Exploring Android Apps on Windows 11

Who would have thought that Microsoft’s “last system” Windows 10 would actually have a successor.

People originally thought that Microsoft would, as it had for the past five years, gradually release major updates to the Windows 10 system in the second half of the year, internally codenamed Sun Valley, officially named 2021H2. Who would have thought that this time, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella personally disclosed the news, internal beta versions leaked, and various promotional videos and posters made things different…

Big Sheep, Yi Meng | Author

Yi Meng | Editor

Magnifying Lamp Team | Planning

This update received unprecedented attention – Microsoft held a separate online launch event for it on June 24 (In fact, since the official launch of Windows 10 in July 2015, Microsoft has not held a large-scale launch event for an operating system), and it even has a standalone name: Windows 11.

Wait, something seems off.

Back in 2015, when Windows 10 was released, people were told that Windows 10 would be Microsoft’s last operating system, and there would only be updates, not upgrades. But the events of the past month have made people feel that Microsoft’s “renaming department” is once again trying to make its presence felt.

Why do people feel that “Windows 11 shouldn’t exist”? Is Microsoft’s renaming department innocent? Did they really get slapped in the face?

This time, it may really not be the case.

People have always believed that the statement “Microsoft will no longer release Windows 11, 12 and other subsequent systems” came from Terry Meyerson, the then-executive vice president of Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group, but this is a typical “Mandela Effect” (referring to the collective memory of the public being inconsistent with historical facts), and no one has ever seriously verified what Meyerson actually said.

Let’s look for answers in Microsoft’s technical blog.

In January 2015, Terry Meyerson wrote in Microsoft’s official technical blog, “We will release new features when they are ready, rather than waiting for the next major release. Windows 10 will, like all internet services, have no meaningful versioning.” “Once upgraded to Windows 10, it will remain up to date throughout the lifecycle of the device’s support.”[2]

Since then, Meyerson has made similar statements on multiple occasions, but he never made a clear statement about whether Windows 10 would have subsequent systems.

It wasn’t until May 2015 that a decisive moment occurred – at the Microsoft Ignite conference, Microsoft developer Jerry Nixon said the widely circulated phrase: “Windows 10 is the last version of the Windows system.” (“Windows 10 is the last version of Windows”) [3].

LinkedIn profile shows that Nixon’s title at the time was Senior Technical Evangelist at Microsoft and also Microsoft’s official “Windows Evangelist”, but he was neither the “developer director” mentioned in the Chinese media nor someone who could be seen as an influential official spokesperson for Microsoft.

Nixon’s LinkedIn profile info, image from LinkedIn

However, someone really believed it.

Steve Kleynhans, vice president of research at Gartner, stated in an interview with BBC that there would be no Windows 11, and BBC also took it as big news, directly putting “Microsoft stops developing a new generation of Windows systems” in the headline [4].

Listening to the wind is tantamount to rain for the BBC

Of course, some media didn’t believe it, such as The Verge, the tech site that first reported Nixon’s “last version” statement, whose senior editor Tom Warren has been tracking Microsoft’s dynamics for a long time. He judged that Windows 10 might be the “last major version”, and Microsoft might choose Windows 11 or Windows 12 in the future, but if people upgrade to Windows 10 and regular updates can achieve the goal, then everyone would be satisfied with “Windows”, and wouldn’t even worry about version numbers [3].

In China, media like Kuai Technology and IT Home were also influenced by Warren, with some even directly citing The Verge’s report, reiterating his judgment [5].

As for whether it will be permanently updated? Not really.

A week before the release of Windows 10 (Eastern Time July 20, 2015), PCMag mentioned in its latest page on the Windows lifecycle that Windows 10’s lifespan: 5 years of mainstream support (until October 13, 2020), and 10 years of extended support (until October 13, 2025) [6].

In short, the facts are –

• Microsoft executives represented by Terry Meyerson never said “Windows 10 is the last version of Windows”;

• The statement of “the last version” came from grassroots employee Jerry Nixon, and due to his position and responsibilities at Microsoft, his statement could neither represent the high-level nor the official stance;

• The tech site The Verge, which first reported Nixon’s “last version” statement, also did not give up hope for Windows 11 or even higher versions;

• Microsoft has also never promised “permanent support for Windows 10”, but had already set a timeline for its end of life before its release.

