Android apps on Windows Phone? Microsoft might make it happen

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Microsoft might be about to annihilate its apps problem, as it's now rumoured that the company is considering allowing Android apps to run on its Windows Phone handsets.

Microsoft has so far failed to become a big mobile player, with users flocking instead to iOS and Android. There are any number of reasons for that but one of the biggest is surely the more developed app stores that Microsoft's two biggest competitors have.

Not only do Apple and Google's stores have more apps but they even have some high profile apps which Windows Phone lacks.

App overload

So allowing Android apps to run alongside native ones could be the solution and that's exactly what the company is discussing, according to a former Microsoft employee as reported by The Information.

That would give Windows Phone instant access to a far greater number of apps, and could prove particularly tempting to Android users who could make the jump without losing any of their favourites.

But even if Microsoft is considering it, it may not go ahead, as the flip side is that developers would be less likely to make apps specifically for Windows Phone when the Android version is already compatible, which could prove enormously damaging to the Windows Phone Store. So it would be a gamble, but from a user's perspective it could only be a good thing.

• We could also see Windows Phone apps on Windows 10.