Windows 10 Mobile will be with us in a few months

Jul 27, 2015 07:31 GMT  ·  By
Microsoft shows how to run Android apps on Windows 10 Mobile devices
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   Microsoft shows how to run Android apps on Windows 10 Mobile devices

A few months ago, Microsoft did the unthinkable and announced that Android and iOS apps would be able to run on Windows 10 phones to some extent.

But the exact manner in which this will work was not elaborated upon. The thing is, native apps will always run more smoothly, which is why Microsoft hopes developers will be inspired to port their Android apps to Windows 10.

Usually, Windows Phone is the last mobile platform to get a game or an application, after it launches on iOS and Android. But with Project Astoria, Microsoft is aiming to make things a lot easier for developers.

Now, WMPU brings us word of two recent job postings by Microsoft which might help us understand how the company plans to go about porting Android apps to Windows 10 Mobile.

Microsoft has big plans with Project Astoria

It has now become apparent that Microsoft is aiming quite high here, intending to allow developers to publish “unchanged (Android) binaries” to Windows phones.

The company is looking for a software engineer to be part of the Astoria Project. Here’s what the post says: “Our Astoria team is delivering a set of new experiences and developers with the potential to make huge differences for the Windows platform. The Astoria bridge enables Android developers to publish their unchanged binary to run as they are on the Windows mobile platform.”

The other listing says that “Our Astoria team is adopting the leading edge streaming analysis to our data driven engineering. We have the opportunity to put in place from the very beginning the best of what big data has to offer. The results so far are astonishing.”

Now it is speculated that Microsoft will find a way to recompile Android APKs to Windows APX. And a sneak peek at the Android subsystem in Windows Phone already shows APKs, meaning they are ready to run on Windows 10 Mobile natively.

Some say that wrapping an APK in the right .manifest file will allow it to be turned into an APX that can run on Windows 10 Mobile.

All this sounds quite encouraging at this moment, but it remains to be seen how the system will function in real life.

Android subsystem in Windows Phone
Android subsystem in Windows Phone

Microsoft continues to work on Project Astoria (2 Images)

Microsoft shows how to run Android apps on Windows 10 Mobile devices
Android subsystem in Windows Phone
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