Genymotion Android Emulator For Mac

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Ko Player is yet to launch for Mac users so meanwhile, you can check on other android emulators which are compatible with Mac. Genymotion Emulator. GenyMotion is another great emulator for developers. If you are developers who test a lot of apps on a regular basis, then you should give Genymotion a try. And Genymotion is so easy to setup and work with that it makes installing and running different emulator images a breeze. There are a few gotchas to getting this working, but the tl;dr version is this: Mac Run Genymotion and start an emulator; Mac Locate the adb command (part of the Xamarin / Android tools installation) and restart the adb service. Genymotion – Android emulator for developers. Genymotion is one of the best Android emulators that allows for full Android functionality. Unlike the other emulators, Genymotion is for developers and other users who want to test their apps before releasing them to the play store.

  1. Along these lines, this article enrolls a portion of the 5 best Android emulators accessible in the market for a Mac OS: NOX. Nox is a basic Android emulator to set up, works amazingly on Mac, doesn’t cost anything and has a scope of cutting edge apparatuses that let you allot apparently mobile-only activities -, for example, tilting left.
  2. I've played free fire with NoxPlayer for over a year and I've not met a better lightweight android emulator that renders me smoother game-play on my PC and hardly consumes resources. Mukisa NoxPlayer is a really useful tool for playing mobile games even while working or chatting at the same time.
  3. As Android’s popularity is increasing, the Android emulators are also becoming popular among the people. From testing apps to playing online games on the big screen, more and more people are craved to experience the Android OS on their Windows PC or Mac.The Android emulators offer better performance and quality as compared to iOS emulators for Windows.

Genymotion is probably the best Android emulator for Mac. This does almost 95% job of a standard Android mobile. In other words, you can install apps, develop and test, change battery level to check performance of an app, use webcam as camera, and so on. Whatever be the reason, Android Emulator Mac can help you in this case. Android Emulator for Mac lets you install Android Apps and Google Play Service to install Apps on Mac device. If you are not a developer, have you ever thought about Installing Android Apps on your Mac computer and play any games or use any app on your Mac?

If you are looking for Android Emulators for PC & Mac, you want to do at least one of the following – develop apps for Android or, you want to enjoy Android games on a big screen. There may be other reasons as well like testing out a new ROM or perhaps you are just planning on making a switch from iOS to Android and want to get a taste of Android before you end up making the actual switch.

In this article, I will sum up the best Android emulators for PC & Mac that I have personally used and tested to find out their strengths and weaknesses. I will rank them in the order of my preference but albeit, you may have a different order altogether.

1.BlueStacks

BlueStacks is one of THE MOST POPULAR emulators available today. It has been in the market for quite some time. One of the primary reasons why I used BlueStacks was gaming.

Why not productivity? That’s simply because I have access to every productivity tool I need on my desktop. I don’t need an Android device for productivity and as far as mobility is concerned, I will definitely not carry around my desktop to work with BlueStacks!

While on the move, I will be invariably stuck with a tiny device (running Android) that will anyway cripple my productivity. So, I find whining about BlueStacks performing sluggishly while dealing with productivity tools senseless.

Pros of BlueStacks

  • BlueStacks has a super easy setup. Just download, install, put in your Gmail login credentials, and you are good to go!
  • Not only did BlueStacks allow me to access Play Store, but it also gave me access to its very own app store that has apps optimized for BlueStacks!
  • It has a clean and intuitive interface that makes navigating around quite simple!
  • It allows keyboard mapping. It found it quite beneficial while playing games.
  • It supports multiple accounts!
  • It is a freemium software, which means that you can test it for free before you decide to make a purchase.

Cons of BlueStacks

  • It doesn’t perform well with touch gestures. So, before you go ahead and install it on a touchscreen-enabled laptop, think twice. I will instead suggest sticking around with your keyboard.
  • Because BlueStacks’ free version is meant to remain free forever, you will occasionally see advertisements popping up. That’s quite frustrating.
  • On computers with low-end hardware, BlueStacks gave significant lags while playing games. So, if you don’t like delays (which no one does), don’t bother putting it on laptops or desktops that do not have powerful hardware.

Minimum System Requirements for BlueStacks

I installed and used BlueStacks 4. This version has the following minimum system requirements:

  • OS – Windows 7 or higher.
  • AMD or Intel Processor.
  • At least 2 GB RAM.
  • At least 5 GB of free space on your hard disk.
  • Administrator rights to your PC.
  • Up-to-date graphics driver from chipset vendor or Microsoft.

