Microsoft details plans to bring iOS and Android apps to Windows 10

Microsoft has lifted the lid on how it plans to allow Android and iOS apps to be released on its new Windows 10 system.

The company offered details during its Build conference in San Francisco, where the firm also confirmed Unity support for HoloLens.

For iOS apps, Microsoft has released an Objective-C compiler that allows studios to recompile their apps in a way that will work on Windows 10 Mobile devices, according to ZDNet. 

Meanwhile, Android developers will be able to use a new layer to Windows 10 Mobile that allows Android Open Source Project to run as a subsystem. Submissions for apps that use this subsystem are expected to open over the new few months.

“Some people might call this emulation,” said operating systems group president Terry Myerson. “But it’s really about subsystems [although] there are aspects of emulation in here.”

Android and iOS software released through these systems will be Universal Windows Apps, a new type of software Microsoft hopes will run on all devices, including mobile, tablet, PC and Xbox. They’ll also be integrated with digital assistant Cortana and Xbox Live, opening up in-app purchasing.

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