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LaTTe by Microsoft

Contributed By - Aastha Khare

Progress on Scrapping the Android Emulator - LaTTe by Microsoft

The dissatisfaction from the lack of complete functionality in mobile phones and laptops has been plaguing the youth in this new era. Having to open web WhatsApp each time you need to open a link or somehow transfer photos to your PC for urgent use can all be very perplexing. To solve this, Microsoft is developing tools that would enable app developers to port their Android applications to Windows 10 with little to no coding modifications by packaging them as an MSIX(a packaging format for Windows apps) and letting developers submit their applications to the Microsoft Store. The project, code-named "Latte," will reportedly be revealed as early as next year, according to persons familiar with the situation.

This is not the first time the disparities between Android and Windows have been attempted to be solved.

The firm previously experimented with bringing Android apps to Windows 10 through a project called Astoria that never finished. Project Latte seeks to produce a comparable good and is likely driven by technology resembling the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL.) However, for Android apps to function, Microsoft must supply its own Android subsystem.

Given that Google only permits the installation of Play Services on Chrome OS and native Android devices, it is doubtful that Project Latte will support Play Services. This means that before an app can be submitted for Windows 10, it must be updated to eliminate any dependence on Play Services APIs.

It's important to note that apps that depend on any API(Application Program Interface) made available by Play Services must be modified to work correctly on Windows 10. Apps without Play Services support could potentially fare badly or not at all (like no push notifications). Unless Microsoft introduces some compatibility layer or emulation, apps will likely have to be recompiled for x86.

Currently, Windows users can use the Your Phone software to run Android apps on their computers. The service is presently only available to Samsung customers and only mirrors your phone's screen rather than offering a native fix. Although it's a great solution, giving users native options without the necessity for a particular smartphone might significantly enhance the user experience and possibly help the Windows platform. Furthermore, it would put Windows in direct competition with Google's Chrome OS, which allows both Linux and Android applications.

At the moment, Microsoft supports several different app frameworks, namely PWA(Progressive Web App; a website that looks and behaves like a mobile app), UWP(Universal Windows Platform; common app platform on every Windows device), Win32, and Linux. If Android apps are added, Windows could very well evolve into a truly universal operating system. According to Windows Central, Microsoft intends to launch Project Latte early next year and might include it in the autumn 2021 edition of Windows 10.

For further information and in-depth knowledge, do refer to the following sources for this article:-

https://www.xda-developers.com/windows-10-android-apps-project-latte/

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/project-latte/3453dad1-1c1c-41fb-ab3e-c5f750b0b093

https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10-project-latte-android-apps