The minimum system requirements for running BlueStacks 4 on Mac are:

  • OS – macOS Sierra (10.12), High Sierra (10.13), or Mojave (10.14).
  • Minimum 4 GB RAM.
  • Minimum 4 GB of free space on the hard disk.
  • Up-to-date graphics drivers from the manufacturer of the graphics card.
  • Latest App Store updates applied on Mac.

This is the minimum requirement, but BlueStacks has what is called recommended system requirements for best performance. Do check that out.

2.GameLoop

Honestly, I have a mixed feeling for this one in particular, and I don’t know whether to hate it or love it. It was previously known as Tencent Gaming Buddy. It has exclusive support for CODM or Call of Duty: Mobile, but it does support other games as well. What made me say that I don’t know whether to hate it or love it? Read the pros and cons to find out!

Pros of GameLoop

  • It is highly optimized for CODM, and the experience is surprisingly smooth, with no lags or stuttering! That was a pleasant surprise.
  • It has support for PUBG Mobile.
  • Completely free.
  • Excellent integration of keyboard and mouse!
  • Shallow system requirements. Mostly it can run on a gaming PC that was built back in 2005!
  • It is a minimal app and doesn’t eat up much space on my computer’s hard disk. So, I don’t mind keeping it installed forever!

Cons of GameLoop

  • It can play a limited number of games and supports a very limited number of apps. It was designed and developed specifically to be compatible with Call of Duty: Mobile.
  • It is not available for Mac users. Bad luck!
  • Because it has minimal support for apps, it is useless for app developers.

Minimum System Requirements for GameLoop

This thing can run literally on a dinosaur. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to test it on a system with low-end hardware because my desktops are quite powerful and can run almost every resource-intensive game or application I throw at them. But if you don’t have a high-end computer, here is a quick list of the primary system requirements:

  • A dual-core CPU either from Intel or AMD clocked at 1.8 GHz.
  • Minimum 2 GB RAM.
  • Minimum 1 GB of free space on your hard disk.
  • OS – Windows 7 and above.
  • GPU – ATI/AMD Radeon HD2600/3600 or Nvidia GeForce 8600/9600GT.

3.MEmu

MEmu Play is a relatively new player in the market. It was launched back in the year 2015 and it is based on Android Lollipop. It is quite decent for gaming but does exceptionally well in dealing with productivity apps. Here are the pros and cons that I found while using MEmu:

Pros of MEmu

  • To start with, MEmu Play is very fast.
  • Though it is based on Android Lollipop, it can actually support other versions like Jelly Bean and Kit Kat.
  • It comes with support for both Nvidia and AMD chips.
  • The key mapping feature is terrific.
  • You can even set virtual locations on Google Maps.
  • It supports a lot of Windows operating systems, including XP, Windows 7, 8, and 10.
  • It allows you to launch multiple instances and play games separately in each situation. Alternately, it also allows running multiple accounts on a single instance for the same game.
  • Best of all, it is free.

Cons of MEmu

  • Though MEmu touts of high performance in gaming, it is not true! I will like to see better performance in graphics.
  • It has no support for Mac.

Minimum System Requirements for MEmu

  • You need to have Intel or AMD CPU with either 32-bit support or 64-bit support.
  • OS- Windows XP (SP3), Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10.
  • You will need at least 2 GB of RAM.
  • You will need at least 2 GB of space on the hard disk.
  • Your BIOS should have Hardware Virtualization Technology enabled.

While these are the basic requirements, it works best with recommended system requirements. Do check out the recommended requirements.

4.Android Studio

In my experience, use this emulator only and only if you are trying to develop an Android app or if you want to play fundamental games. Android Studio is not a proper emulator. It is a development IDE. IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment.

There is an integrated emulator that you can always use, but even it is best used for testing different apps. Playing games just don’t work well.

Pros of Android Studio

  • When it comes to Android app development, this is almost always a standard choice.
  • It has been developed by Google and receives regular updates.
  • It allows for faster deployment of fresh builds.
  • Developers can enjoy accurate programming.
  • It allows developers to create only a single build and then test it on multiple devices using the feature called Cloud Test Lab Integration. This will enable developers to ditch the prospect of creating numerous builds.
  • It comes with a lot of built-in plugins and tools that allow developers to test their apps with ease.

Cons of Android Studio

  • I found Android Studio to be pretty slow on Windows. It performed comparatively better on Mac. It was, however, flawless on Ubuntu. On Ubuntu, it was fast, and even the emulator launched pretty quickly as compared to the time taken on Windows.
  • It is designed for the development of apps. It cannot work if you want to play games like Call of Duty: Mobile or PUBG or, as a matter of fact, any resource-intensive game.

Minimum System Requirements for Android Studio

For Windows:

  • Windows 7/8/10 – Only 64-bit OS.
  • Minimum 4 GB RAM.
  • Minimum 2 GB of available space on the hard disk.
  • Minimum screen resolution of 1280 x 800.

