Android emulators are a great way to experience Android on your Windows or Mac computer. They allow you to have the mobile feel of an android phone without having to buy a new device. Plus, they’re perfect for playing games that aren’t available in the Apple Store!
Terms and Conditions This is the Android Software Development Kit License Agreement 1. Introduction 1.1 The Android Software Development Kit (referred to in the License Agreement as the 'SDK' and specifically including the Android system files, packaged APIs, and Google APIs add-ons) is licensed to you subject to the terms of the License Agreement.
So you want to run android apps on your PC? Well, it just so happens that there are a ton of android emulators out there. However, not all android emulators are created equal. Some have limited features while others offer the same functionality as Android devices themselves. In this article, we will discuss our top 10 best android emulators for Windows and Mac!
Hopefully, by the end of this post, you’ll be able to find one that suits all your needs!
Terms and Conditions This is the Android Software Development Kit License Agreement 1. Introduction 1.1 The Android Software Development Kit (referred to in the License Agreement as the 'SDK' and specifically including the Android system files, packaged APIs, and Google APIs add-ons) is licensed to you subject to the terms of the License Agreement. The Android studio comes with a variety of tools that help developers to design and build games applications and games, solely for Android. Similarly, it even comes with a built-in emulator which aids in testing out your game or an application. However, the setup is rather complex and can be time-consuming.
Advantages of Android emulators
Android emulators are great tools for developers and android enthusiasts to test out android apps without having an android device. Moreover, the android emulators enable you to enjoy the same experience as if you were using a phone or tablet – meaning that they can be used with keyboard+mouse or touch screen, depending on what suits your needs best.
The android emulators also offer an opportunity to test out different builds of android without having access to a variety of devices – meaning that they can be pretty handy if you need a place to tinker with new android versions and new builds of android.
Mostly the android emulators are also compatible with a variety of other operating systems, meaning that you can use them on your Windows or Mac machine without the need for any specialized software – just download the emulator like normal and away you go! Android emulators provide an opportunity for people who don’t like owning their own android devices to still be able to use Android apps or games on a computer.
Developers are able to test their app’s compatibility with various versions of Android as well as screen sizes and resolutions without having an actual phone. Android emulation allows developers to test out their apps on various devices without having access to each individual device separately.
Emulation also offers users an opportunity to run android apps that may not be compatible with specific OS’s, meaning that Android can be used on a variety of different computers.
BlueStacks
The number one Android emulator on this list is BlueStacks. This versatile emulator comes with a variety of benefits such as the ability to run pretty much any version of android you want, compatibility with Windows and Mac operating systems (as well as Linux), an intuitive user interface that’s super easy to use and lots more.
BlueStacks comes with an inbuilt app store, meaning that after installation, you can go ahead and download any of your favorite apps without the need for a separate app market.
The emulator also includes integrated Google Play services, making it compatible with all Android games as well! This is one of the safest android emulators on the market for Mac and Windows. This is a great option if you’re looking to avoid downloading any malware.
The emulator also offers the ability to record gameplay on your computer without having any additional software – perfect for gamers who want to show off their gaming skills!
However, one of the most notable features of this software is it, instance manager. With it, you’re able to launch multiple android instances at the same time. This is great if you need more than one emulator for different purposes – such as testing out a new game or working on an app that needs two versions of Android in order to work properly.
BlueStacks is one of the best android emulators out there and will allow you to access pretty much anything that Android has to offer, including all your favorite apps!
Pros:
- Great for beginners.
- Fits on most screens (meaning that you can enjoy Android without having to buy a whole new computer).
- Ability to test out different versions of android and operating systems.
Cons:
- Doesn’t work with all games – especially ones that require an accelerometer or gyroscope.
- Doesn’t work with some apps and games that require Android OS versions lower than Jellybean.
- Requires a powerful computer to run smoothly.
NoxPlayer
NoxPlayer is another one of the best Android emulators for Windows and Mac. It’s not as popular as BlueStacks, but it has a lot to offer – like support for hardware acceleration! As we all know, there are many games that require good graphics card and processor power in order to run smoothly. So if you’re looking for a way to optimize your emulator experience, NoxPlayer might be the best option.
What makes it stand out from other Android emulators? Well, first of all – its performance! It can easily run games with the highest graphics settings without any hiccups or long loading times. Secondly, it’s very user-friendly and easy to use – perfect for beginners!
