Microsoft plans to launch a public preview of its Android apps for Windows 11 next month, along with taskbar improvements and redesigned Notepad and Media Player apps. Windows chief Panos Panay outlined the upcoming Windows 11 changes in a blog post today, and they appear to be part of Windows 11’s first big update.
Taskbar improvements include mute and unmute functionality and possibly the ability to show a clock on secondary monitors. Both were missing when Windows 11 launched, but Microsoft is still working on improving the taskbar to bring back missing features like drag-and-drop.
The upcoming Windows 11 next month will also include the weather widget returning to the taskbar, something Microsoft started testing last month. Microsoft is also revamping its Notepad and Media Player apps, and both include dark modes and design changes that more closely match Windows 11.
The big new thing, however, will be Android apps on Windows 11. Panay says this will be a “public preview”, indicating the feature will still be in beta when it becomes widely available next month. Microsoft started testing Android apps on Windows 11 with testers in October, and the feature lets you install a limited number of apps from Amazon’s Appstore. There are a variety of workarounds to get Google Play Store working on Windows 11, but Microsoft does not officially support it.
Panay also shared a variety of statistics on how important Windows has been over the past two years. Windows 10 and Windows 11 now run on 1.4 billion devices each month, and the PC market has seen strong growth throughout the pandemic.
“As we reflect on what is driving this structural shift in PC demand and use, we see three persistent trends: the rise of hybrid working and learning, changes in entertainment habits, and distribution models, and changing consumer habits for day-to-day tasks,” says Panay.
Microsoft saw a 6x increase in the number of people using apps like Cisco WebEx, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. “Since the start of the pandemic, 70% more people have streamed content on Hulu, Netflix and YouTube on Windows and monthly game minutes have increased by more than 35%,” reveals Panay. “As a team, we feel immense gratitude and pride in delivering a product that is increasingly part of people’s daily lives, and we know we’re not done.”