For Mac:

  • Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) to macOS Mojave 10.14.
  • Minimum 4 GB of RAM.
  • Minimum 2 GB of available space on the hard disk.
  • Minimum screen resolution of 1280 x 800.

For Linux:

  • Debian-based KDE or Gnome desktops.
  • 64-bit system with support for running 32-bit applications.
  • glibc (GNU C Library) 2.19 or higher.
  • Minimum 4 GB of RAM.
  • Minimum 2 GB of space on the hard disk.
  • Minimum screen resolution of 1280 x 800.

5.Nox App Player

Just like BlueStacks, Nox App Player is hands down, one of the best Android emulators you can find. In my opinion, it is also an all-round emulator if you want to play Android games or use productivity apps or get an overall hang of Android.

During my stint with Nox App Player, I found something exciting and yet useless. It allows you to root your virtual Android device in a jiffy. I found it pointless because a real Android device with root access is far more beneficial than a virtual machine. If you can find any practical utility of a rooted virtual Android device, feel free to let me know.

Anyway, here is my impression of Nox App Player:

Pros of Nox App Player

  • Amazing performance with games. No glitches and no lags at all.
  • Allows quick mapping of gamepads, mouse, and keyboards.
  • You can literally specify just how much amount of RAM and CPU should the emulator use.
  • Very much capable of playing very resource-intensive games like PUGB, Call of Duty: Mobile, Justice League, etc.
  • Perfectly capable of dealing with all apps on Google Play Store.
  • It comes with its own optimized app store.
  • The UI is really stunning.
  • You can open and use multiple windows at a time.
  • It has support for Mac users, which is great.

Cons of Nox App Player

  • It has a lot of unwanted software bundled with the installer. If you accidentally install any of them, you may have a really hard time deleting them. So, be careful.
  • Your antivirus may flag Nox App Player files as suspicious.

Minimum System Requirements for Nox App Player

For Windows:

  • OS – Windows XP (SP3)/Vista/7/8/10.
  • Needs DirectX 9.0c.
  • Dual-core processor from AMD or Intel.
  • Support for Open GL 2.0.
  • Minimum of 1.5 GB of RAM.
  • Minimum 1 GB of hard disk space.
  • Broadband connection.

For Mac:

  • OS – Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or higher.
  • Minimum 1.5 GB of RAM.
  • Minimum 1 GB of hard disk space.
  • Internet connection.
Genymotion Android Emulator For Mac

6.GenyMotion

Best Free Android Emulator For Mac

In case you are looking for an Android emulator for casual usage, or simply for playing games, GenyMotion is going to disappoint you big time! It is a premium emulator, and it is not cheap. This emulator is targeted for serious Android app developers.

GenyMotion is meant for serious business and comes with different pricing plans, customer support depending on the purchased plan, and it even comes with a whole cloud version. Basically, you can skip installing GenyMotion on your desktop and use it directly on the cloud.

Genymotion Android Emulator For Mac

In case you are interested, here are the pros and cons of this Android emulator are:

Pros of GenyMotion

  • Extremely powerful and extremely versatile.
  • It has support for 3000+ Android configurations, allowing developers to test their applications over a wide range of devices.
  • It is entirely compatible with Android Studio and Android SDK tools.
  • It allows testing websites in different Android browsers.
  • It is compatible with multiple platforms.
  • It is even available on the cloud!

Cons of GenyMotion

  • It is not at all designed for casual users and gamers.
  • It is very pricey compared to other emulators, and the minimum price starts at USD 136 per year per user. Genymotion is the price for the desktop version. Cloud versions have different pricing.

Minimum System Requirements for GenyMotion

Hardware requirement

  • At least 8 GB RAM is required. The more, the better!
  • Minimum 1.5 GB of free space on your hard disk.
  • Your desktop or laptop should have a screen resolution higher than 1024 x 768 pixels.
  • You will need a 64-bit CPU with AMD-V, or VT-x capability enabled right from the BIOS.
  • You will need a video card with support for OpenGL 2.0. Some of the compatible video cards are ATI Radeon HD 6000 series, Nvidia GeForce 500 series, and Intel HD Graphics 4000.

Operating System requirement

  • 64-bit Windows 7/8/8.1/10.
  • macOS High Sierra (minimum).
  • 64-bit Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Code Name – Bionic Beaver) or higher version.
  • 64-bit Debian 9.
  • 64-bit Fedora 30 or higher version.

7.PrimeOS

Okay, let me be clear. PrimeOS not just an emulator. It is a full-blown operating system! You can install it on your desktop or laptop as a standalone operating system or you can use dual boot! It is restricted to Windows users only. Mac users cannot enjoy this incredible OS!

