Back in 2012, When I started using Android Apps and playing Android games on my Windows PC there were not many Android emulators out there to choose from.
But now in 2021, this situation is quite opposite to that. There are over 30 Android emulators available for Windows 10 OS and Mac OS.
So, if you are not an expert then it is really hard to pick the right one for your needs.
To give you the best advice I have decided to test most of these Android emulators myself. So that you don’t need to spend hours and days downloading and installing all of these Android Emulators.
After testing the simulators for days finally, I have come to my conclusion.
I have tested more than 20 Android emulators on my Windows PC and most of one most of them were not really good. But there are some really amazing Android emulators out there that we can use to play games or use any of our favorite Android Apps like Snapchat Instagram WhatsApp or any Other Android App. Here’s the list of the Best Android emulators for PC.
Here’s the overall difference between the major Android emulators.
All emulators 🎮 claim they are #1 Android emulator that are capable for playing any latest game on minimum system resources. We recently posted about how Visual Studio for Mac is supporting Apple Silicon / M1 architecture through the Rosetta translation layer starting in version 8.9, and we’re working towards native support. We’ve been using and testing with M1 Macs, but it’s always great to hear how.NET and Visual Studio for Mac are working for our customers in the real world.
| # | Best Overall | Best For Gaming | Best For Developers | Lightweight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Bluestacks | Gameloop | Android Studio | Youwave |
| Link | Download Bluestacks | Download Gameloop | Download | Download |
| Price | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Platform | Windows & Mac | Windows OS | Windows OS | Windows OS |
Before installing any Android emulator it is the most important thing you should know,
Most of the Great Android emulators Use a lot of your PC resources that means multitasking will become very difficult. Especially if your PC has a low configuration like an i5 processor and maybe 8GB RAM.
Even if you have a low configuration PC or laptop then you can still use these emulators but the thing is that The simulators will work better if you close all other softwares.
Once you have tried some of these Android emulators on PC, don’t forget to share which one is your favourite one and which App do you use the most.
So without any further ado let’s see the list of best Android emulators for Windows 10 PC and Mac.
1. Bluestacks – The Best Android Emulator
Bluestacks Android Emulator is probably the best emulator to use to run Android Apps on MAC or Windows 10 PC. The performance of the Bluestacks is excellent. You will experience unmatched Android performance with this emulator.
Bluestacks is easy to install and use. The User Interface is so good. Even a third-grade student can use Bluestacks emulator without any guidance.
It does not require any virtualization, and it is easy to install and play android games on Windows PC using BlueStacks Android Emulator.The great performance and user experience of Bluestacks come with a catch. Bluestacks slows down many PCs and Laptops significantly.
Android Emulators For Mac M1 Free
We need to keep installing some kind of Apps every day to keep using Bluestacks for free. This is the worst thing about Bluestacks App Player.
- Available for both Windows OS & MAC OS.
- Price: Free or $2 per month for premium features.
2. Nox App Player – Great Android emulator for macOS
Nox App Player Android Emulator is perfect for gamers. If you want to play Android games on Windows 10 PC, then you can use Nox App Player.
You can control and play games with a mouse and keyboard. Due to its speed, many use it to test their Android games.
It has a lot of exciting features like one-click to hide or show root. It has keyboard mapping, where you can use a keyboard if you want to click anywhere while playing games.
- Available for both Windows & MAC.
- Price: Free
Nox Player has built-in GPS controller settings, through which you can play GPS based games like Pokemon on Nox Player in Windows OS.
3. Gameloop – Great Android Emulator for Gaming
Gameloop emulator has launched just a year ago but this emulator has become very very popular within no time.
- If you want to play Android games then look no further, Gameloop is the best emulator to play games on PC for free.
- Right now this is the second most downloaded Android emulator on Windows PC with over 400 Million installs.
- The reason why this emulator became so famous within a short time is that it was developed by the Tencent company.
In case, if you don’t know about the Tencent company then you should know that it is the same company behind developing the most amazing games on Android mobiles that is PUBG and Call of Duty Mobile.
This is the official Android emulator to play PUBG and Call of Duty games on Windows 10 PC
If you’re looking to play only Android games on your Windows 10 PC then this is the only in Android emulator that you need to use there is nothing that can be compared to the Gameloop emulator.
