Tencent App Store for Windows

Tencent App Store 3.0.3.11 is the Windows version of Tencent's app store, which lets you install and run Android apps and games on a PC. You download Tencent App Store when you want mobile apps popular in China, such as games, video services or messengers, on a computer screen with a keyboard and mouse.

What Tencent App Store is

In China, Google Play is not available, and Android users rely on stores run by phone makers and internet companies. Tencent's store, known locally as Yingyongbao, is a major one on phones. The Windows edition brings the same catalogue to the desktop. Instead of making you set up an emulator by hand, it bundles the runtime needed to start Android apps and presents them like ordinary Windows programs: you search the store, click install, and the app appears in a window that you can resize, pin or run in full screen. Games get keyboard and mouse mapping, so you can play titles designed for touchscreens with WASD keys and clicks. The store also handles updates for installed apps. Because the service is built for the Chinese market, the interface and most of the catalogue are in Chinese, and some apps require a Chinese phone number or a QQ or WeChat account to sign in. For users outside China it is mainly useful if they need specific Chinese apps that are not available elsewhere.

Main features

• Catalogue of Android apps and games from Tencent's store.
• Apps run in their own windows on the Windows desktop.
• Keyboard and mouse mapping for mobile games.
• Automatic app updates.
• Sign-in with QQ or WeChat.

How to install

1. Download the installer from the official site appstore.tencent.com.
2. Run it; the setup downloads the components needed for Android apps.
3. If asked, enable hardware virtualisation in the BIOS for better performance.
4. Search for an app, install it and launch it from the store or the Start menu.

The initial installer is small, about 7.43 MB according to catalogue data, but the runtime and apps download afterwards and take much more space.

Requirements

A modern Windows PC with enough memory for running mobile apps alongside the desktop, virtualisation support in the processor and a stable internet connection.

Privacy and security

Apps from the store run inside a separate environment, but they still see the data you give them. Read permissions and privacy policies, and be cautious with accounts that hold payment details.

Price

The store is free; individual apps and games may have their own purchases.

Pros and cons

• Pro: simple way to run Chinese Android apps on a PC.
• Pro: keyboard mapping for games.
• Pro: apps behave like desktop windows.
• Con: interface and catalogue mostly in Chinese.
• Con: some apps need Chinese accounts or numbers.
• Con: uses significant disk space and memory.

Alternatives

Other ways to run Android apps on Windows on our site include BlueStacks, LDPlayer and MSI App Player. Microsoft Store remains the source for native Windows apps.