How android apps work

This is how Android apps will work in Windows 11

Source: Nick Sutrich / Android Central

Windows is a platform we don’t talk a whole lot about on Android Central, but it’s freshly relevant to us again thanks to Windows 11. That’s because, thanks to a technology partnership between Intel and Microsoft, PC users will be able to run Android apps in Windows 11. Of course, running Android apps in Windows was possible via third-party software in the past — Bluestacks is the most popular resource here and can be used on Windows 10 — but having the functionality built right into the operating system is a more preferable route.

But how does it work, why would you want to use it, and what are the limitations of this new technology? We aim to answer those questions and more right here.

How do Android apps work on Windows 11?

Source: Nick Sutrich / Android Central

Existing ways of getting Android apps and games to run in Windows, like Bluestacks, work on an emulation level similar to console emulators. Emulators like Bluestacks run a virtual version of an Android device on your computer, represented through an application window within Windows. This virtual Android device works identically to how a physical device would — much in the same way that virtual servers in the cloud operate — so applications and games think that device is what you’re actually using.

Microsoft is building Android functionality into Windows in a way that appears more like a native solution than something like Bluestacks, but this solution is more akin to how Apple’s Rosetta platform functions on its computers. When Apple introduced the Apple M1 chip in its latest Macs near the end of 2020, it debuted Rosetta 2 alongside it.

Microsoft is building Android functionality into Windows so that appears more like a native solution than an emulator like Bluestacks.

To oversimplify things, Rosetta works as a translator for the Apple M1 chip so that it can understand x86 instructions — that’s the architecture that Intel-powered Macs use and the same that your PC uses, no matter if you run an Intel or AMD chip.

Similarly, Microsoft’s underlying technology in Windows 11, powered in part by Intel Bridge technology, also functions as a translator for ARM instructions — that’s the architecture that Android is built upon and what chips from companies like Qualcomm and Mediatek are built on.

Android apps have to be translated to run on an Intel or AMD processor, but they run all the same.

If you think about watching a video in a foreign language that’s being translated live by a person, there’s always a slight lag time in the translation. So naturally, the translator has to listen to the language being spoken, process and understand that language, and then present it to you in a language and structure that makes sense. Similarly, the translation required for an Android app to run inside of Windows 11 means an Android app in Windows will never run as efficiently as a Windows app built for Windows.

Just as x86 apps technically run more slowly on an Apple M1-based Mac than native code would, the performance of the M1 chip ensures you won’t ever notice. Similarly, the performance gulf between a PC processor and a mobile one in an Android phone means apps will almost certainly run better on your Windows 11-based PC, even if they technically run slower than native code would.

While Intel Bridge is a technology built into Intel processors, Windows Central’s Daniel Rubino spoke with Microsoft and was assured that all Windows 11-based PCs — no matter if your PC runs on an AMD or an Intel chipset — will run Android apps. Whether or not Intel-based PCs will see a performance boost isn’t yet known, but there is a distinct possibility.

What will Android apps look like on Windows 11?

Source: Microsoft

From the information we have so far, Android apps will look and behave similarly to a normal Windows app. Android apps can be found on the Start Menu and can be pinned to the taskbar. Android apps that are running will have an icon placed in the taskbar in the same way a normal Windows app would run.

Android apps will run in a resizable window, exactly how you would expect an app to appear within the Windows operating system. These windows can be moved around, resized, minimized, and even snapped using the new enhanced snap functionality within Windows 11. You can see the TikTok Android app snapped to the right third of the screen in the image above.

How can I get Android apps on Windows 11?

Source: Microsoft

When Windows 11 launches this Fall, Android apps can be obtained from the Microsoft Store found in the Start Menu. Microsoft is using Windows 11 to launch its new open app store, which allows developers to submit apps built in several different ways. That means apps don’t just have to be built around the UWP standard, but can now be Win32 or even APK — that’s the extension used for Android applications.

You’ll find Android apps listed in the Microsoft Store, but the files are stored on Amazon’s servers.

What’s more, Microsoft is now allowing developers to host their own apps or to use other content delivery platforms for updates and other downloads. Microsoft will be officially providing Android apps via the Amazon Appstore as part of this new system. Amazon has been running its alternative Android app store for the better part of the decade now and offers a compelling alternative to the Google Play Store for any Android device.

