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I have tried to Install Leica Fotos on my Windows 11 PC.

First step is to download the app. That was straightforward.

But it comes as an .apk file which seems to only work in an Android environment.

So to execute that in Windows it seems I need to first install WSA (Windows Subsystem for Android}

When I try that, using the Microsoft link, I have to use the Amazon apps pool. I don't use Amazon and do not want to and be subjected to a deluge of their ads. And anyway I presume I will have to pay. So much for saying that Leica Fotos is free.

What is needed is a Windows compatible Fotos program. I note that Microsoft is now bigger than Apple by stock exchange valuation so it seems odd to ignore it when developing software.

Comments?

 

 

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WSA is a developer tool, not really intended for end users, but it is apparently possible to install APKs directly. Whether this is a useful thing to attempt with Leica Fotos is another matter.

https://gist.github.com/HimDek/e09340eae2861e1ad8b7f6bdba5ee9ff

You might try a more mainstream Android emulator like Bluestacks, which is targeted at gamers and can install apps from various sources, including APKs:

https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360057712191-How-to-install-an-app-from-App-Center-Play-Store-or-using-an-APK-on-BlueStacks-5

Availability on different platforms isn't really anything to do with the market share of the various desktop systems, it's just that Fotos is intended purely as a mobile app for a tablet or phone. Apple has both a desktop and a mobile OS, and has some interest in providing a degree of cross compatibility. MS abandoned Windows Phone years ago, so making mobile apps run on Windows isn't really a priority for them. And Leica presumably aren't interested in making a desktop version of Fotos.

Edited by Anbaric
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13 hours ago, Anbaric said:

WSA is a developer tool, not really intended for end users, but it is apparently possible to install APKs directly. Whether this is a useful thing to attempt with Leica Fotos is another matter.

https://gist.github.com/HimDek/e09340eae2861e1ad8b7f6bdba5ee9ff

You might try a more mainstream Android emulator like Bluestacks, which is targeted at gamers and can install apps from various sources, including APKs:

https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360057712191-How-to-install-an-app-from-App-Center-Play-Store-or-using-an-APK-on-BlueStacks-5

Availability on different platforms isn't really anything to do with the market share of the various desktop systems, it's just that Fotos is intended purely as a mobile app for a tablet or phone. Apple has both a desktop and a mobile OS, and has some interest in providing a degree of cross compatibility. MS abandoned Windows Phone years ago, so making mobile apps run on Windows isn't really a priority for them. And Leica presumably aren't interested in making a desktop version of Fotos.

Apple has started integrating iOS apps in Silicon Macs, but until now certainly not all. Maybe that will come to FOTOS as well. https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/app-store/fird2c7092da/mac

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  • 8 months later...

A version of Fotos for Windows would be a great idea: apart the "equality" with Apple (AFAIK the app runs on macbook too) -which is a weak reason of course-, that would mean avoding to open the camera side to connect the USB-C cable or extract/reinsert the card, both every time a picture is to download. Both the actions wears the camera hw, and wireless connection is easy to set up (more than connecting a cable or, worst, managing the card directly) and,finally, quite fast too. Hope that Leica could provide it in the near future...

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1 hour ago, Denebola said:

(AFAIK the app runs on macbook too)

No...

 

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  • 6 months later...
Am 13.1.2024 um 23:57 schrieb LCL999:

Thanks for all your comments. So I'll stop trying to use Fotos. What I wanted was a neat way to move my pics to Lightroom via my PC. But that is probably a different forum.

Why should you use Fotos to download your photos on a PC and then import them in Lightroom?
I use Fotos for iOS only when i am underway and wan't to check my photos and some times post them immediately.

As Jaapv wrote: use either a card leader or a USB cable if your camera has a USB port.

Chris

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  • 4 months later...

Sharing quickly to a Windows or Apple (MacOS) device would definitely be useful. Like most people, I usually carry my phone, but I often have my laptop as well. My laptop has both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, along with a much better screen than any phone. This makes it easier to evaluate photos compared to the small 6.7" phone screen, which is already as big as phones get. I know I can upload the photos to my computer with a card reader and import them into Lightroom or Capture One, but that feels like diving straight into the culling and development process, which takes a lot of time. Instead, I want quick feedback—maybe even a little gratification that I'm heading in the right direction.

So yes a light app to quickly share some photos, would be ideal to have.

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