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> ”Games”: hard to say, because Windows is a better platform for games than Android by 10x. Note that there are quite a few commercial "Android on PC" emulator

> ”Games”: hard to say, because Windows is a better platform for games than Android by 10x. Note that there are quite a few commercial "Android on PC" emulators already, e.g. https://www.memuplay.com/ https://www.memuplay.com/, https://www.bluestacks.com/ https://www.bluestacks.com/ and https://www.bignox.com/ https://www.bignox.com/. In terms of scale, Bluestacks claim they have 50 million monthly active users which makes them pretty substantial! From https://www.bluestacks.com/promote-your-game.html https://www.bluestacks.com/promote-your-game.html. Overall mobile gaming revenue is now larger than console gaming and more than 2x PC gaming, and rapidly growing (https://scaletech.medium.com/mobile-gaming-statistics-trends-during-2020-f7b814d6dbe5 https://scaletech.medium.com/mobile-gaming-statistics-trends...). Android gaming is a much bigger market than you'd imagine, especially for the younger generation. > hard to see how it competes with the median user getting an iPhone > This is the case with the consumer in China, where ... the iPhone is still preferred by those who can afford it I think you're seriously overestimating how popular iPhones are, even to users who can afford them. Especially if you're looking at Windows users, Android is hugely dominant outside the US. In China for example, iOS market share is actually constant around 20% or maybe slightly declining over the last decade (https://www.statista.com/statistics/262176/market-share-held-by-mobile-operating-systems-in-china/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/262176/market-share-held...) despite the huge increase in average purchasing power, which makes it seem unlikely that the only thing holding people in China back from them is the price. Globally, Android is at 70% of devices (https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide) even in relatively wealth areas like the EU. iOS is primarily popular in the USA (where it's about 60% of devices). I suspect iOS and Mac usage are fairly closely correlated, so the Android percentage goes up substantially if you're only looking at Windows users. I think Android integration actually makes a lot of sense for Microsoft!

PaulHoule 5y ago
I use Bluestacks to run home automation programs. It subjects me to ads for third-rate games that I can't imagine people play. First-tier Android games like F/GO and Genshin Impact seem to be disabled on non-phone devices, particularly Bluestacks and Android TV. I see a huge amount of fan art from those games, but I wonder if gaming on Bluestacks is just a Potemkin Village.
- miohtama 5y ago
  One example: Freefire is one of the largest mobile first person shooters with more than 100M monthly active users. "Pro" players and streamers tend use to BlueStacks.
- ianlevesque 5y ago
  It's probably more that Genshin Impact has an actual Windows client than any indictment of Android emulation.
- an_opabinia 5y ago
  Bluestacks is a scam, they use your VM to gin up download counts for its customers, app developers.
collaborative 5y ago
I wish most win users were ok with android emulators because they are great. Performance is fantastic. But 99% of users refuse to take the extra step of first installing an "app to run an app". Windows could have as easily integrated one of these emulators into the OS which would have allowed for using Google services (unsure about legality of this) but they have chosen to compete with Google which isn't a bad thing since it improves competition
an_opabinia 5y ago
> In China for example, iOS market share is actually constant around 20% or maybe slightly declining over the last decade So a user count comparable to 100%+ of the US phone user population?
- pimterry 5y ago
  Yes - but meanwhile Android at 70% of global mobile users (~5 billion people) has an install base more than 10x larger than the entire US population. It is not a small market, there's (I assume) a good correlation with Windows users, and it's not a bad idea for Microsoft to be looking at potential integrations here.

PaulHoule 5y ago

I use Bluestacks to run home automation programs. It subjects me to ads for third-rate games that I can't imagine people play. First-tier Android games like F/GO and Genshin Impact seem to be disabled on non-phone devices, particularly Bluestacks and Android TV. I see a huge amount of fan art from those games, but I wonder if gaming on Bluestacks is just a Potemkin Village.

miohtama 5y ago
One example: Freefire is one of the largest mobile first person shooters with more than 100M monthly active users. "Pro" players and streamers tend use to BlueStacks.
ianlevesque 5y ago
It's probably more that Genshin Impact has an actual Windows client than any indictment of Android emulation.
an_opabinia 5y ago
Bluestacks is a scam, they use your VM to gin up download counts for its customers, app developers.

collaborative 5y ago

I wish most win users were ok with android emulators because they are great. Performance is fantastic. But 99% of users refuse to take the extra step of first installing an "app to run an app". Windows could have as easily integrated one of these emulators into the OS which would have allowed for using Google services (unsure about legality of this) but they have chosen to compete with Google which isn't a bad thing since it improves competition

an_opabinia 5y ago

> In China for example, iOS market share is actually constant around 20% or maybe slightly declining over the last decade So a user count comparable to 100%+ of the US phone user population?

pimterry 5y ago
Yes - but meanwhile Android at 70% of global mobile users (~5 billion people) has an install base more than 10x larger than the entire US population. It is not a small market, there's (I assume) a good correlation with Windows users, and it's not a bad idea for Microsoft to be looking at potential integrations here.