Fellow ZDNET contributor Ed Bott has a fantastic post walking through the nitty-gritty and technical details of using Android apps on your Windows 11 machine that’s worth checking out, especially if you’re on the fence about even going through the process. Don’t worry, though; if you get Android apps up and running on your PC and then change your mind, you can always undo everything.
Step 1: Check if your PC can run Android apps
First, you will need to check if your PC is capable of even running Android Apps. Microsoft has an official list of system requirements for running Android apps, but if you don’t want to take the time to look up your system’s specifications and compare it to the list, here’s an easier way.
Check System requirements
If your system meets the requirements, you should see a green checkmark with some text indicating as much. Otherwise, click on Show more to view the entire list of requirements to see where your system falls short. If your requirements are still falling short, the fix is usually the simple need to update Windows 11 so that you can use the feature. If that’s the case, the list will let you know. From there, open the Settings app, and select Windows Update > Check for updates. A new window will show up, letting you know some of the finer details about the installation process. Click the Download button after you read through it, and then wait for the Subsystem for Android from Microsoft to download. To install an Android app, click on the app icon, just like you would if you were using the Appstore on an Android for Fire device. Select install, and then let the Appstore take care of the rest. Once it’s done, you’ll see the install button switch to Open. Click it. To find Android apps after you’ve installed them, open the Start menu and look under the Recommended section for recently installed or used apps. If the app(s) isn’t there, you can click on All apps next to the pinned section in the Start menu and scroll through the list.