Honestly, I did not find a reason that can make me install PrimeOS as a standalone operating system and ditch Windows completely. I use various software like Adobe Suite, Audacity, GIMP, InkSpace, Blender, video editors like Movavi, DaVinci Resolve, etc.

These cannot run on PrimeOS because they are not meant to! PrimeOS is based on Android! Yes, the whole thing is Android that is designed to give you a desktop experience similar to Mac or Windows.

On the flip side, however, if you have a spare desktop or laptop that you can dedicate to Android only, that’s fine. I did like PrimeOS a lot! Needless to say, I have PrimeOS on a dual boot and I intend to keep it that way.

Pros of PrimeOS

  • Gives a complete desktop experience while running on Android.
  • Gives full access to millions of Android apps from Google Play Store.
  • It comes with a regular taskbar as found on Windows or other traditional operating systems.
  • It has an app launcher similar to the start menu in Windows.
  • It allows multiple app windows and even has a resizing option for app windows.
  • Setting and notification panel retains the look of Android Nougat.
  • It allows installing any app and game.
  • For gamers, the PrimeOS makes use of all the computer hardware natively, giving an excellent gaming experience, which is far better than any emulator I have seen.
  • Gamers can also enjoy the features of keyboard and mouse mapping.
  • Any and every game including the resource-intensive games like PUBG, CODM, etc. can run smoothly without a glitch.
  • It can be installed as the only OS on a computer or as a dual boot option.
  • Just like Linux, PrimeOS allows testing the OS before committing to an installation. You can run the live OS from a bootable USB disk and navigate around to see how it works and how it feels before installing.

Cons of PrimeOS

There isn’t enough to actually complain about it! Whatever I think is not really a con as such. Here is what I feel:

  • It is not good for designers who use creative software like Adobe Suite, Corel Draw, or 3D Rendering software like Rhinoceros or Maya. After all, such software is not designed to work on Android. So, complaining about them doesn’t really count.
  • In case of productivity, one cannot really utilize certain well-known office productivity suites like SoftMaker or LibreOffice but Android does have its own share of such productivity apps that work smoothly even on PrimeOS and are easily comparable to traditional office suites.
  • It cannot play Windows games.
  • It is not available for Mac users.

If you ask me, you can definitely go ahead and replace your Windows OS with PrimeOS if your computing needs are restricted to social activities, emailing, and usage of office suites. You can even open websites and get into website backend (if you own one)! It is pretty good!

Minimum System Requirements for PrimeOS

This is where things can get a bit complicated. PrimeOS comes in three variants with different system requirements. The three variants are:

  • PrimeOS Classic
  • PrimeOS Standard
  • PrimeOS Mainline

The basic system requirements for each variant are:

PrimeOS Classic:

  • Designed for older (before 2011) 32-bit systems.
  • CPU: Intel Core i series 1st generation processors and below or Intel Pentium Dual-Core or Intel Pentium G620 or AMD Phenom II X6 1100T, etc.
  • GPU: Works perfectly well with Old Nvidia GPU, Old AMD GPU, and Old Intel GPU.

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PrimeOS Standard:

  • Designed for newer (2011 on-wards) 64-bit systems.
  • CPU: Intel Core i series 2nd generation processors and above or Intel Celeron N3350 or AMD A8 5550M, etc.
  • GPU: Works with older Intel, Nvidia, and AMD GPUs.

PrimeOS Mainline:

  • Designed for newer (2014 on-wards) 64-bit systems.
  • CPU: Intel Core i series 5th generation processors and above or Intel Celeron N4000 or AMD A8 7410, etc.
  • GPU: Works with both Intel and AMD GPU but desktops with Nvidia GPU can lead to freezes and lockups. Switch to Standard variant of the OS in case of graphics glitches.

8.Bliss OS

Bliss OS is not an emulator. Android emulators emulate Android on either PC or Mac. Bliss OS, just like PrimeOS, is Android itself. You need to install it separately as an operating system that runs natively on your computer hardware using all the processing power, memory, and storage.

Unfortunately, Bliss OS is not really as polished as PrimeOS and comes with some serious problems. Here is what I found:

Android Emulator Free For Mac Windows 10

Pros of Bliss OS

  • It can be installed as a sole operating system on a desktop or laptop.
  • It can also be used as a dual boot OS. This means that you can keep your existing Windows or Linux operating system. No, you cannot dual-boot it with Mac systems.
  • Once installed, the OS will show a nice taskbar and a start menu.
  • It comes bundled with certain pre-installed applications like Chrome, YouTube, Wallpapers, etc.
  • You can install it one a virtual box or on external storage if you want.
  • It allows keymapping – a great feature for gamers.
  • You can run it as live OS from a bootable USB stick without directly installing it. This helps to get a better understanding of the OS.

