app_design_garage_win_running_1Want to run a Windows app on an iPhone? That’s no problem, thanks to a new update to Amazon’s AppStream service.

AppStream, which is a part of AWS, now allows users to stream just about any Windows app to a device running FireOS, Android, Chrome, iOS, Mac OS X, or Microsoft Windows. It’s a big leap forward for the service, which also allows developers to offload certain functions of their app to Amazon’s cloud rather than run it natively on a device.

appstream_install_design_garage_1Once a user has set up a Windows application in AppStream, they can then stream it to any device that runs Google Chrome. That means people on a Mac or Chromebook who want to use Windows-specific software can do so easily, and without having to set anything else up. All of the processing is handled by Amazon’s back-end, so it’s not going to tax the device’s hardware.

It’s not a plug-and-play solution: developers will still have to write or customize their own AppStream client before going to production, but this is an important step for people who want to run key apps anywhere.

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