Windows 11 is now in the hands of many Microsoft Insiders as we work towards release in 2022
At Mobile Mentor we have a firm belief that Windows 10 was the first Microsoft desktop OS to take a leaf out of the mobile OS world in its design and how it wants to be managed. Like we are now very accustomed to with iOS and Android a modern desktop OS needs to be updated regularly to remain fresh and secure. Perhaps most importantly, a modern OS wants to be managed from the cloud with device management platforms like Microsoft Intune vs. the stale three-year OS update cycle of old that IT begrudgingly rolled out only as needed.
Windows 11 appears to be building on this belief and doubling down with the announcement that Android apps would be made available to the Windows 11 OS and can be download directly from the Microsoft store. Yes, you read that right, Android apps will not only run natively on Windows 11 they will be surfaced directly in the Microsoft store.
To make this possible is the engineering reverse of what Apple is offering to get iOS apps to run on the new M1 ARM Mac’s. That is traditional apps that were developed for macOS now need to be translated via a service called Rosetta so they can run on the new version of macOS which is powered by and ARM architecture making it more of a mobile OS than a desktop OS.
In the case of Windows the translation is from Android developed ARM apps to run on a desktop OS. The outcome is however one in the same: convergence and the desire to be more like a mobile OS.
I also don’t believe it is a coincidence that the main video showcasing Windows 11 shows it running on a Surface Pro X, the device I have used day-in-day-out for the past year. By all accounts, it is a mobile OS at its core given it too is running on ARM just like the new M1 Macs are. Presumably, the translation to run Android apps that were built originally to run on ARM (phone/tablet) is easier than the former x86 Intel architecture.
Google and Microsoft to Control the Workplace
A few years ago, I made a bold prediction that Apple was, in fact, Microsoft’s best friend when they released the Office suite on iPad to have Apple help the adoption of 365. Late last year I made the prediction that Google was now Microsoft’s new best friend with the release of the Surface Duo and today I reiterate that prediction that Google is going to be helping Microsoft dominate the workplace with the addition of Android apps on Windows 11.
Once this integration of phone, (MyPhone etc.) and apps (Android via Microsoft store) is in place the choice of phone OS for the enterprise will become very clear and with it the choice of desktop (new age mobile) OS also.
So the big question: Will Google help Microsoft to get Windows 11 to be the fastest adopted OS ever? I truly believe Apple was one of the key pillars that made 365 the fastest uptake of any upgrade before it and expect the same from Google in 2022. Well played Microsoft… again.
Conclusion
So the big question: Will Google help Microsoft to get Windows 11 to be the fastest adopted OS ever? I truly believe Apple was one of the key pillars that made 365 the fastest uptake of any upgrade before it and expect the same from Google in 2022. Well played Microsoft… again.