Cons of Bliss OS

  • The applications always launch in the unmaximized state but there is a button to maximize the app window. Unfortunately, there is no minimize button, which I feel should be there when you are porting Android to desktop.
  • Installing apps from Google Play Store can be a headache depending on your system hardware. Some won’t install and some may install but remain buggy.
  • Those installing Bliss OS as dual-boot on a Linux system will not find Bliss OS listed on the boot-loader list after they execute the grub-update or grub2-update command. They need to find a different workaround, which I feel is not worth the time and effort.

Minimum System Requirements for Bliss OS

The minimum requirement for installing Bliss OS (on a system running Windows) are:

  • 1 GB RAM.
  • CPU: Intel Pentium 4 (2.00 GHz).
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce 6100.
  • OS – Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10.

If you are unsure about your system specs, you can download and run a small utility that will tell you whether it can run Bliss OS or not. You can find the utility here.

9.ARChon

ARChon is far from being a popular Android emulator. It was never meant to be a standalone emulator in the first place. The whole idea behind ARChon development was to allow users to run apps from the Android ecosystem on Chrome OS.

The idea of ARChon was conceived when Google gave support for a couple of Android apps on Chrome Web Browser. Someone independently worked on ARChon after Google’s move to make other Android apps available on Chrome.

So, if you are looking for an emulator that you can use for hardcore gaming, ARChon is not up to the task.

Steps to Install ARChon Runtime

First, download and extract the ARChon runtime from the download link below. Once you have obtained the download link, go to chrome://extensions on your browser URL bar and follow the steps below:

  1. Step 1: Turn on Developer Mode.
  2. Step 2: Click on the Load Unpacked button.
  3. Step 3: In the popup, select the extracted folder.
  4. Step 4: Click on the Select Folder button.
  5. Now you can see the ARChon Runtime on that page.

Pros of ARChon

  • No fancy installation requirement. It is integrated directly into Chrome.
  • Pretty good if you want to access productivity apps from Google Play Store on your Chrome OS or Chrome browser.
  • Works on Chrome in Windows, Linux, OS X.

Cons of ARChon

  • They are not designed for gaming.
  • Slightly complicated when it comes to usage.

Minimum System Requirements for ARChon

  • You must have an ARM-based Chromebook.
  • For architecture-independent usage, make sure you are using 32-bit Chrome or 32-bit Chrome OS.
  • For systems with Intel x86 architecture, you will need 64-bit Chrome or 64-bit Chrome OS.

Conclusion

Okay, let me be honest with you. The list above is not a complete list of best Android emulators for PC & Mac. There are a few more. For instance, there is MuMu App Player that is developed in China and has both Windows and Mac versions available.

MuMu has English-translated versions available (initially available in Mandarin Chinese), but I did not list it on the grounds of concern over data-leak. You may, however, try it on your own risk. The MuMu emulator does come with a polished interface and a lot of features that put it at par with BlueStacks or Nox App Player.

Again, we have KOPlayer – a famous emulator, but I couldn’t access its website. The website of KOPlayer simply keeps refusing connection irrespective of whether I use a proxy, or a VPN, or a direct connection.

If I can’t access the official site, I don’t see a reason why I should try to find an alternate source. I am not a big fan of Malwares and Spywares that can potentially infect my systems when I use an alternative source.

Last but not least, there is Remix OS. It was the original Android OS designed for desktops and laptops by a company formed by ex-employees of Google.

Something went wrong somewhere in that company, and they stopped supporting Remix OS. Alternates of Remix OS are PrimeOS and Bliss OS. Since Remix OS is no longer supported, I decided to exclude it from the list.

Mostly, this list of best Android emulators or PC & Mac contains only those that are under active development and received enthusiastic support.

Contents of the Article

  • 1.BlueStacks
  • 2.GameLoop
  • 3.MEmu
  • 4.Android Studio
  • 5.Nox App Player
  • 6.GenyMotion
  • 7.PrimeOS
  • 8.Bliss OS
  • 9.ARChon

Best Android Emulators for Mac to use Android Apps on Mac

Android is one of the most popular mobile platforms out there that is being used by millions of people from across the globe. No matter what kind of app you need, you can certainly find that for your Android mobile. Android is popular because of several reasons. First, the mobiles are very cheap and comparatively cheaper than iOS. Second, loads of free apps and games are available for Android on Google Play Store and third party stores. And so on. But, what if you want to install and use Android apps on Mac? Here are some best Android emulators for Mac so that you can install Android apps and games on Mac.