Lastly, it has a big advantage over most of the other emulators on this list. NoxPlayer is also available as an Android app which means that you can install and run it directly from your phone or tablet if you’re running low on space. That’s pretty neat, right?
Pros
- Easy to use
- Free for personal and commercial purposes.
- High-performance emulation (runs Android apps at near native speeds)
- Completely cross-platform (supports Windows, Mac and Linux)
Cons
- Runs on Android 5, which is too outdated to enjoy new games.
- Comes with some bloatware, i.e., difficult-to-delete software.
- Some antivirus software may detect its files as suspicious.
LDPlayer
LDPlayer is a powerful Android emulator that lets you run your favourite apps on Windows. It has been around for more than five years, and it comes with a user-friendly interface.
LDPlayer includes a built-in web browser, so you can surf the internet right from your desktop computer running Windows or Mac OS X. What’s more, this Android emulator introduces support for multi-touch – it supports up to ten points of input at once!
What’s more, one of the most prominent features in LDPlayer is its compatibility with thousands of Android games and applications. In addition to that, we must mention that even if your computer doesn’t meet the requirements for this emulator; you may still be able to run it.
Pros:
– LDPlayer is compatible with thousands of Android games and applications. It includes a built-in web browser, so you can surf the internet right from your desktop computer running Windows or Mac OS X.
What’s more, it supports up to ten points of input at once!
Cons:
- The emulator is not free.
- It takes a while to set up the emulator and get it running smoothly on your computer, depending on how powerful it is.
- LDPlayer doesn’t come with any keyboard shortcuts by default.
Andy Android Emulator
Andy is one of the best on this list. It has a lot of features and it’s pretty fast, requires just minimum system requirements to install on your computer. With Andy you can experience the same Android as on an actual device but without having to actually own one. This emulator also allows for multiple users accounts which makes great for testing apps or games.
The emulator also supports sync with Dropbox which is very convenient when you want to access your files from any device.
Andy allows you to sync the folders and system settings with a computer, while this may not sound like much it can come in handy at times where all other Android Emulators fail.
Pros:
Great for testing apps and games. Multiple accounts
Cons:
Expensive service, Requires more system resources so it’s not as fast as some other emulators in this list
MEmuPlay
One of the top rated Android emulators on our list is MEmuPlay. It is specifically created for gaming and offers an amazing user interface.
MEmuPlay is a highly customizable Android emulator which is available for Windows and Mac.
It has many features that make it one of the most desirable emulators on our list, including:
– It can be used to play games in high performance with its frame rate limit feature
– Ability to change screen size
– Optimized graphics engine for smoother HD graphics
Android Emulator Mac Android Studio Free
– The emulator is quite lightweight and can be used on a wide range of PC’s
– It offers the ability to change the orientation of your screen from portrait to landscape while you are playing games. This allows users to play in either position which may come up depending on what they want to do with their device at that moment.
Pros:
– Its frame rate limit feature allows you to play games on a high-performance level. With this, gamers can enjoy smoother HD graphics and never experience lag when playing their favourite game.
You have the ability to customize your resolution which means that MEmuPlay will be perfect for any type of computer.
This emulator is also quite lightweight and can be used on a wide range of PC’s, regardless of the hardware specifications.
Ability to change screen orientation from portrait to landscape.
Cons:
– There is a lack of customization when it comes to the home screen
– The emulator may be difficult to use for gamers who are new to these types of programs.
Android Studio Emulator
The Android Studio is the official development environment created by Google. It has an inbuilt powerful emulator that lets you test and debug your applications without the need for a physical device.
The emulator has been designed to be as close as possible to an actual phone, which allows app developers to detect problems before they are deployed on a real-world system. It also enables the testing of different devices with one single installation of Android Studio.
The inbuilt emulator has been designed with some of the following features to make it as realistic as possible:
- Emulates phone calls and sensors like GPS, accelerometer, etc.
- Supports hardware acceleration
- Includes support for USB devices such as keyboard, gamepad, mouse and other peripherals to make testing apps more realistic.
- Provides an easy way to take screenshots at any time
It also comes pre-installed with Android SDKs so you can start developing right away without having to install it separately in your computer. It also has built-in tools like DDMS (Dalvik Debug Monitor Server) and CPU/Memory profiler, which can be used by developers as well as power users to debug and analyze applications.
