Developers are already gone, MS needs to allow Android emulators in the Windows App Store now!

cool8man

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We all know that the Windows App Store is too far behind iOS/Android right now to have any chance of catching up in mobile. It does not matter how great Microsoft's developer tools are or how innovative Windows hardware is. Without the millions of modern apps published on Android/iOS it is near impossible to convince OEMs or consumers to have any interest in Windows mobile devices. It does not matter how cool or innovative the hardware is. Foldable phones, HoloLens, none of this will retain or attract significant adoption when the Windows app store is anchoring all of these devices down. Discussions about losing native Windows app developers are moot because Windows has always been an open platform that allowed users to install whatever software they wanted. There already exists today dozens of Android emulators for Windows. Modern app developers have already abandoned or ignored Windows. The only way to change the situation is to start selling lots of hardware, but it will be impossible to sell any hardware that is dependent upon the Windows 10 app store.

If Microsoft wants any hope of convincing consumers or OEMs of giving mobile Windows devices another chance they have to start supporting Android emulators. Let the Android emulators compete to be the best on Windows 10. Take away the biggest excuse for consumers not to try or buy a new mobile Windows device. Every cool idea for mobile devices will be wasted if Windows continues to be anchored to the Windows Store apps only. This locked-down software design was never the legacy or appeal of Windows PCs and it is precisely what kept Windows phones from achieving the success they deserved. If the Surface Phone or HoloLens hit the market without the ability to install millions of modern apps they will have no chance of widespread success and will quickly be overtaken by Apple/Google devices that copy their innovations. "Yeah it's cool, but the Google/Apple version will have better apps" will be the death of every Windows product.
 

nate0

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There is a developer here in the forums who was working on one of these for the UWP side of the house. Not sure where they have progressed with it. Is Microsoft blocking Android app emulators from being published now or will?
 

xandros9

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This has been discussed to the moon and back and there's a lot of points being made everywhere.

Personally I believe it would be a poor, shortsighted decision but given that MS doesn't exactly care anymore, it probably doesn't matter anymore.

The thing is, I don't think Android is exactly banned from the Store, but I'm pretty sure it's not reasonably possible to make within the constraints of a standard app. You need a lot of system access and whatnot to make sure it has a chance at working right.
 

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