Situatie
Like most people, I started with BlueStacks, but quickly grew sick of it (like most people). Its UI is tacky, and riddled with ads and sponsored content. The second most popular option is Genymotion, which emulates an entire mobile phone, much like the emulator that ships with Android Studio. However, booting up a virtual phone just to launch a phone is hugely annoying and a waste of time. You can’t even run games on it properly.
The perfect way to run Android apps should be seamless. By ‘seamless,’ I mean that you should be able to launch it directly from the taskbar, and it should open in its own window, just like any other Windows app. Also, I should be able to install apps directly from the Play Store with a single click, just like I can from the Microsoft Store. That’s exactly what Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) does.
If you’ve heard of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), it is the same concept at work here. Like WSL, Windows Subsystem for Android is a compatibility layer that allows you to run Android apps ‘natively.’
How to set up WSA on Windows
Before proceeding with WSA, make sure virtualization is enabled on your computer. Check Hyper-V and Virtual Machine Platform features in the Windows Features list.
Start by downloading the Windows Subsystem for Android build from GitHub. The build that reads ‘MindtheGapps’ has both the Play Store and the Amazon Store. If you just want the Play Store, download the build with the flag ‘Removed Amazon’.
Microsoft officially dropped support for WSA in 2025, but the community is still keeping it alive with modified builds that you can find on GitHub. I’m using one such build on my computer. Since Microsoft is no longer developing this product, you might run into some issues when setting up WSA on newer versions of Windows. I tested it on 3 different machines, and it worked fine on 2. I had to download an older version to make it work on the third Windows computer. It was build 2210, to be specific.
Extract the archive and open the extracted folder. Scroll through the files and look for ‘install.ps1.’ Right-click on this file and click ‘Run with PowerShell’.
How to install apps with WSA
The System tab has a shortcut for launching the file manager, so that’s where you’ll find your documents, downloads, and other files. The Apps section houses all your downloaded apps, as well as the Play Store and the Amazon Appstore. You can tweak performance settings in the Advanced Settings tab. You can also enable Developer Options here.
To install a new app, go to the Apps section and click the three dots next to ‘Play Store’ and click ‘Open.’ You’ll be asked to sign in with your Google account. Once you do that, the Play Store should load normally, and you should be able to install and update apps with one tap.
You can also sideload apps using APK files, but the method is more involved. You’ll need to enable Developer Options under Advanced Settings. As soon as you toggle it on, you should see an IP address where you can connect using ADB. Then simply use ADB in a shell to connect to that IP address and push the APK file.
Running installed apps is simple. You can either launch it directly from the Play Store page or find it in the Apps section of the WSA interface. They’ll also be available in the Start menu and the Windows app list. Click the three dots and wait for the app to launch in a separate window with its own icon on the taskbar. You can then close or minimize or maximize the app. Or, you can pin it to the taskbar by right-clicking on the icon.
It works just like any regular Windows app. You can use your mouse to point, click, and drag and use your keyboard for input control.
To remove an app, click the three dots next to its name and click ‘App Settings.’ It should open another window where you can change the app’s permissions, manage its storage, or remove it entirely.
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