- Bluestacks Android Emulator for macOS. Certain emulators are easy to install and run.
- Bluestacks is one of the most popular Android emulators for Windows and is probably the best Android emulator for macOS, as well. This emulator is built primarily for mobile gamers and claims to provide a “PC-like” gaming experience for your mobile apps.
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.
BlueStacks App Player from BlueStacks Inc. Is designed to allow you to use your Android apps on a PC or Mac. Their slogan for the application is 'Play Bigger,' and that's exactly what BlueStacks. The Top 5 Best Android Emulators are: 1. If you have used an Android Emulator in the past, you already know what Bluestacks is. It is one of the oldest and best android emulators and came to markets in 2011! It has been one of the best for its features and capabilities.
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 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
Bluestacks Android Emulator For Pc And Mac
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.
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
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.
Android Emulators are one of the most popular applications these days because of a variety of purposes which they serve.
It helps android app developers to test the applications which they have developed according to real life usage before they release it.
However, the reason why Android Emulators are so popular because these android emulators allow you to install your favorite android applications on your PC/Laptop which allows you to play your favorite games on a bigger screen with the comfort of using a keyboard and a mouse.
There are a lot of Android emulators which are available for download, but finding the one which is the best and which will suit you the most is not at all easy and it can be very confusing for any user.
Download BlueStacks 4 for PC and MAC Free Download 2020: BlueStacks is the emulator that plays using the Android app on your PC / Mac easily and smoothly.BlueStacks has released the newest and most powerful advanced Android emulator for PC / MAC Called “Blue Stacks 5 download“.BlueStacks launched a new version after the “BlueStacks 4” Almost million of peoples currently using for.
In this article we will discuss the top 10 android emulators which you can download to install your favorite android applications on your PC/Laptop.
BlueStacks is quite simple to install and use for playing android games or using android applications on Your Windows 10 PC or Mac Laptop. No prior guidance is required to use this emulator. On the downside, BlueStacks may slow down the speed of your device depending upon the configuration and system compatibility. It aims at players similar to Bluestacks and comparable emulators. But, it is also quite usable as a productivity tool too. Its latest upgrade was in mid-November 2019 which upgraded additional smart keymapping together with the typical performance enhancements and bug fixes. Nox is just another Android emulator for PC for players. BlueStacks is an Android Emulator designed to run Android applications and games on our PC, Mac, and Windows. Mainly the emulator focuses on operating Android games on our devices with high quality and resolution. However, it also helps us download Android applications.
Contents
- 1 Top 10 Android Emulators For PC & MAC
Top 10 Android Emulators For PC & MAC
GameLoop
GameLoop is one of the most popular android emulators available for PC because of the latest changes which this emulator has introduced.
It was previously known as the Tencent Gaming Buddy but since it became the exclusive emulator app for Call of Duty Mobile game, it changed its name to GameLoop android emulator.
It is dedicated completely for playing Android games which means you can install other Android applications on this emulator, but their performance would not be that great.
Game Loop has got plenty of built-in game settings and support for Android games especially FPS(First Person Shooting)games like PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile.
It has really low response time and even heavy games like PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile do not lag during the gameplay. This is why, GameLoop is our number one choice when it comes to Android Emulators.
BlueStacks
One of the oldest and probably the most known and famous Android Emulators of them all is BlueStacks Android Emulator.
It is really easy to install which adds to its popularity and it is one of the most preferred Android Emulators when it comes to gaming purposes. Earlier, BlueStacks was used only by gamers, but now even app developers use it because of the updates this app has received which suits most of the app developers well.
The most recent version of the app BlueStacks 3 is much faster and efficient than ever before and it now runs even the most demanding games at high settings and graphics without lags.
Another reason why BlueStacks is so popular because users can download apps from the official app store of BlueStacks which has apps optimized for being installed on BlueStacks android emulator.
MEmu
MEmu is one of the more recent android emulators launched in 2015 and it mainly targets thegaming audience i.e this emulator is made specifically for gaming purposes.
It is capable ofrunning graphic intense games like PubG Mobile and COD Mobile at high settings and smoothgraphics and the performance of this Emulator is somewhat similar to the performance ofBlueStacks emulator.
The reason why it is so popular because it has also got support for older and slightly outdatedAndroid versions like KitKat and Jelly Bean.It has got dedicated mapping which will help you when you play FPS games like PUBG Mobile.
It can also automatically identify APK files on your computer and can install them just by adouble click on the file.