The emulator lets developers test their apps on different system architectures (x86 or ARM) as well as different Android versions to ensure that it will work across all devices.
The emulator is versatile and has a lot of features for developers such as creating multiple virtual screens, generating pre-defined screen sizes (Smartphone, TV), adding/removing system overlays like battery level or using Google Play Store to download apps into the device.
Lastly, the Android Studio Emulator is enabled with Google Play Services and it can be accessed by logging into your account.
ARChon
ARChon (also known as ARChon Runtime for Chrome) is a versatile custom extension for Chrome or Chromium browser that can easily run Android apps straight on Windows PC and a wide variety of other supported platforms.
ARChon is an open-source, free Android emulator that allows users to emulate the android experience on their PC. Unlike other emulators mentioned above, ARCHON isn’t a traditional emulator, it is installed as a chrome extension. Hence, the extension must be downloaded and installed on Chrome browser. When installed, it gives chrome the ability to run android apps and games.
ARChon works with any operating system that can run an instance of Chrome, including macOS, Linux, Windows, etc.
How to download and install ARChon on Chrome.
- Download the ARChon.zip file and unzip it via Winrar or 7zip.
- Open Google Chrome browser on your windows.
- Click on the 3 dot option key at the top right corner of the browser. Select tools> Extension.
- You can also type chrome://extensions// on the address bar to take you directly to the extension tab.
- Once on the extension tab, enable the “developer mode” option at the top right.
- Select the developer mode and click on “load unpacked extension”. Select the unzipped ARChon folder.
- ARChon should start installing on your chrome browser. You may come across a warning after the installation but just ignore it.
Once you’re done with everything, you can then download any apk file of your choice, unzip it, and follow the same process as you install ARChon.
You should then find the app on your chrome://apps folder.
Beware that note all files are compatible with chrome. So ensure that the one you’re using is compatible and also update your browser to the latest version.
GameLoop
GameLoop is a free Android emulator software which you can play mobile games on your Windows computer.
However, as the name suggests, GameLoop was specifically built for gamers. It was formerly known as TenCent Gaming Buddy, and was developed by TenCent, a company that also created and distributed the Android version of the popular game “PUGB”.
With its help, gaming enthusiasts can discover, download, and play almost all available Android games on their PCs instantly!
Like other Android emulators, GameLoop allow users to install and play mobile games directly from its game store. You can instantly start playing any game you find without additional configuration.
Additionally, whenever a new game is updated or released, you can immediately access it using GameLoop.
While you can’t use the emulator to play all Android games, GameLoop does have a massive library of gaming apps. Once installed, you can use it to play many popular games, the likes of Clash of Clans, Call of Duty Mobile, Candy Crush Saga, and lots more! As soon as these games get emulated on your Windows laptop or desktop, you can start using your mouse or keyboard for control.
If you are wondering how to run your preferred Android apps and games, but you Do not possess an Android tablet or smartphone handy, you could think about utilizing an Android emulator instead. This permits you to conduct a simulated version of Android on your PC without needing your own Android apparatus.
There are plenty of Android emulators for Windows on the market, although not All of them are worth trying. Here are just five of the Greatest Android Emulators for Windows 10 PCs that will help you get your Android encounter up And running on Windows.
What is an Emulator?
An emulator is an application that enables a computer system to act like a different computer program. For running smartphone Programs on PC, the emulator acts like an Android system that may be set up on the Windows, and also the Apps from Store have been set up on the emulator. Thus, without much delay let’s begin the listing of high best simulators for both Windows and Mac.
13 Best Free Android Emulators for Windows 10 PC and Mac
In this article, u can find out the best free Android Emulators for Windows 10 PC and Mac list are below;
1. GameLoop – Best Android Emulator
GameLoop, formerly known as Tencent Gaming Buddy, is an Android emulator for gamers. In reality, it’s great enough that Tencent calls it that the official emulator for its matches, including Call of Duty: Mobile and PUBG Mobile. Of course, it features additional games besides Tencent’s, although its collection is not as large as it could be. The emulator installed and downloaded nice and the games we tested ran just fine. This one is not great for productivity or routine testing. However, if you have an itch for cellular FPS gaming alongside some names, this is really a fairly good gaming emulator and it boasts a fantastic group of newer names. Plus, computer controls and performance is good, Gameloop one the best android emulator pc.
