How to run Android apps on Windows 11: official and APK methods

Initially, Windows 11 computers do not have the ability to install Android apps and games. Also, while Microsoft used to offer Windows Subsystem for Android as the official way to run Android apps, that is no longer the case. The company will retire this feature in March 2024, and support will only be guaranteed for existing users next year.

With that in mind, here’s how to run Android apps on your Windows PC. We will discuss both official and unofficial options.

How to officially install Android apps on Windows 11

Good news for those who want to install Android apps on their Windows PCs for gaming purposes only. Simply install Google’s official Play Games beta and get access to many of the most popular games without the risk of installing third-party software.

However, neither Google nor Microsoft has an official way to run regular Android apps on Windows. You need to install an emulator instead. This is explained in more detail in the unofficial methods section below.

Install the Play Games Beta for Windows PC

First, you need to enable virtualization. This is a CPU feature that helps run a secondary operating system, such as Android in this example. New computers require a switch in the BIOS/UEFI settings, usually called Intel VT-X or AMD-V, depending on the brand of the system’s CPU. Next, you need to enable it within Windows 11 as well.

1. Open. control panelMove to program section
2. click Turn Windows features on or off.
3. enable virtual machine platform and Windows hypervisor platform Make sure the box next to it is checked
4. click got it.

Restart your system. Next, download Play Games Beta from Google’s official website and open the installer. It will take a few minutes to download the required 800 MB and complete the installation.

The process of officially installing Android games is as easy as using the Play Store on your smartphone. All you need is a Google Account to get started. If you use your main account, all existing in-app purchases and game progress will be automatically carried over.

1. Click the “Sign in” button. A new browser tab will open. Select your Google Account if you’re already signed in, or enter your account credentials.
2. [Play ゲーム]Switch to the window and accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
3. Once you log in, the app will take you to a homepage similar to the Play Store on your tablet. You’ll notice that you can only install games that are approved by Google, but it’s still a pretty long list and includes most of the popular titles.
4. Just select the game and click “Install”. Once downloaded, you can open the game and use your mouse and keyboard to interact with it.
5. Most games open in full screen mode. Simply press Shift+Tab to bring up the control overlay to exit the game or rebind the controls.

Again, you can only install Android apps and games that appear on the Play Games beta storefront. Google doesn’t allow you to install APK files or even regular Android apps. For this, you will have to resort to informal means.

If you need to install Android apps as well as games, the official method above will not work. Therefore, you should focus on third-party Android emulators instead. The virtualization requirements above are similar here, so follow these steps before proceeding with the rest of this guide.

We have a dedicated post covering the best Android emulators, but the basic gist is that most people will be using BlueStacks or GameLoop. Both have a lot of gaming-specific features, but they don’t limit you from installing regular Android apps. It also has full access to the Play Store, allowing you to download any app, something that wasn’t possible with Windows 11’s now-defunct Android emulation feature.

For apps and games that are not available on the Play Store, BlueStacks also supports sideloading via APK files. Just download the app from a trusted source like APKMirror and double-click on the icon. The emulator will create a home screen shortcut that will appear the next time you start it.

So what are the drawbacks? Android emulators are developed by third-party companies, so you may have to deal with ads and other annoying issues. To its credit, BlueStacks does not collect or sell user data and claims that it has not suffered any major security breaches in the nearly 10 years it has been in operation. Masu.