The process for obtaining apps is only slightly complicated at first, but Microsoft says it’ll be as transparent as a Windows-based app once you get it set up. For example, when you first try to install an Android app from the Microsoft Store in Windows 11, you’ll be directed to download the Amazon Appstore and sign in with your Amazon account.

From there, any Android app downloaded from the Microsoft Store will appear to come straight from that Microsoft Store, but the transaction will actually take place through the Amazon Appstore behind the scenes. Similarly, apps downloaded in this manner will use the existing Amazon Appstore ecosystem to process in-app transactions.

APKs can be directly sideloaded onto Windows, making Android apps more like EXEs.

While Microsoft is partnering with Amazon to deliver Android apps initially, the goal isn’t to provide exclusivity to Amazon. Instead, Microsoft said it would love to have additional Android app stores and ecosystems in Windows 11, such as Google Play and the Samsung Galaxy Store.

Additionally, Microsoft Engineer Miguel de Icaza said that APKs could be sideloaded directly onto Windows, meaning the Amazon Appstore won’t be an actual restriction on day 1, just the only official store to get Android apps and games from. This would, effectively, be no different from running or installing an EXE or MSI on an existing Windows 10 installation and significantly opening up the concept of Android apps within Windows 11.

Will Android apps have limitations on Windows 11?

Source: Nick Sutrich / Android Central

It’s not yet known how Android apps running on a Windows 11 PC will handle notifications, data syncing, or other crucial functions that Android users have come to love and expect from the Google Play ecosystem. Google Mobile Services, or more commonly known as GMS, is the star of the show behind the scenes. Android might be an open-source OS, but the glue that ties everything together is GMS, and Android wouldn’t feel the same without it.

Android apps from the Amazon Appstore don’t use Google services.

Android apps on the Amazon Appstore are designed to run on Android-powered devices, like the best Amazon Fire tablets, so it’s not likely you’ll find anything too out of place when running anything available from the Microsoft Store. Windows has had a modern notification system since Windows 10 debuted, and Windows 11 is designed to make that experience even better.

Some apps rely on syncing data between devices to deliver an optimal experience. Many Android apps use GMS to do this, enabling things like consistent notifications between Android-powered devices. Apps that rely on GMS to do this likely won’t function the same within Windows, meaning you could see duplicate notifications at times.

It’s also possible that apps and games that sync saved data with Google Drive (or via GMS in any way) may not be able to bring those saves over to your Windows 11-powered PC. Cloud-based services shouldn’t have this problem. It’s understood that Android apps should be able to access your Windows file system to read data, so it’s possible that some developers may use this as a workaround.

While the Amazon Appstore has thousands of apps available — including popular mobile-focused social networks like Instagram and TikTok — it’s also been known for having out-of-date apps. We’re not expecting this situation to change much initially, but it could see an improvement as more Windows users download Android apps.

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How to Make Android Apps for Beginners

Are you a new developer learning Java? Read ahead to learn how to make your first Java Android app as a beginner.

Creating a mobile application is a big step towards turning your idea into reality. But the primary concern among new developers is how to make an Android app with all the resources at their disposal. If you’re a beginner, you won’t know the purpose of many of them. So it’s important to begin from the basics and know the starting point.

This guide will walk you through the basics of building an Android app and answer your questions about how to make an app with Java. We’ll be creating a Java Android app using Android Studio as our Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

How to Make an App in Java

To start making a Java Android app, you have to start with an IDE. There are several options for IDEs, but two of the most efficient ones are Eclipse and Android Studio.

For this guide, we are using Android Studio 3.1.3. Android Studio is a complete IDE that offers tools to make app development very simple and easy. It has an advanced code editor and several app design templates. There are tools for development, debugging, and testing as well.

You can learn how to install Android Studio in our post on how to get started making Android apps.

Run Android Studio

Let’s begin with a new project on Android Studio. It gives the option to Create New Project on the welcome screen. You can also continue with your current project if you have one.

Once you choose to create a new project, the next step is choosing your activity. You will be provided with several options, but we’ll begin with an Empty Activity for this tutorial on creating a Java app.

The next step is configuring your activity by giving it a name. Let’s name our app MyBasicApp. From the drop-down menu, choose the Java language. Click Finish.

Now we are ready to start creating our app!

Start Working on Java App Development

At this stage, Android Studio has created two folders that are visible in the left corner. They are:

• A folder for MyBasicApp—this folder carries the code for your app.
• A folder of Gradle scripts—Gradle is a free and open-source tool used by Android Studio to turn the code into an .apk file for your app.

