Amazon To Release Android AAB Support For Windows 11 Soon

Amazon has announced that the app store will support the new Android app bundles in time for the start of Windows 11. Google will change the app format as early as August, but there is still time for developers.

At the moment, many changes are coming together. Is Microsoft with the upcoming Windows 11 Android apps with Windows Subsystem for Android and Windows Subsystem for Linux can run. These Android apps will be available through the Microsoft Store, but the actual download process will be done through the Amazon Appstore. A big change is also pending for the Android apps themselves: At the end of June, Google confirmed that app developers would be obliged to use the new standard Android App Bundle (AAB) instead of the Android Application Package (APK). According to Google, this policy applies to new apps on the Play Store and developers will need to abandon the current APK file format for new apps.

Windows 11 integrates the Amazon Appstore

For the usability of Android apps with Windows 11, Microsoft is integrating the Amazon Appstore into the Microsoft Store to offer a wide range of Android apps. Now it is clear: Amazon is getting ready for the new Google format, Microsoft should have already incorporated the support. A short FAQ has now been published in one of the Amazon blogs, which explains more about the change from APK to AAB. It also says that the Amazon Appstore promises to offer Android AAB support in good time before the release of Windows 11.

“The Amazon Appstore is actively working to support the new format, which offers benefits such as smaller app-size downloads for customers and on-demand downloads for features and assets,” said the company. However, Amazon will initially not introduce any compulsory transmission of the new format. Technically speaking, Android APK apps will not be discontinued either, as Android will continue to support the existing format. So there is probably little pressure for the changes.