You can no longer install Android apps on Windows 11 the official way: Microsoft ended the Windows Subsystem for Android and the Amazon Appstore on Windows in March 2025. You still have options, though: run apps from your phone through Phone Link, play games through Google Play Games on PC, use the web or desktop version of the app, or install an emulator.
What happened to Android apps on Windows
Windows 11 used to run Android apps through the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), with apps from the Amazon Appstore. Microsoft retired both, so those apps no longer get support and nothing replaced them inside Windows. Any guide telling you to “enable WSA” is out of date.
Phone Link: run your phone’s apps on the PC
Phone Link (built into Windows) can show apps that are installed on your phone in a window on the laptop. The app runs on the phone; the laptop just displays it and passes your clicks.
- It works only with selected Samsung, HONOR, OPPO, vivo, ASUS and Xiaomi models that support Link to Windows; Microsoft keeps a list of supported devices.
- Phone and PC should be on the same Wi-Fi.
- Other phones still get messages, calls, notifications and photos in Phone Link, just not the Apps feature.
To just see your whole phone screen on the laptop, see how to cast your phone to a laptop.
Use web and desktop versions
For most everyday apps, the PC version is better than any Android workaround:
- WhatsApp has a Windows app and WhatsApp Web, linked from your phone.
- TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X all work in a browser.
- Banking and M-Pesa: keep these on your phone. Use your bank’s official website if it has one, and avoid running money apps in emulators.
Google Play Games and emulators
- Google Play Games on PC is Google’s own app for playing many Android games on Windows. It checks your hardware (it needs virtualisation turned on) and is only offered in supported countries, so check Google’s availability list.
- Emulators such as BlueStacks run a full Android system inside Windows. They can install most apps, but they need virtualisation enabled in the BIOS, plenty of RAM (8 GB or more makes life easier) and disk space, and they can slow older laptops. Download only from the official website, never from “cracked” versions.
If you’re setting up a fresh PC, start with how to install Windows 11.
Quick answers
Not through Windows itself, since Microsoft ended its Android subsystem. You can use Phone Link on supported phones, Google Play Games on PC for games, web versions, or an emulator.
Nothing official from Microsoft. The closest options are Phone Link’s Apps feature, Google Play Games on PC and third-party emulators like BlueStacks.
