Android Emulator is the perfect solution to access and run various Android apps directly on your Windows or Mac enabled computers. It has become popular among both developers as well as users in recent years.
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Are you looking for an Android emulator for your PC, but don’t know which one to use? Well, you have arrived at the right place. With this article, we will guide you to select the best Android Emulator for your PCs and Laptops. But before we proceed to the list, we want to provide you with the basic knowledge of an Android emulator.
As the name suggests, Android Emulator is a software which can emulate or run Android operating system on your desktop or laptop. There are many reasons associated with running an Android Emulator on your windows or Mac system. For example, developers may run this to check their application before shipping it out whereas gamers may want to use a mouse and keyboard while playing their favourite games.
In any case, Android emulation on PC is possible and we are going to list some of the best free and paid Android Emulator software that you can run on Windows and Mac. For some of them, you might need to have technical knowledge but these are more or less made for tech savvy people. All you need is to find a suitable one as per your requirement(s).
#1Android Studio
Android Studio is Google’s official developer toolkit which is especially made for creating Android apps. You can run this Android Emulator to simulate various Android phones, tablets, Wear OS, and Android TV devices on your computer. It comes with predefined configurations for popular device types and can transfer data faster than a device connected over USB.
This Android Emulator offers you almost all the capabilities of a real Android device such as incoming phone calls and text messages, specify the location of the device, simulate different network speeds, simulate rotation and other hardware sensors, access the Google Play Store, and much more. However, this Android Emulator doesn’t have any gaming-specific features. Also, this is targeted towards Android developers so, it requires some technical knowledge for using it.
In our opinion, you shouldn’t bother about it unless you are an android developer.
#2 Andy
Andy is an absolutely free Android Emulator that has emerged as one of the replacements for Bluestacks. It provides android experience for productivity apps, launchers, games, and you can even install root access if needed.
This Android Emulator breaks down the barrier between desktop and mobile computing while keeping a user up to date with the latest Android OS feature upgrades. It also provides users with unlimited storage capacity, and the freedom to play the most popular mobile games on a desktop. You can use your Android phone as a controller, but Andy also supports Xbox and PlayStation controllers.
In any case, it is free and it does work very well for both Windows and Mac OS. But, be cautious as some people have experienced some installation issues and other technical problems. However, you can get decent support via Facebook if you do get stuck. The current version is based on Android Nougat.
#3 Archon
Archon isn’t a traditional emulator. You can install it on Google Chrome to give your Chrome browser the ability to run Android apps. As soon as you have installed it in Chrome, you have to obtain APKs and load them in. As an added rub, you may need to use a tool to change the APK in order to make it compatible. We have the basic instructions linked up at the button above. This one is compatible with Mac, PC, and Linux. It’s also one of the most difficult to set up, but it’s also among some of the unique Android emulators.
#4 Genymotion
Genymotion is a great alternative to Android Studio’s default emulator. It is primarily used by developers, but of course, you can use it for personal use, too. You can configure the emulator for a variety of devices with various versions of Android to help suit your needs. For instance, you can run a Nexus One with Android 4.2 or a Nexus 6 with Android 6.0. You can easily switch between “devices” at will. It’s not great for consumer usage, but Genymotion does offer their services for free for personal use.
Genymotion also provides a cloud-based online emulator which you can try right within your browser, though you’d have to contact them and request a private access.
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Overall, Genymotion is the perfect Android tool for developers. You can still use it for casual gaming, although you’d be better off with other options on this list for that purpose.
Before downloading it, make sure that you’ve enabled the “virtualization technology” in your BIOS and you have the latest version of VirtualBox installed. Also, you’ll need to sign up & create an account before you can start using it.
#5 MEmu
MEmu is one of the best high-performance multitasking Android emulators for Windows. The software serves as a special Android emulator that particularly specializes in video games that are typically played using an Android device. It runs on most android apps and games and interestingly supports both AMD and Intel chipsets. That’s rarer than you’d think. Additionally, it supports Android Jelly Bean, Kit Kat, and Lollipop. That makes it one of the few emulators that go as high as Lollipop.
In terms of support for Windows versions, MEmu supports all the major versions of Windows such as Windows 7/8/8.1/10. Apart from that, MEmu Android Emulator supports almost all the Windows devices such as PC, Notebook, 2-in-1 Devices, Tablets etc.
Like many android emulators, you can use this for pretty much whatever you want and it’s completely free to download. However, we recommend it mostly for productivity based tasks.
#6 BlueStacks
Our list wouldn’t be complete unless we include BlueStacks. This was one of the first entrants but lately, things were not the same and the competition quickly caught up with it. However, it is still used by many users (who don’t have technical knowledge) to run Android apps on their Personal Computer and Laptops.
