Today, Android applications can be run on Windows in some cases, but full and official support is still missing. This is to change thanks to Project Latte, which will work on any computer and smartphone.
If you have a Samsung or Huaweia smartphone, you may have come across the possibility of using Android applications on Windows 10. Both manufacturers have their own solutions that increasingly integrate the smartphone with Windows.
In both cases, however, we are talking about a system that de facto consists in mirroring the smartphone screen. It’s mirroring, which is just a substitute for using the applications actually installed on your computer. We also have a few external programs that work similarly to the popular BlueStacks.
However, it is difficult to talk about full integration with the system, if only because of completely different device architectures, and thus, different instruction sets that must be performed by the processors. This is perfectly demonstrated by the example of new Apple computers with the M1 processor built in the ARM architecture, the same that can be found in smartphones. On computers with M1, we can directly install applications from iPad and iPhone.
A similar solution is to hit Windows 10. We will install Android applications in the system.
As reported Windows Central, such a feature is being developed within the inaccessible Project Latte. The solution is to work natively, unnoticed by the user. It will not be a mirror image of the smartphone screen, but the application will work independently on Windows.
The project promises to be extremely interesting, not only due to the very possibilities, but also the programming facilities. Some emulation layer has to be created that allows ARM applications to run on x86 architectures and Intel or AMD processors. So far, we do not know any details, or even the release date of the new feature. Windows Central predicts that Project Latte may be released to the public as part of the Windows 10 update in autumn 2021.
Microsoft he has a lot of work ahead of him, as does Apple.
I already have the opportunity to test iOS / iPadOS applications on MacBook Pro with M1 processor and unfortunately it does not look rosy. Apps often don’t allow you to change the window size and aspect ratio, and some video players don’t even have a working full-screen mode (cheers for the HBO Go app at this point).
However, the interaction with applications is the worst. Apple doubles and triples to use a logical interface, but it is not as intuitive as on a touch screen. For example, there is no right mouse button in applications. You want a context menu, hold the function longer with the left button. The same also applies to basic gestures, such as magnifying pinch to zoom), or moving items from one place to another.
All this makes the use of smartphone applications on a computer unpleasant. Even Apple, which takes care of both the hardware and software of its smartphones and computers, has not been able to come up with a meaningful way to interact. In the case of Windows, it will be even more difficult, though laptops on the side windows often have the advantage of a touch screen, which in this case changes everything.
Apple definitely needs two or three generations of its solution to run smoothly. I suspect that it will be similar in the case of Windows. Project Latte promises to be extremely interesting and future-proof.
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