Android emulators on his PC. App developers may try to test their apps before they ship. Gamers may want to use a mouse and keyboard in their games. Maybe you just want it to get it. Anyway, emulating Android on PC is possible and it is much easier than it used to be. Some of my old favorites either left space or became unusable at some point (Andy, AmiduOS, Leapdroid), but everything else here should work fine for most people. Here are the best Android Emulators for PC and Mac.
It's also worth noting that Windows 11 supports native Android apps. You can read a tutorial on how this works here and you can even use the Play Store if you want to continue the effort. Google also launched Google Play Games on Windows 11 in beta. This will be a great option for gamers when it is fully launched. The ability to run apps and games natively on Windows 11 may replace using the emulator for a variety of use cases such as gaming or general productivity, so keep an eye out for that.
The three main uses for Android emulators
There are three main uses for emulators. The first is the most common and it’s for gaming. Gamers can use emulators on their computers to make some games easier to play. They don’t have to rely on the battery life of their devices and the existence of macros and other tricks help the process. In most cases, these little tricks aren’t illegal (in most games) so nobody really has a problem with it. The best Android emulators for gaming include LDPlayer, BlueStacks, MeMu, KoPlayer, and Nox.
The second most common use case is development. Android app and game developers like to test apps and games on as many devices a possible before launch. Fortunately, Android Studio comes with the “Android Virtual Device” (AVD) which blows all other emulators out of the water in terms of performance and functionality. The only drawback for non-developers is that it comes with an installation of the space-hungry Android Studio and Android Software Development Kit (SDK). Of course, this is no problem for developers that already have all the necessary software on their machines.
The final main type is productivity. This isn’t nearly as common because Chromebooks are cheaper and better for using Android apps on something other than a phone and most productivity tools are cross-platform. Any gaming emulator works as a productivity emulator to an extent. However, those with hyper-specific use cases and a little knowledge can try ARChon and Bliss. Even so, in this day and age, we recommend going with a Chromebook (with reasonably decent specs) if you want to run Android apps in a laptop or computer environment. It’s better that way.
Finally, a bit of a disclaimer. At this time, no consumer emulators run the latest versions of Android. The only place you can find it is in Android Studio and it’s not for playing mobile games. Luckily, most apps and games still function on older versions of Android so this shouldn’t be a big deal. Most emulators run Android 7.0 through 9.0.
PROMOTED
BlueStacks
BlueStacks is known by many users to be the most comprehensive Android app player in the market, and with good reason. Aside from running on both Windows and Mac, this emulator comes jam-packed with a ton of features to improve the gamer’s experience.
Its most popular features include the Keymapping Tool to create customized control schemes, the Instance Manager through which you can create multiple instances of the emulator and run several games simultaneously, and quality-of-life features like Eco Mode, which help to reduce resource consumption while running the most demanding games. It’s also the safest emulator out there, with certified GDPR compliance — your data is always safe with them.
The most recent version, BlueStacks 5, is the lightest and fastest the emulator has ever been, delivering high-performance gaming even on low-end devices. The latest version addresses some of the most common complaints of the previous version — namely, the fact that it can feel bloated, especially when running on inferior hardware. Try it right now for yourself and discover why BlueStacks has a community of over 500-million gamers around the world!
Get it on BlueStacks