Nox App Player
If you have used MEmu Android Emulator, you will find Nox App Player quite similar to MEmu because Nox App Player is quite similar to MEmu emulator in terms of usability, interface and performance.
It is one of the best emulators for personal use and has got a really simple interface which makes it very easy to use.
It has got a massive in-built game library and has got the smoothest gameplay on all of them.Nox App allows you to map your keyboard and has also got gesture support which makes it really popular in the gaming community.
KO Player
KO Player is one of those emulators which love gamers because it focuses mainly on gamers. It aims at delivering a lag-free experience to its users which makes it really popular amongst gamers.
KO Player is a free application and this is why you can see a few advertisements here and there for monetization purposes.
KO Player has in-built support for keyboard mapping and it is very easy to set up and navigate through the apps.
Remix OS Player
After the huge success of Remix OS, Jide Technologies launched its own Android Emulator, the Remix OS Player.
Unlike the Remix OS which was a real operating system and it required disk partition for being installed on the hard drive of a user’s laptop or PC.
However, the Remix OS Player is an android emulator and it is one of the unique android emulators available because of the unique features which this emulator has to offer.
It has been highly optimized for gaming and this is why it is really popular amongst the gamers.
Andy
Andy is a completely free Android emulator and you won’t also be seeing any annoying advertisements.
It has got a unique feature which allows you to use your smartphone as a controller while you are playing your favorite games.
It also allows you to install Android apps directly on your desktop.
It runs very smoothly and could be great emulators for games that you want to play as well.
I personally have played many games and the playing experience was just smooth.
Droid4x
Droid4x is one of the competitor applications to Andy and it comes with many features which the Andy Emulator offers.
It is one of the few selected emulators which is suited more to the developers working on Android App Development instead of gamers.
It can be installed both online and offline using installer packages.
Personally using it on my low configuration PC, it gave me pretty satisfactory results.
Hence, if you have a low configuration PC, you may choose this one.
GenyMotion
GenyMotion is one of the few applications which has been developed specifically for developers although it supports games equally well.
It lets you test your developed applications on various platforms.
Various android versions which can help a developer fascinating their applications on a wide variety of different android versions.
When you will be installing this on your PC, you will notice that this is a very light emulator.
The RAM usage is very little as compared to others.
Android Studio
Android Studio is the official emulator of Google and is a developmental IDE(Integrated Development Environment).
It has been developed mainly for developers and has a lot of in-built tools which are of a great use to these developers.
These are some of the best android emulators and all of them except the BlueStacks emulator do not require powerful processors of additional RAM and most of them would work on Intel or AMD processors with 2 GB or less of RAM.
But it suggested that for a smoother gaming experience, your PC/Laptop should have at least 4 GB of RAM or more.
Last Updated on October 22, 2020 by
When it comes to playing Android games on PC, BlueStacks is unarguably one of the best Android emulators for Windows 10 and Mac users around the world.
BlueStacks 4, the latest version, runs on Android Nougat (7) technology and it was the first emulator to implement it back in 2018. And ever since then, BlueStacks has added a lot of new features with every update making the gaming experience better and better! Here are few of them that we loved while playing the Android games on BlueStacks.
Astounding Features of BlueStacks
#1. Shooting Mode!
Not all emulators are capable of providing mobile like experience on PC due to compatibility issues of mouse and keyboard. But with BlueStacks, all you need to do is press F1 and start shooting it with your mouse when needed. That’s how simple it is to control the game at your fingertips, especially in the shooting games.
#2. Multi-Instance Manager!
Playing a single game with multiple accounts at the same time is what many gamers prefer when it comes to PC games. The multi-instance gaming option in BlueStacks is capable of running more than 2 games at the same time without making your system slow. Be it a 32-bit or 64-bit Android game, BlueStacks lets you play Android games on PC, you can read more at how to play Android games on PC. All you need to do is sign-in using your different accounts to use a multi-instance manager.
#3. MOBA Mode!
Online battle arena and role playing games have gained immense popularity over the times. And the eagerness to play such MOBA games on PC with BlueStacks has also seen a hike. That being said, the MOBA mode in the emulator lets you control the game dynamically instead of your regular WASD keys. Here’s how to activate the MOBA mode in BlueStacks.
- Launch the game and press CTRL + Shift + A to access the advanced game controls.
- Next, drag and drop the D-Pad on the screen and open the D-Pad settings with right-click
- Now choose the MOBA mode and click on Save Changes to activate MOBA mode.