Since we selected the Basic Activity template, Android Studio has created some preset files for our project. You can expand the folders to view them.

Clicking on the app folder will give a drop-down menu with three to four subfolders: manifests, Java, Java (generated), and res. Expanding each one of them will open more folders. Each folder stores a separate component of your project.

In the MyBasicApp folder, go to the Java folder and click on com.example.mybasicapp. This folder contains the source code of your Java Android app.

Now, click the res folder and open the layout folder. It contains a file activity_main.xml. It is the layout of your app. Click to open it.

Now your project view has opened the source code and the layout in two separate tabs. It looks like this:

The .xml file gives you a layout where you can drag and drop elements to build your file. You can also change it to code editor by clicking on text at the bottom left corner. Now you can edit the source code instead of adding elements to the design layout.

In the layout editor, the left pane contains all the elements that you can add to the layout. If you see the component tree, there is just one element—Hello World—in our app.

The elements we add to our layout will be shown in the component tree and how they are added in relation to each other.

Here, ConstraintLayout is the root of the view hierarchy (it is the dimensions of the page on which components will be added).

The ConstraintLayout has a TextView called Hello World.

The TextView is the component that came with a blank activity. The layout at this stage looks like this:

The XML code for this layout will be this:

It has one root hierarchy with just one text element.

Note that this is the basic layout that Android Studio generated itself. We haven’t made any modifications to it yet.

Modify the App Layout

The next step is to modify the layout by adding components of your choice and associating activities with them.

Here you can either start with this ConstraintLayout with TextView in it, or you can clear the ConstraintLayout and begin with a clean slate in terms of layout.

Let’s say you want to change the text on the TextView . You can go to the code editor and view the properties of the TextView element. The code will be like this:

Change the string to whatever you like. For now, I’ll stick with Hello World.

If you have set up an Android Virtual Device (AVD) in the Studio, the app will run on the simulator like this:

This is the basic TextView with Hello World! as its string. You can modify the attributes of this text component. Edit the text, font, size, and color to give a new look to TextView .

The XML code for these changes would be this:

We have changed the font to Sans Serif and made the color darker gray . The font size is also increased to 30sp , and the text is made bold.

The changes as visible in the AVD:

Add Constraints

Up to now, we’ve just modified the stock Empty Activity set up by Android Studio. Now, we will see how to add constraints and views to the user interface.

In the Layout Editor, there is a palette on the right side from where you can choose the constraints you’d like to add.

You can add more than one view and constrain them to top, bottom, left, or right. These views have attributes that can be edited to modify them.

To better understand what an attribute is, select textView in the Component Tree and look at the Constraint Widget in the Attributes panel.

The square represents the constraints.

The rectangular box and each of the four dots represent a constraint. You can increase or decrease their value based on the point where you want to place the view.

Here is how it looks in the Layout Editor.

You can drag and drop the Views from the left palette to add them in the ConstraintLayout . After adding them, you can apply constraints to determine their position. Each new button added to the layout is given a unique identity.

Here is how your layout will look after adding the constraints to the views:

Here is the XML code for the finished layout:

Assigning Activity to the Button

The layout design is the meat of your app. You have added a Button , but it doesn’t do anything when pressed. To make it interactive and responsive to users’ actions, we have to assign activity to it.

Let’s say this is the last step on your app, and upon clicking Next you want people to see the message Finish. Here’s how to do it.

The Next button has an id called @+id/next . Since no other element is using this id, we can use it to find the button and add it to the Java code so that the activity doesn’t get associated with another button.

The id for a view helps you identify it as each id differs from other viewers’ id. With the findViewByID() function, next can be found through its id, R.id.next .

Here is the final code that will display the finish message:

Run the app to see how the Button works.

Conclusion

This guide covered everything from setting up the Android Studio to coding and testing a Button . It’s not hard to get started coding an app—Java mobile app development has become easier since a lot of elements are drag and drop.

Android App Templates and UI Kits From CodeCanyon

You may have noticed that our app looks very plain and simple. That’s because we’re using the default theme, without applying any styles to our views. CodeCanyon is full of Android UI kits that offer beautiful, hand-crafted styles you can apply to your views.

The kits generally also have several custom views and layouts. You can refer to the following articles to learn more about them:

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