Despite a slew of media reports, things still got out of control – in the murky waters stirred by some unreliable media at home and abroad, “the last Windows” not only became a reality but also was misattributed to Meyerson, deceiving Chinese people for a full five years, leading many Chinese netizens, including some online media, to fall into the Mandela Effect.

However, after this series of coincidences, Microsoft’s Windows 11 seems to be an unexpected surprise for users.

Logically, Windows 11 should not rise.

Since 2000, Microsoft’s operating systems have begun to follow the “pendulum effect”, transitioning from one generation to another – what kind of product is Windows 11 after the “god work” Windows 10? It’s been five years since Windows 10 was released in 2015, which inevitably reminds people of the transition from XP to Vista, which also spanned nearly six years, but it has been proven that Vista, like Windows 8, is a transitional product.

At the launch event, we finally saw the true face of Windows 11.

Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer Panos Panay brought Windows 11 and stated that this is a system that can “bring you closer to what you love”.

The first major change in the new system is the UI design.

The three-dimensional window logo on Windows 8 and Windows 10 has been flattened. This is also the second time since 1985, when Microsoft released Windows 1.0, that a flat logo design is used.

Previous generations of Windows system logos

Windows 11’s system logo

In addition, Windows 11 has abandoned the hard-edged window design, using a lot of rounded designs; card backgrounds, status bars, and other window backgrounds use a frosted glass effect; the Start menu and taskbar have moved from the left to the center.

The interface of Windows 11

However, these designs have been mocked by preview users for their “resemblance” to Mac OS, calling them “fruit-like”.

There are also many new features in functionality.

Microsoft’s product partner Carmen Zlateff introduced that Windows 11 has optimized split-screen interaction, not only allowing users to quickly choose their favorite split-screen format, but also supporting three-page split screens, making it more convenient for users to create. (However, in reality, Microsoft has already provided an official toolkit PowerToys in Windows 10 that can achieve a similar effect)

Windows 11 supports various split-screen formats

Microsoft’s head of product marketing Phillip McClure then showcased the rich interaction forms of Windows 11. The new system integrates keyboard, mouse, and touch operations, thus eliminating the tablet mode. Users can interact and input using touch, stylus, or even voice when using tablets.

Using the virtual keyboard on Windows 11

Although Windows 11 has removed many dynamic tiles that people like, it has added a widget feature, reviving the widgets from Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Widgets in Windows 11

Next, Xbox Vice President Sarah Bond introduced the optimizations in gaming features in the new system, including better graphics quality (Auto HDR), faster loading speeds (DirectStorage API), and support for Xbox cloud gaming.

Sarah Bond introducing the Auto HDR feature

Finally, Panay appeared again to announce one more thing – Windows 11 supports using Android apps! (Next door, MacOS: I was the first to support iOS apps)

He demonstrated using TikTok, the overseas version of Douyin, and mentioned that there are already products like Kindle Reader, War Games, and Uber available in the Microsoft Store, essentially providing a built-in Android emulator, giving users one more reason to “fish” while at work.

Android Apps on Windows 11

Overall, the Windows 11 showcased by Microsoft this time has many shadows of Windows 10X, which had been prepared for a long time but was cut. For example, compatibility with Android applications, the new Start menu, centered taskbar, etc.

Oh, and some minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11 are:

• 1GHz/64-bit processor (32-bit processors are completely abandoned)

• 4GB RAM, 64GB storage space (double the basic requirements of Windows 10)

• 9 inches/720p resolution (Microsoft still has no intention of returning to the mobile operating system, no Surface Phone)

Microsoft also announced the upgrade rules: users who have installed genuine systems of Windows 7, 8, 8.1, and 10 (note, XP users are abandoned this time) can upgrade to Windows 11 for free through the Update feature. The preview version can be downloaded next week, and the official upgrade period is from the beginning of this holiday to 2022, but the specific time has not been announced yet.

But to get users to obediently upgrade their systems from the increasingly stable Windows 10 to Windows 11, Microsoft still needs to work hard. After all, in the past few years, Microsoft’s attitude towards operating system upgrades has been somewhat perfunctory, leaving many users heartbroken.

The increasingly deteriorating reputation of Windows among users is entirely due to Microsoft’s own actions.

On one hand, users have had enough of Microsoft’s erratic “micro-innovations”.