It comes with Google Play Store pre-installed, so it’s much simpler to download something and start playing compared to ‘proper’ emulators which emulate the whole of the Android interface and system. A user can access over 2 million Android apps and games and even install the APKs file manually. Other than this, it supports multitasking, much like an actual Android phone. You can use the free version if you don’t care about getting ads and sponsored app installation pop-ups. Otherwise, you should upgrade to the pro version which starts at $3.33/month.
We believe the above list was helpful to shortlist the best Android Emulator for you. You can further check our article about the latest Android phone trends of 2018. If you like our article then please do share it over social media channels.
There are several reasons for emulating Android on a PC or Mac. It's often easier to test apps on a desktop than a mobile device, and for everyone else there's the appeal of being able to play mobile games on a much larger screen.
Indeed, gaming is the most common reason for emulating Android on a desktop computer, though you can also use an emulator to run any app from the Google Play Store. For example, running the Instagram app in an emulator makes it possible to upload photos from your PC or Mac desktop – something that's otherwise impossible.
With that in mind, here are the best emulators to bring Android to your desktop
1. BlueStacks App Player
A superb emulator that brings Android games to your desktop
BlueStacks App Player is perhaps the best-known Android emulator, and it's hardly surprising given its quality and reliability. BlueStacks has been designed with ease of use in mind, and looks and feels just like Android on a tablet or smartphone. There are free and paid-for versions available. The free one includes some ads and the occasional sponsored app, but these are pretty discreet.
BlueStacks is primarily about games and the interface is essentially a front end for downloading and installing them, but it's also possible to visit the Google Play Store and search for other apps.
If you want to add apps and games from other sources, you have the option of using standalone APK files. Performance is decent assuming your hardware is reasonably powerful, making this a great way to bring Android to the big screen.
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2. Nox
A free emulator that lets you sideload apps from outside Google Play
Like BlueStacks App Player, Nox is a fast, slick Android emulator for PC and Mac. If you're planning to use Nox for gaming, you'll be pleased to learn that you can use your favorite gamepad, and you have the option of mapping keys or buttons to perform various Android gestures. The emulator is based on Android 4.4.2, which is rather old, but this shouldn't be a problem for most apps.
Nox gives you a stock version of Android, and while it's designed with gamers in mind, you can install other apps from the Google Play Store too. Nox is completely free, but it includes a number of great extras accessible from a vertical toolbar on the right-hand side of the window. Here you'll find screenshot and video recording shortcut, a link to a macro record, and the option to install software from APKs obtained from outside of Google Play.
3. KOPLAYER
An older Android emulator, but one that lets you run multiple instances
Another Android emulator designed with gaming in mind, KOPLAYER has two modes: Speed and Compatibility. It makes sense to try the Speed option first to maximize game performance, but if you run into problems, you still have Compatibility option to fall back on. KOPLAYER also has a rather neat Multi Manager tool that lets you run two or more instances of the emulator at once.
Unfortunately, KOPLAYER is a bit hit and miss, and sometimes crashes even in Compatibility mode. It hasn't been updated for a year, but if you do get it running on your hardware, you're in for a treat. Despite KOPLAYER's focus on games it can run a wide range of other apps too, and there are lots of APKs available to download from its website.
4. AndY
Emulate Android on your desktop, and root it to run more apps
Based on VMWare Player, AndY is an interesting – if rather huge – Android emulator; the installation weighs in at a colossal 3GB. There are a couple of optional – and probably unwanted – extras bundled in the installer, so keep an eye out and decline them.
Again, the primary idea behind AndY is to bring Android gaming to the desktop, and there's support for not only Xbox and PlayStation controllers, but also the option of using your Android phone as a gamepad. Getting the emulator up and running is rather trickier and less intuitive than the other tools featured here though, and might be enough to put some people off.
This is a shame because AndY is very impressive and it would be great to make it a little more accessible. Available for both Mac and Windows, it also gives you the option of rooting your virtual Android device to run more software.
5. MeMU
Easily install Android apps from outside the Google Play Store
It's one of the newer Android emulators on the block, but MEmu has managed to make quite a name for itself – and with good reason. Given that its full name is MEmu Play, it should come as no surprise that – once again – the focus here is on gaming. To get the best performance, it is recommended that you enable virtualization for your CPU. With support for Intel and AMD chips, as well as integrated and dedicated graphics, support levels are very good here.
There's a wealth of keyboard mapping options to enhance your gaming, and you have the option of installing software through the Google Play Store, or by dragging and dropping APKs on to the program window.
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As with Nox, there's a vertical menu that provides access to a range of additional features, and the only real downside to MEmu is that it's based on the rather elderly Android 5.1.1
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- Once you've installed an emulator, try the best free Android apps