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Best Android Emulators for Mac to use Android Apps on Mac

There are several Android emulators for Windows. However, Mac users need to be careful before installing an Android emulator. Otherwise, you will end up installing bloatware eon your MacBook or iMac.

1] Bluestacks (Free)

Genymotion Android Emulator For Mac Downloads

Bluestacks is a very popular Android emulator for Windows. However, the same app can let you use Android apps and games on Mac as well. There is no need to head over to another Android emulator when you have it on your OS X machine. Bluestacks can assist you to install apps from APK files. That means if you have downloaded the APK file of app or game of Android, you can install that on your Mac through Bluestacks. Apart from that, tons of free apps and games are available inside the Bluestacks app. This is also possible to stream videos from Twitch, which is generally unavailable in other Android emulators for Mac. The best part is Bluestacks does support instant messaging clients. Which means you can talk to your friends over that IM even when you are using Mac. Download

2] Manymo (Paid)

Not only Mac, but also you can use this Android emulator on any operating system since it works online. In other words, there is no need to install any third-party software or emulator to use Android apps on Mac. Manymo works as a browser based tool or web tool. However, you need to create an account. The setback is there is no free trial or free version available for this app. You must have to spend at least $9/month to get started with Manymo. The best part of this tool is you can select the Android version that you want to launch. For example, you wish to check how your app looks on an Android 2.3.3 mobile or Android 4.2 mobile. All those things can be done with the help of Manymo. Having said that, Manymo is pretty sloer than Bluestacks. Visit Webste.

3] Genymotion (Paid)

Android Emulator Free For Chrome

Genymotion is probably the best Android emulator for Mac. This does almost 95% job of a standard Android mobile. In other words, you can install apps, develop and test, change battery level to check performance of an app, use webcam as camera, and so on. Like Manymo, you can get all the versions of Android and 40 different kinds of Android devices so that you can test your app completely. Genymotion integrates with several other development kits such as Android Studio, Android SDK, and more others. Some useful sensors such as accelerometer, gyroscope, etc. are also available. Like an Android mobile, you can capture screenshots too. Genymotion costs around $136/year. The Business edition is priced at $412/year. Visit website.

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There are more other free and paid Android emulators for Android. However, when it comes with development, you should opt for Genymotion. Otherwise, Bluestacks is the best fit for you.


Android Emulators are one of the most amazing things for Windows PC and Mac users. Your computer becomes a dynamic device which can run other apps and software which are only compatible with another operating system like Android.

People, who never use an android emulator in a windows 10, 8 or 7 PC will always have this question in their mind that why would you need to download emulator if you have an Android smartphone which can simply run android apps and games without any other external tool? Well, it could be any reason for someone to run Android apps on a Windows/Mac PC. A developer who wants to test his apps before releasing the app to the public would use an Android emulator of their choice to test the app. Another reason could be that the person wants bigger real screen estate when playing android games with the use of physical keywords and mouse.

Using an Android Emulator will give a whole new experience with the little bit of a usual Android smartphone experience since the UI of the emulators (except some emulators) will be similar to an ordinary Android smartphone.

So today we are going to look at the 17 best android emulators for Windows PC and Mac. Particularly the Android emulators given in this guide are compatible with Windows 7/ 8/ 10 & Mac. This is a complete guide on, How to download and setup best Android emulator on PC? This article will give you a brief description of the android phone emulator and how and where you can download them.

These Emulators are available for free and are available for both Windows PC and Mac. So you don’t need to spend a penny to install and experience any of the Android emulator’s mentions in this guide.

Note that installing any of the Android studio emulators would require some kind of basic knowledge about Android, Windows PC, and Mac which almost everyone will have so I don’t think there should be any problem with this guide. This guide is very precise and if you read this article carefully and you won’t face any issue or whatsoever.

So here are 10 best Android emulators for Windows PC and Mac.

Contents

  • 1 Android Emulator for Windows and MAC

Andy Emulator

Andy Emulator is completely free of cost, and you can download it from lots of third-party websites. You must be thinking that why I didn’t put Bluestack as the number one Android emulator for Windows PC and Windows. This emulator had few issues when it was first released, but with the few updates released by the developers, it has become a serious competition with the Bluestack. In my opinion, it is even better than the Bluestack Emulator. If you are using Windows 10 or Mac, then you should definitely try this emulator. The emulator is also available for Windows 10, 7 & 8.

Andy can run all the free android apps including games, launchers, productive apps, entertaining and education. You can even get root access with this emulator which makes this emulator very productive especially for the developers. However, it is not a perfect emulator, in fact, there is no perfect android emulator. All the emulators have at least one flaw which can be a deal breaker for someone. Andy Emulator will run Android 5.0 lollipop which is not up to date since the Android smartphones have to reach android 8.0 Oreo. Maybe in future updates, these emulators will get new OS version.