In addition to the widgets mentioned earlier, which have been “revived” in Windows 11, the features in the Windows system that have been cut and added repeatedly have frustrated long-time users.

• In November 2017, Microsoft officially announced the launch of the Sets window management feature, hailed as the biggest UI change since Windows 95. Before users could even get used to it, Microsoft removed this feature in the next version six months later.

• In October 2018, Microsoft senior project manager Brandon LeBlanc revealed that the Sets feature was still under research but not ready for testing yet [7]. Another six months later, another Microsoft senior project manager Rich Turner poured cold water on users, stating that the Sets window management feature would no longer be available [8].

When launching new features, Microsoft is hesitant, but when it comes to cutting features that users love, they are ruthless. In recent years, Microsoft has abandoned functions such as Groove Music, People, Books, and the OneNote desktop version. In 2020, Cortana exited markets like China, the UK, and Canada, and four months later, Microsoft added the option to “uninstall” Cortana.

However, when it comes to the features that should be cut, Microsoft drags its feet. A typical example is the Control Panel; the method of “uninstalling software through the registry” is already outdated compared to the mobile system’s “delete icon to delete program” method. There have been reports since 2015 that Microsoft would cancel the Control Panel, but five years later, the Control Panel is still alive.

Microsoft’s old cow pulling the cart in the Windows system has led users to develop aesthetic fatigue towards the “micro-innovations” of the system. Even professional media have some PTSD; four hours before the Microsoft launch event, The Verge editor Tom Warren published a somewhat harsh article titled “Microsoft Needs to Prove: Windows 11 is Not Just Windows 10.5”, stating that compatibility with Android applications may be the biggest difference between Windows 10 and 11, but it is not enough, and there are many issues [9].

On the other hand, the frequent bugs in the Windows system and poor user experience are also a significant issue.

This point cannot be blamed on Microsoft’s current CEO and chairman Nadella. After Nadella took over as CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he announced a massive restructuring of Microsoft and casually laid off the entire operating system testing team.

Moreover, due to the limited effectiveness of automated testing systems and the declining willingness of Windows Insider users to provide feedback, Microsoft has been unable to eliminate bugs before the official version is released. As a result, formal users have become human test subjects for Microsoft.

The reason behind this may be: From the outside, it seems that Microsoft internally, top to bottom, is somewhat dismissive of the Windows business.

In July 2014, newly appointed Nadella mentioned Windows only briefly in a memo sent to Microsoft employees. Independent analyst Ben Thompson analyzed that memo and stated: “Nadella didn’t even mention Windows in the first 2000 words of the memo, indicating a significant shift in Microsoft’s strategy.” [10]

At that time, Windows contributed 25% of Microsoft’s total revenue.

Thompson’s words turned out to be prophetic. Microsoft’s business gradually shifted towards cloud services and Office, and the revenue contribution of Windows began to decline gradually. By the fourth quarter of 2015, the proportion of Windows business in Microsoft’s total revenue was only 10%, with revenue down 5% year-on-year. In contrast, the cloud computing department and Azure sales grew by 5% and 140%, respectively [11].

In 2018, a former employee of Microsoft who had worked there for 17 years, Tim Snead, wrote an article on Medium stating that the Windows business was no longer Microsoft’s core business [12].

By the second quarter of 2019, Microsoft’s cloud computing revenue surpassed Windows business for the first time, and the status of the operating system business declined again [13].

The revenue from Microsoft’s desktop operating system business has been declining, and the mobile operating system has also had little presence (we all know what Microsoft has done in the mobile operating system field).

At the Surface new product launch in 2019, Microsoft showcased a system suitable for tablets and computers – Windows 10X. However, two years later, the Windows 10X development project was confirmed to be canceled. In this era dominated by mobile scenarios, losing a mobile operating system is equivalent to losing a significant market – now, Microsoft has turned its attention to Android.

Five years later, Nadella once again took the stage for the Windows system, seemingly with the intention of promoting it. In Microsoft’s official blog, Panos Panay also stated that Windows 11 is “born for productivity, creativity, and usability” and encouraged the public to go buy PCs [14] – a detail is that during the online launch event, when demonstrating Windows 11’s related features, Microsoft used a combination of a HP laptop and a Dell monitor, rather than a Surface (is there some implication?).

Will Windows 11 make users stick to or return to Microsoft? The choice is now in the hands of the users.