Windows 8 will run Android apps

Microsoft have announced that Windows 8 will run Android apps, leading to the possibility that there will be more Android created apps for the new operating system (OS) and fewer apps written especially for the latest Windows OS.

The news, reported by eWeek, that Windows 8 will run Android apps relates to gadgets that are built around chips made by AMD. These apps will be developed so that they are optimized to run on both Android and Windows 8 systems. This means that Windows 8 devices should be able to run the 500,000 apps already created for Android enabled smartphones. The cross-functionality has come about due to a collaboration between AMD and software firm Bluestacks. Through this link-up, Wired notes, Bluestacks will add a special code which will enable apps to run across the different platforms and AMD have tweaked apps so that they appear equally striking on a large screen compared to the smaller smartphone screens. It will also be possible, using some variant of Apple's iCloud, to sync apps across multiple devices. Whilst this offers great scope for consumers of the new Windows 8 system, it is also a sign that, as Z-Net point out, Microsoft may be struggling to develop a sufficient range of apps for its new operating system.