Bluestacks

BlueStacks Emulator is another great emulator, and it has been in the android emulator department for a while now. This is a very trusted android emulator for both Windows PC and Mac. The developers especially prefer this emulator over any other Emulator because of its dynamic ability. Although the emulator is still running on KitKat and you can download and install all the free android games as well.

Nintendo Emulators are one of the biggest reason why people use the android emulator on their computer because you can play all those legendary Nintendo Gameboy games on your computer with the help of Android Emulators like BlueStack.

BlueStacks is the oldest as well as the first private android emulator. So people who are using BlueStacks since the beginning does not even bother looking at other options.

Nox App Player

If you are a minimalist then you will fall for this emulator. Nox App player is an amazing android emulator, and it is the cleanest when it comes to the user interface of the app Nox App Player is preferable for the mobile gamers since this emulator consists of efficient game rendering engine which can run heavy games smoothly.

Nox App player is clean and gives you a stock android like experience. You can directly install games and apps from the google play store which is given in the app drawer. If you have apk installed on your Windows PC and Mac, then you can also install that apk. Make sure that you enable “unknown Source” which you can do from the settings app.

This emulator comes handy for developers as well. They can test their apps and work on them.

Dolphin Emulator

Dolphin Emulator is another great emulator for this list. Dolphin Emulator is one of the newer emulators in the market. It can run Nintendo GameCube and Wii emulator, so this is good news for Nintendo and Wii lovers. With these titles, you can download and play games like Mario, Sonic and street fighters on your PC.

However, Dolphin for Android has some games compatibility which is more limited than the one available on Windows and Mac. Dolphin is also available for Linux. Dolphone has touchscreen controls as well as physical controls like your joystick, keyboard, and mouse.

Although there is a compatibility issue with Dolphin, it allows you to configure the emulator in almost every aspect. You can also enable “dual Core” enhance the performance of the emulator.

Archon Emulator

Archon Emulator is the unique emulator in the emulator department. Archon Emulator is the first ever emulator which runs on Google Chrome OS. If you have one of those Google Chrome OS running devices and you want to run an Android Emulator, then you should definitely try this emulator I mean what another choice you even have.

The anchor can also run in Google Chrome Browser in the form of an extension. Archon cannot be download separately; you will need Chrome Browser and then install Anchor inside chrome to run this app. Google Chrome is available for all the major platforms so Mac users can also run on Archon Emulator.

Archon Emulator uses the default Android runtime package to run Android apps. Google is expected to release a new update which will support Android apps for Chrome browser in the future. Till then we can use Archon emulator to run Android apps and games in Chrome browser.

Archon has a modified apk android app package which the developers implemented so that people can use it for testing purpose only. So as long as you are not doing any fishy thing with this emulator, you are good to go.

KoPlayer Emulator

KoPlayer is not as good as the emulators mentioned above when it comes to the user interface, but it has lots of good features which makes it worthy of trying. This is a Win-only Android emulator. You get Google Play store inbuilt in the emulator, and it is compatible with Windows 7/ 8/ 8.1/ 10. Watching movies and videos from Youtube and Netflix makes this emulator a great entertainment companion since it has an adaptable resolution and you can watch contents in full screen.

Ko Player Emulator for windows PC has other good features like drag and drop for installing apps directly through apk files without downloading them from external sources. You can also navigate through the interface with keyboards and play games with it.

Make sure that you enable discrete graphics solution and virtualization technology in the BIOS settings before running any app.

Ko Player is yet to launch for Mac users so meanwhile, you can check on other android emulators which are compatible with Mac.

Genymotion Android Emulator For Mac

Genymotion Emulator

GenyMotion is another great emulator for developers. If you are developers who test a lot of apps on a regular basis, then you should give Genymotion a try. Genymotion is a self-claimed emulator for the developer because of its features. It is compatible with Android SDK tools, Eclipse and Android Studio.

You can sideload plugins for Genymotion to increase the control over the apps that you are testing.Genymotion has Java API which allows the user to automate apps for testing. BY testing with Java API, you can manipulate the sensor value of the app that you are testing. You can change the location and scenarios as well. You can also emulate fake SMS/Calls to check any relatable app you are working on. So basically this emulator is perfect for developers in my opinion, and it has all the geeky stuff which a normal consumer won’t get.

Remix OS

Remix OS is another emulator which is on the newer side. This emulator is easy to use without any errors or whatsoever. While most of the Android Emulators are running on Android KitKat or Lollipop, Remix OS Android Emulator for PC runs on Android Marshmallow. This is a huge advantage over another emulator because you can simply download and run more new apps and games on your MAC or Windows.

