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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday August 06 2020, @11:08AM   Printer-friendly
from the cats-and-dogs-living-together dept.

Microsoft is making it possible to run Android apps in Windows 10:

Microsoft has made great progress with its Your Phone, gradually adding more and more capabilities so you can text, answer calls and browse photos stored on your phone from the comfort of your computer. But now things are about to get really interesting.

The company is increasing what it dubs the "seamless connection between PC and phone", adding the ability to run Android apps in Windows 10 via the Your Phone app. There is, of course, a bit of a catch.

The new capability is something that huge numbers of Android handset owners would excitedly embrace, and it comes about because of Microsoft's partnership with Samsung. The ability to run mobile apps within Windows 10 without the need for an emulator or complicated software is something of a dream for many people, but there is a danger that it is a luxury that might only be afforded to Samsung customers.

[...] The fact that this new integration was born from the relationship between Microsoft and Samsung means that it is hardly surprisingly to see it debut on the Galaxy Note 20. But it is, at this stage, impossible to tell whether such PC/phone integration will remain exclusive to "select Samsung devices" or if other companies -- and therefore more users -- will be able to take advantage of it.


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  • (Score: 2, Disagree) by barbara hudson on Thursday August 06 2020, @11:45AM (10 children)

    by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Thursday August 06 2020, @11:45AM (#1032212) Journal

    Why would you want to run a phone app on a laptop or desktop? For most people , their phone is now their desktop or laptop replacement, their primary, and increasingly their only, computer.

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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @12:07PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 06 2020, @12:07PM (#1032216)
    • (Score: 1) by petecox on Thursday August 06 2020, @01:24PM

      by petecox (3228) on Thursday August 06 2020, @01:24PM (#1032240)

      mobile-first is the trend. Google already supports Android apps on Chromebooks while Apple are promising similar on ARM Macs. Without a viable app platform of their own then there's Microsoft.

      DeX sounds neat but you need a spare keyboard, mouse and monitor to plugin into. Hitching your phone onto the laptop you already own is a reasonable compromise.

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by PiMuNu on Thursday August 06 2020, @03:14PM (1 child)

    by PiMuNu (3823) on Thursday August 06 2020, @03:14PM (#1032278)

    > Why would you want to run a phone app on a laptop or desktop?

    Why would you want to run a app on a phone or tablet? Terrible keyboard, horrible fat finger issues, teeny tiny screens. For many people, desktop is the only usable PC and tablets and phones are a terrible insult to humanity.

    • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Thursday August 06 2020, @05:03PM

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Thursday August 06 2020, @05:03PM (#1032333) Journal

      iPhone - text to speech integration at the IOS level. Makes Windows look like shit in comparison. And Linux screen readers are broken, even if you don't mind sounding like Stephen hawking. Festival sucks. Ekiga sucks. Adriane sucks.Ubuntu's screen reader is beyond sucky - it's a sick joke.

      iCloud texting and email - no advertisers snooping, as both emails and text pass through Apple, not an advertising company or a phone company.

      Phone calls. No headset or earphones required, not tied to where your laptop or desktop is.

      Convenient. My laptop won't fit in my pocket even if I blend it.

      Built in video conferencing - if I ever feel brain dead enough to feel the urge to FaceTime anyone, which hasn't happened yet and probably never will. But I might go senile.

      Most people can do between 75% and 100% of their computing on their phones - being able to run phone apps on a regular computer just emphasizes that regular computers aren't most peoples primary computing device any more. And for those that want a bigger screen, there's always tablets (and attachable keyboards and mice).

      --
      SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
  • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Thursday August 06 2020, @05:15PM (1 child)

    by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Thursday August 06 2020, @05:15PM (#1032342)

    Why would you want to run a phone app on a laptop or desktop?

    favorite game on a larger screen.

    their phone is now their desktop or laptop replacement, their primary, and increasingly their only, computer.

    and MS wants to increase the chances of people also having a Windows 10 PC/laptop at home whether they use it or not.

    --
    "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
    • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Thursday August 06 2020, @06:23PM

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Thursday August 06 2020, @06:23PM (#1032384) Journal
      Most people are not serious gamers. They want something they can pull out of a pocket or purse and play during idle time. Anyone doing serious gaming is already doing it on a pc.

      They're not playing shitty Android games (is there any other type)?

      --
      SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
  • (Score: 2) by toddestan on Friday August 07 2020, @03:19AM

    by toddestan (4982) on Friday August 07 2020, @03:19AM (#1032681)

    I have to agree. Most mobile apps are pretty dumbed-down compared to their desktop equivalents. If that's all I got with me, then that's what I use, but when I have my desktop or laptop handy the phone sits unless I actually have to make or take a phone call.

    I guess some reasons might be:
    * Testing and debugging of mobile applications if you're a developer
    * Playing mobile games with a big screen/keyboard, on a PC with a CPU and GPU that's far better than anything you can get in a phone, assuming of course the emulation layer doesn't eat up all your gains
    * Accessing shitty mobile-only platforms like Kik without having to use a phone/tablet

  • (Score: 2) by mobydisk on Friday August 07 2020, @05:11PM (1 child)

    by mobydisk (5472) on Friday August 07 2020, @05:11PM (#1033000)

    1) Microsoft is afraid that people will start making phone apps but no desktop versions. So if Windows can run Android apps then they mitigate potential obsolescence.
    2) It may encourage more use of Windows as a development platform for mobile apps. (yes, they already have emulators for development purposes, but this seems more seamless and possibly more efficient -- I'm not entirely sure though)

    • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Saturday August 08 2020, @01:10AM

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Saturday August 08 2020, @01:10AM (#1033267) Journal
      Looks like they should not have thrown in the towel on making smartphones after all. Same as, after abandoning Flight Simulator, took them long enough to realize that was a mistake.
      --
      SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
  • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Friday August 07 2020, @10:38PM

    by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Friday August 07 2020, @10:38PM (#1033226)

    Why would you want to run a phone app on a laptop or desktop?

    Windows 10 strikes me as a phone O/S on a desktop, so it makes sense for those that like it.