Amazon Appstore on Windows 11 is Now Generally Available

Amazon announced that its Appstore for Android in Windows 11 has exited preview and is now generally available for developers. That was a long preview: the first preview release arrived in February 2022, and only in the United States, 18 months ago.

“Expanding your Android app’s reach to hundreds of millions of new users just got easier—Amazon Appstore on Windows 11 is now generally available for all developers,” the Amazon Appstore Developer team writes in its announcement post. “In partnership with Microsoft, we utilized the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) to provide a first-class experience for running Android apps available in the Amazon Appstore. Popular Android apps and games—including Audible, TikTok, Lords Mobile, Hungry Shark Evolution, and Epic Seven—are now reaching new users on PCs without having to create a separate desktop version for Windows.”

Among the curious things about the Amazon Appstore is that Microsoft claimed in October 2022 there were over 50,000 apps in the store, but every time I checked it, most recently when I wrote the Android Apps chapter for the Windows 11 Field Guide, there were only dozens of apps. I can’t verify that there are 50,000 apps there now, but looking at the full apps list, it’s clear there are many, many apps there. Granted, most of them are crap. But progress was made.

Amazon has some good documentation for those developers who wish to bring their Android apps to Windows 11 without having to create a separate native app. This includes:

• Windows Compatibility Guide
• Add keyboard and mouse support
• Window management and resizing
• Troubleshooting Index for Windows
• Appstore on Windows FAQs
• Target Windows Devices

Android developers can also learn more about the AppStore for Android on the Amazon Developer website.

The Amazon Appstore is available in Andorra, Australia, Austria, Canada, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Belgium, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Heard and McDonald Islands, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, San Marino, Spain, Switzerland, Tokelau, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vatican City. It’s free and can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store in Windows 11.