Project Latte: Microsoft is working on a solution to bring Android apps to Windows

Windows 10 users may soon be able to use Android apps on their devices. The functionality is said to be part of a new project ‘Latte’, which could build upon Microsoft’s similar and shelved project codenamed Astoria.

What is Project Latte?

The project is aimed to allow the Windows operating system to run Google’s Android application. According to Windows Central, Microsoft’s Project Latte will run on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). It will soon get support for GUI Linux apps and GPU apps, which are likely to allow better performance of Android apps on Windows 10 using WSL.

The website points out that Project Latte may not have support for Google Play Services as Google does not support Play Services on devices running any software other than Android or Chrome OS. This means developers will have to update apps that need Play Services APIs before submitting for Windows 10.

Android on Windows

It is worth noting Windows already allows some Android apps through Your Phone. Available to select Galaxy devices, Your Phone application allows users to link their mobile experience to Windows. Once linked, the application will allow users to see their notifications, send and receive text messages, make phone calls, and see up to 2,000 of the recent photos on their desktop. Another highlight of Your Phone app is that you can mirror the phone’s display on your phone.

Shelved Project Astoria

As said earlier, Microsoft had planned to bring the experience of the Android app through a Project Astoria. Unveiled in April 2015, the company said it would offer new SDKs which will allow developers use an existing code base to integrate with the Universal Windows Platform, and then distribute their app through Microsoft’s app store. It was also rolled out to some users through a developer preview. One year later, Microsoft said it had stopped developing the Windows Bridge for Android.