Remix OS has a feature called dual booting capability which means that you can easily install this emulator separately in x86 compatible systems.

Side-loading apk files are possible, but Google Play store is installed by default so you can get pretty much all the android apps from google play store. The user interface is simply because of the stock android like interface.

You can configure keyboards for your likings but I believe it can be more refined and also the demanding games needs optimization. However, you can run decent size games and apps simultaneously thanks to the effective resource utilization.

Remix OS is not available for Mac OS, and I don’t think it is coming for Mac OS any time soon.

Android Studio

Android Studio was released back in 2013, and since then it gains a lot of popularity. This emulator is a successor to the Eclipse IDE which is still in use by some old school developers. Android Studio has an emulator built-in so that developers can test their apps. So basically it means that an Emulator is running inside an emulator which is sort of a gimmick but it works.

Android Studio works fine, and it gets the job done. It has all the basic developer tools, but there are other Android emulators out there who are significantly better than this one. You can download Android Studio Emulator for playing games or trying out WhatsApp on your PC.

Xamarin

Xamarin Visual Studio is a successor to Xamarin Android Player. Unfortunately, Xamarin Android studio discontinued, but you can use it as Xamarin Visual studio.

Xamarin Visual Studio is compatible with both Windows PC and Mac OS. It runs perfectly on Windows 7/ 8/ 8.1/ 10.

If you are looking for developing android apps tools, then you might not want to use this app. This emulator is not developer friendly simply because it does not have the required tools.

Xamarin Visual Studio can run all the popular Android titles without any error. Laos if you have a touchscreen feature on your desktop and laptop then this emulator can also work with it.

The user interface is also not as pleasing as another emulator, and then navigating through the interface can be hard. All and all I would say that this emulator is not for the general consumer. You also need to install Visual Studio separately in order to run Xamarin Visual Studio

Virtual Box

Virtual Box is a software for Windows and Mac OS which can run other operating systems as a guest OS. You have to download and install VirtualBox & Android iOS for the initial setup. Speaking of setup, setting up this software and making it able to run other OS can be tedious for some user.

Once you complete the setup, you can have an experience with running Android OS or any other OS as it is running on a physical device that runs such OS. Other emulators are also based on VirtualBOX& VMware software.

Memu

Memu is a light android emulator. It does not take much of your computer space. This emulator is not available for Mac OS. Memu runs few kernels that support jellybean, KitKat and Lollipop. The developers of this emulator claim that this emulator will get marshmallow and Nougat update very soon.

Memu is a free android emulator, and although it not much in size, it has all the necessary features which other emulators also have. It can run on Windows7, 8, 8.1 and 10 with both Intel and AMD system (It can also run with or without any integrated graphic).

Droid4X

Droid4X is an old emulator which is still giving competition to other Android emulators out there. This classic emulator is somehow simple and effective. Runs smoothly on Windows PC and Mac. Droid 4X is concentrated towards gamers, particularly casual gamers who just want to kill time. When it comes to productivity, Droid4X is no slouch, and it can deliver some impressive performance to people who do productive tasks.

Droid 4x has recently faced some issue, and now I’m not sure whether the emulator is available or not. But you can check their website.

Youwave

Youwave is another old emulator but it still working and available for Windows PC and Mac. However, the emulator has not received any updated for years now. Youwave Android emulator is available in two versions, Freemium, and premium. You will get Ads and Ice Cream Sandwich in the freemium version. You must download premium version as it’s much better since it has no ads and runs on a lollipop.

Leapdroid

Leapdroid supports almost all the free android apps and games. You can download and run the apps pretty smoothly. Leapdroid has features like enhance gameplay, seamless apps and games compatibility.

Android Emulator For Windows

The acquisition of Google has made the emulator vulnerable, and there is no update for this emulator anymore. You can still install this emulator, but you won’t get any security patches.

AMIDuOS

AmiDuos is not an emulator but software which can run Android apps. You won’t get any android like the interface, but that’s not the point here. People install Android emulators to run Android apps, and AMiDUos also delivers that. It runs only on Windows with 32 and a 64-bit system.

Bliss

Genymotion Android Emulator For Mac Download

Bliss is a decent android emulator which runs on x86. It is available for Windows PC. I don’t recommend this emulator to anyone simply because it has lots of compatible issues. Go for any other emulator mentioned above, but I think you should avoid this emulator.

So these are the best Android emulators that you can download and install on your Windows 10 PC and Mac OS. There are some Emulators which are not compatible with Mac OS, but every emulator in the list is compatible with windows.

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