Home windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), which has been round since 2022, will lastly be capable of entry Home windows 11 folders like Paperwork and Footage in an upcoming replace.

The idea behind WSA is that you could run Android apps in Home windows natively however, in follow, it’s quite counterintuitive because of the truth that you’ll be able to’t simply obtain image or video recordsdata from the PC to an Android social media app, or vice versa. However now, because of a brand new replace coming first to the Home windows Insider preview program, earlier than rolling out to all customers in a future Home windows 11 replace, WSA will be capable of entry Paperwork and Footage by way of file sharing with the OS.

File Sharing, in accordance with Liliputing, will probably be enabled by default as soon as the replace drops, however you’ll be able to flip it off through the WSA Settings app. Entry to these folders is restricted, as apps might want to request permission earlier than accessing folders for safety causes. 

There’s additionally the truth that the characteristic doesn’t have full entry to each folder in your PC, solely those tied to a person profile like Paperwork, Footage, Movies, and Downloads. Meaning the brand new File Sharing characteristic for WSA doesn’t have entry to those recordsdata:

• Home windows system folders like Program Recordsdata
• Exterior drives
• Different customers’ folders
• Hidden recordsdata or folders
• Executable recordsdata (like .exe recordsdata)

Why use Home windows 11 Subsystem for Android? 

Earlier than Home windows 11 Subsystem for Android, there was Home windows Subsystem for Linux, which grew to become publicly accessible in November 2022. In accordance with Microsoft, this allowed for builders to make use of “their favourite laptop computer for programming to run a GNU/Linux atmosphere with out the overheads of a standard digital machine or dualboot setup.”

However whereas it is smart for there to be a subsystem for one laptop working system to run on a special one, working Android on PC appears a bit pointless. Why would a person wish to run an Android app on their Home windows PC, once they can merely use the extra fleshed-out desktop model as an alternative?

File sharing will most likely be the one purpose for normal customers to truly make use of WSA, as with the ability to share image and video recordsdata between cellphone and PC is an extremely helpful characteristic. In any other case, there isn’t an actual goal for anybody however builders to want this program.

Perhaps extra updates like File Sharing will persuade me in any other case however for now, WSA seems like a characteristic with solely a slim focus — for devs to check out Android apps in Home windows with out having to make use of an emulator.