Windows Subsystem for Android

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Although this product has been released, it remains under active development - information may change frequently and could be outdated or irrelevant.

This article is about the emulation of a console or deprecated PC platform on Windows, macOS (OS X), or Linux.

Windows Subsystem for Android™

Developers
	Microsoft
Release dates
Windows	October 21, 2021

Key points

Runs using Hyper-V which is Type 1 Virtual machine and offers near bare-metal CPU performance compared to Virtualbox solution.

Offer much better CPU compatibility by using latest compatibility layer called "Intel Bridge".

Based on Android 11 (API level 30) source code.

Highest image and audio quality possible compared to Virtualbox solution.

WSA is in Insider testing.

No Vulkan at the moment.

Closed-source.

Apps outside of Amazon Appstore have to be sideloaded.

Only runs on Windows 11.

No keymapper, must rely on game support to properly controlling games.

Having several GPU rendering issues.

Heavy RAM consumption and very slow booting speed.

Incompatible with Google Play login and impossible to login into games that use Google Play Services.

General information

Introducing Android™ Apps on Windows 11 to Windows Insiders

Windows Subsystem for Android™ support page

Windows Subsystem for Android™ developer documentation

Store link

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Microsoft Store		Download the emulator on Microsoft Store will also includes Amazon Appstore

Essential improvements

Application Compatibility Tracker

Application Compatibility can be tracked at Github

Easy app sideload

EasySideload-WSA makes sideload APKs easier for WSA.

Easy file copy to WSA

EasyPush-WSA makes file copy easier for WSA, files goes to downloads folder on Android when done.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows

Video

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		May cause issues with certain older games that aren't adapting latest Android codes.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD		Emulator do run at 4K but not all games support that.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Depending on games
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Depending on games
Vertical sync (Vsync)		Android always forced on VSync
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Although the emulator do support 120 FPS, game must have 120 or unlocked FPS option to run at 120 FPS or more.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

Keyboard and mouse, touch	State	Notes
Remapping		Only support for games that have proper input remap
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus		Although users can use mouse tointeract with game menu, hover tooltips and contexts are rarely implemented for games.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Touchscreen optimised		Built-in touch support
Controller
Controller support

Controller types

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English

Other information

API

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	11	11
Processor (CPU)	Same as Windows 11	Same as Windows 11
System memory (RAM)	8GB	16GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	SSD	SSD
Video card (GPU)	Same as Windows 11	Same as Windows 11

Cannot use dedicated GPU if having 2 GPUs on laptops.