Amazon Appstore on Windows gets mixed reception

Amazon recently brought its AppStore to Windows 11, allowing Windows users to access and run Android apps from their desktop. The feature is still in preview, but it was recently updated with support for other apps.

The store is available in preview through the dev channel, but it’s not clear if many people are using it. In a recent poll, less than five percent of the participants said they use the Amazon AppStore frequently, while just over a quarter said they’ve used it at least once. 

The rest don’t use it at all or are running Windows 11 in the fast or slow mode. The results show that there’s some interest in using this feature, but not much interest in using it frequently. 

Contributing factors 

Although the Amazon AppStore does offer a variety of incentives for Android users, some users are unable to download apps from the store because they are outside of the United States. 

In addition, having a smartphone that meets or exceeds the minimum requirements is also imperative.

The Amazon Appstore has been on Windows 11 for a while now, but it just picked up support for Windows 11 this week. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gotten the greatest reception from our readers.

The Amazon Appstore is lacking in major apps and games compared to the Microsoft Store, and with the former also not being available in all regions, it seems that as of right now, there’s no reason to use it over the Microsoft Store.

After that, there was a mixed bag of reasons why people choose to not install or use the Amazon Appstore for Windows 11, but it mostly came down to not being interested in it.

For some people, it was because they had no reason to do so; for others, disappointing past experiences with Windows Store and Microsoft Store prevented them from giving Amazon AppStore a try.

Of those who said they don’t use the Amazon AppStore frequently, many said that lack of support for Google apps was a big reason for not using it.

A sizeable minority of Android users have never downloaded or used an app from Amazon’s store.

Lack of interest

Some Android users feel there is nothing but games in the Amazon AppStore, so they don’t bother downloading it.

The app runs fairly well on Windows 11, according to our readers. However, many were disappointed with the lack of apps available through the store.

Another reason for the lack of interest could be the fact that Windows 11 already has a built-in app store, and an easy way to install applications from other sources without having to open a separate app store at all.

Many users don’t want the Amazon AppStore installed on their phones because they’re happy with the current selection of apps in the Microsoft Store.

Others decided to get around Amazon’s downsides by using third-party apps and software, such as installing the Google Play Store.

Amazon also faced criticism over the fact that the Amazon AppStore is not compatible with Microsoft’s “universal” applications, which can run on PCs and mobile devices.

Many users are finding that applications won’t install, while others complain they are losing data after updating or reinstalling applications.

Expected changes

The ability to run Android apps on Windows 11 PCs offers a potentially cheaper alternative to buying software.

However, Amazon’s Appstore doesn’t seem to be fully baked just yet. According to reports from some users, not all apps work properly, and performance is often slow.

That’s not surprising, considering support for the Amazon AppStore on Windows 11 is still in its preview phase, so things could change. 

Still in its preview phase, the Amazon AppStore on Windows 11 is improving quickly. The Amazon AppStore may be one of many avenues through which you can download apps to your Windows PC. 

Microsoft’s Your Phone app syncs photos and notifications from supported Android phones, and you can also load Android apps onto a PC by downloading the app’s Android application package.

Have you used the Amazon AppStore on Windows 11? If not what are your reasons for not using it? Share your opinion in the comments section.