What if I told you that even Windows apps can be made to work fine on Android device or tab? Do you remember BlueStacks – a Windows emulator designed to enable Android applications to run on Windows PCs and Macintosh computers. And the process continues, Windows applications will soon be able to run on Android devices with the aid of codeweavers’ CrossOver and Wine.
Different software programs are designed for different operating systems, and most won’t work on systems that they weren’t designed for. Windows programs, for example, won’t run in Linux or Android because they contain instructions that the system can’t understand until they’re translated by the Windows environment. Linux and Android programs, likewise, won’t run under the Windows operating system because Windows is unable to interpret all of their instructions.
Wine has shown a lite version for Android which was first shown off some years back, and work has been going on since then. It is no big deal top you that you can run Android apps on Windows, and soon the reverse will be true also.
What is codeweavers’ CrossOver and Wine?
CrossOver and Wine (recursive acronym for Wine Is Not an Emulator) are free and open source compatibility layer software applications that aim to allow applications designed for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems (Mac or Linux OS). They also provides a software library, against which developers can compile Windows applications to help port them to Unix-like systems.
Running Windows applications on Android
However, these open source compatibility layer software applications have their limitations. They will only work on Android x86—Android systems with Intel or AMD processors, also there might be issues with Windows applications not working well with Android’s touchscreen and virtual keyboard. Typical Android systems, with ARM processors, won’t work. That’s because all the Windows binaries out there in the wild are x86 or x64 applications. The app is still in testing mode and the company plans to launch it before the end of 2015.
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