Minimum System Requirement
- Windows 7 and above
- CPU: Dual-core from Intel | AMD @1.8Ghz
- GPU: Basic NVIDIA GeForce | AMD Radeon
- 3 GB of RAM
- 2 GB of free storage
2. NoxPlayer – Best Android Emulator
NoxPlayer is another Android emulator with gambling as the principal focus, but it comes with a couple of options that could make it a fantastic all-rounder for any Android user. To begin with, it allows you to sideload your own apps, so you’re not completely hooked on the Google Play Store. You’re not excluded from using the Play Store, however, as this is contained within the app, also. NoxPlayer includes built-in support for macros to automate your display. This is a market additional but could be handy to automate boring tasks in Android games which encourage you to grind away. It is also possible to record your Android display in NoxPlayer, customize your keyboard and mouse controls, and operate multiple mobile windows, side-by-side. It’s user friendly, with a polished interface that appears similar to Genymotion. A big drawback, however, is that NoxPlayer only provides an Android 7 encounter, matching BlueStacks.Nox Player one of my best android emulator pc, As a version of Android that’s somewhat outdated, this could be off-putting for some users.
Minimum System Requirements
- Windows XP/7/8 /8.1/10 and DirectX 9.0C
- Dual-Core, AMD or Intel
- OpenGL 2.0 and above
- 1.5 GB RAM
- 2.5 GB Free space on the hard disk
3. MEmu – Best Android Emulator
MEmu is a Favorite Android Emulator for Windows PC. It’s capable of enjoying luxury games on PC when the machine has the minimum system requirement for your MEmu Players for smooth functioning. The emulator provides good characteristics that make gameplay simple on PC. MEmu enables high-speed mapping personalization making it simple for mobile gaming controller requirements. The emulator can empower virtualization to your PC and in addition, it provides great performance for incorporated and dedicated images. The very best thing about the emulator is that it can be used with Intel, Nvidia and AMD powered Windows.
Minimum System Requirements
- Intel, Nvidia or AMD CPU Processor
- Windows XP/7/8 /8.1/10
- Windows DirectX 11 or Graphics driver with OpenGL 2.0
- Hardware Virtualization Technology (Intel VT-x/AMD-V) shall be enabled in BIOS
- Minimum 2GB of system memory
- Minimum 2GB of hard disk free space
4. Bluestacks – Best Android Emulator
The list is incomplete without mention of the popular and one of the oldest emulators for PC. Bluestacks is the most popular Android emulator for Windows and Mac. It is one of the more balanced emulators having the right mixture of power, graphics and processing making it the most favorable Android Emulator for PC. Using Apps or playing games on the Bluestacks will function smoothly as the emulator is capable enough to play high-graphics games one of the best android emulator pc. Though it is preferable that your PC has good specs which are capable enough in handling the graphics. Nevertheless, the Bluestacks Emulator is the best and most trusted Android Client to play Android Apps and games on Windows and Mac.
Minimum System Requirements
- OS:Microsoft Windows 7 and above.
- Processor: Intel or AMD Processor.
- RAM: Your PC must have at least 2GB of RAM.
- HDD: 5GB Free Disk Space
- You must be an Administrator on your PC
- Up to date graphics drivers from Microsoft or the chipset vendor.
5. KOPlayer
KOPlayer is a free and solid platform built on kernel technology on x86 Architecture. Which supports advanced features like OpenGL & hardware acceleration. It brings quality Android playing experience to the Windows platform. The emulator supports multiple accounts, screen recording, gamepad & keyboard mapping for streamline controls one of the best android emulator pc. The App has a built-in GMS support with Google Play Store to download your favorite Apps safely.
Minimum System Requirements
- Windows 7 or above
- CPU dual-core AMD or Intel CPU
- Graphics card- GPU with support OpenGL 2.1
- HDD- 10 GB of free disk space.
- RAM: 2GB RAM
6. Remix OS Player
Remix OS Player is heavily optimized for gaming. Specifically, you can map keyboard buttons and control the game to your every comfort. The developers potentially looked onto improving the software more inclined towards gaming. It is important to note that the emulator doesn’t support AMD chipset and requires Virtualisation Technology enabled in your BIOS. The App has a very clean and fresh interface appealing to the users. The emulator has lots of customization options for gaming preference letting the users make most out of the Remix OS.
