating at home while on the train ride home. All are difficult or impossible on my Lumia 1020

 

[gadgetebz]

I think if Android APPS drove adoption of Windows 10 Tablets and Phones then I think most of the big games and APPS will be ported to Windows but there is a large number of APPS that support LOCAL services that will probably never get ported in the short term. Problem is once people left Windows Phone can you ever get them to come back..