Wine can best be described as a compatibility layer that allows users to run certain Windows apps on non-Windows operating systems like Linux.
Currently, Wine is primarily deployed by Linux users running x86-based systems, although developer Alexandre Julliard is working on a wine port for ARM-powered Android phones and tablets.
As Liliputing’s Brad Linder notes, porting Wine to Android goes hand-in-hand with making the platform compatible with ARM architecture.
“The project could make it possible to run full desktop apps on a mobile device… although Wine has never been 100 percent compatible with All Windows software,” Linder explained.
“Indeed, many apps won’t run at all on a Linux computer with Wine installed, and others will run, [although] some features may not work properly.”
And as Phonrix’s Michael Larabel points out, the Wine port for Android is an active work-in-progress and hasn’t received much attention yet.
“While Wine is coming to ARM and there’s quite a lot of interest there, [we are] quite interested and hopeful for the success of Intel x86 Atom CPUs for tablets… If Android gains traction on x86-based tablets and other mobile devices, CodeWeavers has a lot of commercial opportunities for pushing the running of Windows software on Android,” he added.
Of course Wine isn’t the only Windows emulator out there. As previously discussed on TG Daily, a developer by the name of Dan Aloni recently coded an app that allows users to play classic Windows games (95 or 98) on Android devices.
Aptly dubbed Winulator, the app remains a work-in-progress and isn’t yet available to the public. However, a demo video has been posted on YouTube and can be seen below.