When it comes to Android gaming performance on your Windows 10 PC, Gameloop is the best.
The only problem with the Gameloop emulator is that it is not available for Mac devices & It only supports Android games it does not support any other Android Apps as BlueStacks does. You can download Gameloop for free using the download link below.
- Price: Free
- Available Platforms: Windows 10
4. MEmu Android Emulator
- MEmu is another fascinating Android emulator for Windows 10 laptops.
- The latest version of Memu Player supports Android Nougat, and it is compatible with AMD and Intel Chipsets.
- It has a lot many features as it comes with root access. If you are looking for productivity and gaming, then the MEmu android emulator can be chosen.
- Memu is a free emulator.
- Memu emulator is not available for Mac OS devices.
5. Android Studio – No 1. Android emulator for Testing Apps
- If you are new to Android emulators, then initially, you need to get your hands-on this Official Emulator.
- This is the official Android emulator released by Google for testing Apps in different Android versions.
- It is highly recommended for Android App developers.
- Developers can choose from 100’s phone models to emulate and see how the App works on different phones.
- It has a complete guide and documentation to make it easy to use, and you need to try it.
- Keep in mind that the setup of Android Studio very complex and I only recommend this for Android Developers, not for normal users.
6. Andy OS – Android emulator for low-End PCs
Android Andy OS is another unique emulator for PC. It stands unique when compared to other android emulators due to its unique features.
It allows you to use your phone as a remote control to play games. Using your desktop browser, you can install apps directly in Android Andy OS Emulator. It requires Virtualbox to be installed on your system.
7. YouWave – Great Choice for Windows 7
- YouWave is another Android emulator for Windows 10 PC. It has a lot of exciting features and is the best choice for Windows 10 PCs. It has got easy to use user interface and has gained popularity in a short period.
- YouWave Android emulator works with all Windows versions. It supports Android 5.1 Lollipop and has SD Card functionality. It supports dynamic rotating and can play multiplayer online games.
8. Windroy Emulator
Windroy is said to be one of the best Android Emulators for Windows as it runs on the Windows Kernel. It does not require any Virtual Box support the same as BlueStacks.
It is handy and easy to use. You need to make sure the path you install Windroy should not have spaces.
9. GenyMotion -Best Android Emulator for Enterprises
GenyMotion Android emulator for Windows 10 PC has salient features like OpenGL and support for hardware acceleration.
It is a bit different form of BlueStacks due to its unique features. It is faster when compared to BlueStacks as it is built on X86 architecture.
Genymotion is a cloud-based Android emulator. You can use Genymotion on AWS, GCloud, and other servers. Genymotion is primarily for developers who want to test their Android Apps performance and scaling up issues.
The price for using Genymotion on the cloud is $.05 per minute. As you can see it is definitely not for regular use.
10. Remix OS Player
- Remix OS Player is the new Android Emulator by Jade, and it comes with Marshmallow.
- It is straightforward to install and simple for productivity and gaming.
- It has a sidebar that helps you to customize the configurations. It does not support AMD Chipset.
11. Droid4X
- Droid4X is the lightweight Android emulator for your PC. This is good for users with old desktops and laptops.
- It has some exciting features, you can try this Droid4x once.
- It comes with Play Store pre-installed in it, and it allows you to configure your keyboard as a controller while playing games.
- It is fast and does not lag any of your games, and it is the right choice.
- Droid4x has been discontinued by the developers. I do not recommend this emulator for beginners.
12. Jar Of Beans
- Jar Of Beans is an Android Jelly Beans Android emulator for Windows 8/10 PC.
- It has priority worldwide and easy to install. You can configure settings as you want and can also create a Virtual SD Card.
- You can download apk and connect them using jar Of Beans.
- I do not recommend this for regular Android emulator users. Anyway, if you wanna give it a try then you can download it.
8. AMIDuos
AMIDuos is one of the recent Android emulators for Windows 10 PC and is perfect for gamers. It is straightforward to install and has an excellent user interface. It is said to be a smooth Android emulator and has things like gaming and productivity well.
It is not said to be developer-friendly as it does not have device-specific configurations, but on the user side, it is perfect to use android apps on Windows PC.
Note: This Android emulator has been discontinued by the developers. So, it is not wise to use this anymore.
14. Many Android Emulator
- Many Android Emulator is one of the underrated Android emulators.