The interface of the Remix OS is very fresh. Remix is the best platform for developers to test their App. It is a very robust emulator with an inbuilt Play Store. The Game Toolkit of the Remix gives everything you need to enjoy your favorite Android games on a PC. Remix OS Player is the only Android emulator that allows you to play multiple games at the same time. It runs on Android Marshmallow, unlike most others who are still stuck to lollipop or below.
Minimum System Requirements
- 2 GHz dual-core processor or better
- 2 GB system memory.
- Minimum 8 GB of free hard drive space
- Any updated graphics
7. Android Studio’s emulator
Install Android Emulator Without Android Studio Mac
Android Studio is the default development console for Android. It comes with a bunch of tools to help developers make apps and games specifically for Android. As it turns out, there is also a built-in emulator that you can use to test out your app or game. The setup is rather complicated and it can take a long time. Thus, it’s not one we would recommend for consumer-level use. However, developers can simply use this tool as their emulator for testing their apps. It also supports Kotlin in case developers want to try that out. It’s too much of a pain for regular people, but it’s excellent for developers.
8. ARChon
ARChon isn’t a traditional emulator. You install it as a Google Chrome extension. It then gives Chrome the ability to run Android apps and games (albeit with limited support). It’s not an easy emulator to get running. You’ll have to install the thing to Chrome. From there, 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. There are a lot more steps to make this work than most other Android emulators for PC. On the plus side, though, it works with any operating system that can run an instance of Chrome (Mac OS, Linux, Windows, etc). We linked to the official GitHub where you can find detailed instructions for its use.
9. Bliss OS
Bliss is something a little bit different. It works as an Android emulator for PC via virtual machine. However, it can also just flat run on your computer through a USB stick. The boot-from-USB option is definitely a power user option and not recommended for less intense use cases. As a VM install, the process is easy, but tedious if you’ve never made your own virtual machine before. The USB installation method is even more complicated, but it lets your computer actually run Android natively from boot. That makes Bliss a super unique emulator if you can make it through the steps to the end. Of course, it only really runs well if your system is compatible so be prepared with a backup of your current operating system. The system runs Android Oreo and that’s among the newer versions of Android offered on an emulator. You can also find more info about this on its XDA-Developers thread here.
10. Phoenix OS
Phoenix OS is one of the newer Android emulators for PC. Like most these days, it boasts a gamer experience. However, it also boasts a desktop-like experience so it actually works pretty well for productivity as well. It has Google Play Services, although updating those services can be a bit of a pain sometimes. That means you get every app and game in the Google Play Store. Phoenix OS also runs Android 7.1 which is relatively modern for an Android emulator. You can download the emulator from its official website and its forums are housed on XDA-Developers.
11. PrimeOS
PrimeOS is kind of a standout in the Android emulator space. It’s not actually an emulator. You install this as a partition on your computer and it boots up running native Android. It’s a gamer-focused Android experience, although you can totally use this for productivity if you really want to. PrimeOS includes a gaming center, support for mouse and keyboard, and access to most Android apps and games. To be frank, it almost runs like ChromeOS minus all the Chrome parts. You can multitask, watch video content, or play games as you choose. We haven’t tested this one in-depth yet as it is new in 2019 from an Indian start-up. We’ll update the article if we noticed anything peculiar about it.
12. Genymotion
This Android emulator is mostly for developers. It lets you test your apps on a variety of devices without owning them. 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 virtual devices at will. It’s not great for consumer uses, but Genymotion does offer their services for free for personal use. It’s most useful feature is its availability on both your desktop computer and the cloud. Those without powerful computers can make Genymotion’s servers do all the work for them.
13. AMIDuOS
AMIDuOS generally called DuOS is an Android emulator for PC. Running on Lollipop version, AMIDuOS is one of the perfect emulator systems. Before installing AMIDuOS make sure that the “Virtualisation Technology” is enabled in BIOS and you have Microsoft Net framework 4.0 or above. The AMIDuOS doesn’t support Google Play Store but they have Amazon App store and always you can install any APK file if you wish. The emulator is capable of handling high-end games, but to the disappointment, there is no keyboard and mouse mapping feature. But external gamepad support is available in case you wish to enjoy the games.
Another amazing feature of the AMIDuOS is it comes rooted out of the box, so you can install apps for root privileged and make most out of the emulator system. Though the DuOS is a paid platform with a 30-day free trial and followed by $15. But the support and feature it offers are worth the buy.