With this, you can skip the usual WASD keys and set custom keys for particular actions. You can find the advanced MOBA settings from the official website here.
Bluestacks Android Emulator For Pc
#4. High FPS!
When it comes to shooting games, the games are designed to be best played with high FPS. The game that involves quick movements of opponents usually needs high FPS on your PC to be in the game. This is because you need to plan your moves quickly, attack them to win the battles and to do this, high FPS is required in the games you play. To set up high FPS, go to BlueStacks settings from bottom right sidebar and click on Engine option. Now, set the FPS slider to 60 and tick the ‘Enable High Frame Rates’ option in order to adjust the FPS further. These changes will be applicable when you launch the game next time.
Apart from these features, the custom key mappings is something which you’ll find missing in other emulators like NoxPlayer and MEmu. If you would like to edit apps, remove promotional ads from BlueStacks than you need to root BlueStacks and you can do so using BSTweaker 5. With that said, let’s now see how to install the emulator on Windows.
Bluestacks Android Emulator For Pc And Mac Play Stream Watch
How to Install BlueStacks on Windows PC
The emulator can be installed in 2 ways. One is with an online installer (the installation guide that we’re going to explain now) and the other one can be done with an offline installer.
Step #1
Option 1: Download BlueStacks offline Installer by clicking on the below links to get started depending on your computer CPU.
Option 2: Visit the official website of BlueStacks from here and click on the download BlueStacks button, depending on your system configuration, the installer will automatically detect the 64-bit or 32-bit Windows version and install the latest version of BlueStacks accordingly.
Step #2.
Launch the downloaded file of BlueStacks and click on Yes when the system asks you. Once the BlueStacks appears on the screen, click on the Install Now button in the emulator. Wait for some time until the emulator gets installed. The file size is about 550 MB.
Step #3.
Wait until all the files are extracted and it checks for system requirements before installing. It also checks the extracted files in the process to install the BlueStacks engine on your PC. Ensure that your antivirus is turned off if it’s interfering during the installation of BlueStacks.
It may still take some time to start BlueStacks as this is the first time you’re installing it. Overall, it depends on your PC’s performance.
Step #4.
Once the BlueStacks is launched, make sure that you sign-in using your Google account as it syncs your data if you’ve used the emulator earlier.
Step #5.
Enter your Email ID and password of your existing Google account to proceed further.
Step #6.
Once done, click on ‘I Agree’ on your BlueStacks after entering the password. By default, the Backup to Google Drive option is turned on. Keep it as it is if you want to back up all your BlueStacks data. Next, click on Accept.
Bluestacks Android Emulator For Mac
Step #7.
It will now launch the Google Play Store through which you can search and install your favorite games just like you do in your Android smartphones or tablets!Well, that’s how simple it is to download and install BlueStacks on your Windows PC. In future if you are not happy with running BlueStacks on your machine than you can read here on how to uninstall BlueStacks completely.
Bluestacks Android Emulator For Pc And Mac
BlueStacks probably occupy a decent amount of RAM on your system. So depending on the RAM you have in your computer, the BlueStacks may run slower or faster.
Minimum System Requirements to Install BlueStacks!
To ensure that BlueStacks runs smoothly and you don’t face any issues while playing your favorite games, make sure that your system is compatible with these system requirements.
Bluestacks Emulator Pc Download
Operating System: Microsoft’s Windows 7 and above.
Processor: AMD or Intel Processor.
RAM: Minimum 2GB of RAM
Hard Disk Drive: Minimum 5GB Free Space.
Updated Graphic Drivers is a must!
These are the minimum system requirements but if you’re a heavy user or love to play more Android games on PC, here what your PC must have.
Recommended System Requirements to Install BlueStacks!
Operating System: Microsoft’s Windows 10
HDD: SSD
Android Emulator Bluestacks Download
RAM: Minimum 8GB or higher
Processor: Intel or AMD Multi-Core Processor.
Graphic Cards: Intel/Nvidia/ATI, Onboard or Discrete controller
Apart from all these, ensure that Virtualization is enabled on your PC. If you’re not sure about how to enable it, here’s a simple guide to follow.
Closing Thoughts!
Bluestacks Android Emulator For Pc And Mac
We hope that you’ve now got enough information on BlueStacks to get started! If you face any issues during the installation process or while playing any games, do let us know in the comment section. We will be happy to solve your issues as we’ve played various Android games on BlueStacks until now. Download BlueStacks now and stay tuned for more such detailed guides and tutorials!