- It comes with in-browser support, and it supports all android versions.
- So, if you are an android app developer, then you can use this to test your Android app in all versions without leaving it. It is easy to download, install, and check your applications.
15. Xamarin
- Xamarin Android Emulator is a must need an Android emulator if you want to work with a visual studio as it comes built-in with this.
- It also has Xamarin studio and OpenGL support. Xamarin is not suitable for normal users who want to run Android Apps on PC or Play Android games on Windows 10.
- Xamarin is for people who want to develop Android Games and Applications.
16. LDPlayer – Best Android Emulator for Windows 10
LDplayer is recently released by XUAN ZHI INTERNATIONAL CO., LIMITED. The good thing about the LDPlayer is that you choose the Android OS version. This is the reason LDPlayer has become a choice for many people.
It works with all versions of Windows and is said to be the lightweight android emulator. Android Emulators for Mac Free download.
Android Emulators For Mac M1 Online
17. KoPlayer
KoPlayer is another best android emulator in this list, and it is best to play an Android game on Windows 10 Laptop. It has a lot of features that make KoPlayer unique from other Android emulators. You can record the emulator screen while playing games so that you can record the shared video of your gameplay. You can also use multiple accounts simultaneously.
Here are some of the frequently asked questions about Android Emulators.
If you are an Android developer, then you can use Android Emulators to test your Apps to know how it works.
There are many such reasons to use Android Emulators. If you are also looking for Android Emulators for Windows 10 PCs or Mac Laptops, then you have landed on the right page.
Android Emulators Conclusion
Have you ever thought of playing Android games on Windows PCs or MAC? Yes, you heard it right. Not only Android games, but you can also use any Android Application on Windows PC using Android Emulators.
Some applications look excellent in your mobile, and using them on the PC will be more impressive, and those same Apps will give you an incredible experience. There are many more such reasons to use Android Emulators on Mac OS laptops or Windows 8/7/10 PCs.
Note: Most of the Android Emulators would drain up your CPU, So I recommend not using any other software while running Emulators. This way, you will not run into any issues.
These are some of the best emulators for Mac & PC. If you have anything to add, please do let us know through comments.
Contents
This is the second post that I dedicate to talk about configurations using the new M1 Apple processor. As I said in the previous post, these configurations are workarounds until stable versions are released, however, for me, they have been useful and I guess that someone in the same situation as me can benefit from that.
Using Android studio in the new Macbook Air
When you install Android Studio you will get the following warning:
Unable to install Intel® HAXM
Your CPU does not support VT-x.
Unfortunately, your computer does not support hardware-accelerated virtualization.
Here are some of your options:
1 - Use a physical device for testing
2 - Develop on a Windows/OSX computer with an Intel processor that supports VT-x and NX
3 - Develop on a Linux computer that supports VT-x or SVM
4 - Use an Android Virtual Device based on an ARM system image
(This is 10x slower than hardware-accelerated virtualization)
Creating Android virtual device
Android virtual device Pixel_3a_API_30_x86 was successfully created
And also in the Android virtual device (AVD) screen you will read the following warning:
If you want to learn more regarding virtualization in processors you can read the following Wikipedia article, the thing is that our M1 processor doesn’t support VT-x, however, we have options to run an Android Virtual Device.
As the previous message was telling us, we have 4 options. The easiest way to proceed is to use a physical device, but what if you haven’t one available at the moment you are developing?
From now on, we will go with the option of using an Android virtual device based on an ARM system image as options 2 and 3 are not possible to execute.
Using the virtual emulator
The only thing that you have to do is to download the last available emulator for Apple silicon processors from Github https://github.com/741g/android-emulator-m1-preview/releases/tag/0.2
Once you have downloaded you have to right-click to the .dmg file and click open to skip the developer verification.
After installing the virtual emulator, we have to open it from the Applications menu.
After opening it you will see Virtual emulator in Android Studio available to deploy your Android application. Make sure to have Project tools available in Android Studio (View -> Tool Windows -> Project)
After pressing the launch button you will get your Android application running in your ARM virtual emulator :-)
Conclusion
In this post, we have seen that is possible to install Android Studio in Macbook Air M1 and use a virtual device even that your M1 doesn’t support VT-x. You can learn more about this emulator in the following references:
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