With Windows 11, Microsoft is opening its platform to integrate with third-party apps and services natively. For example, the company is making it possible to run Android apps on PCs with Windows 11. The Redmond-based company is also open to Apple bringing its apps and services to Windows.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella says that the company would “love to” ensure the iPhone works as well with a Windows PC as Android phones currently do. Nadella also says that Apple is also welcome to bring iMessage and its other services to Windows 11.
When asked why one should choose Windows over macOS, Nadella says Windows “gives you the most choice of systems to apps” and more to consumers.
Nadella also highlights how Microsoft’s platform rules for Windows are different from macOS. This is the reason why Microsoft allows multiple app stores for Windows. This is also why Microsoft allows Slack or Zoom to natively integrate with Windows despite having Teams itself.
As a part of Windows 11, Microsoft is opening up the Windows Store to Android apps, though it won’t actually host the apps.
The company is partnering with Amazon’s App Store for this. So, users can open the Windows Store and search for an Android app they want. When they click on the search result, they will be redirected to the Amazon App Store for installing it. The store will also host almost all kinds of Windows apps going forward, including Progressive Web Apps.
A brief submitted by Epic Games in the Apple v. Epic Games trial revealed that Apple’s Eddy Cue wanted to bring iMessage to Android in 2013 itself. However, internal Apple documents have never revealed if Apple ever considered bringing iMessage to Windows PCs or not.
