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If you’re looking to run Android on your Windows PC, there’s no shortage of emulators available today. For those who are wondering, there are numerous reasons why you might want to use an Android emulator on your Windows PC.
For instance, Android developers can debug their apps right onto their desktop, gamers can enjoy Android-specific games on a larger screen and the list goes on. So, now that you see the various benefits of using Android emulators, it might be tempting to try one. The problem with Android emulators is that a lot of them are finicky and tend to not work as advertised. Therefore, I tried more than a dozen emulators to bring you the 7 best Android emulators for Windows. Note: I tried all the emulators on my HP Envy (Core i7) running Windows 10 Home and can confirm that they work as advertised.
All of these apps should work on Windows 7, 8, 8.1 as well but given the wide range of Windows hardware, they may or may not work well. Remix OS Player We’ve covered Remix OS earlier, which is an operating system based on the Android x86 project. While you can, there’s an even simpler way to experience Remix OS without going through the hassle of installing it. Remix OS Player is a free Android emulator for Windows based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Before installing Remix OS Player, please note that it doesn’t support some AMD chipsets and also requires “Virtualisation Technology” enabled in your BIOS. The first time you run Remix OS Player, you should be greeted with a fresh-looking interface, complete with the taskbar on the bottom and a shortcut button to access all the installed apps.
The Remix Central app offers you recommendations of trending apps and games you can download. It supports Google Play Store, so you can download apps and games with no extra setup. The team acknowledges that there’s something tremendously gratifying about button mashing while gaming that sometimes you just can’t get from a touch screen and so, they have heavily optimized Remix OS Player for gaming.
Specifically, you can map keyboard buttons and manage multiple games simultaneously on one screen. There are also a lot of under-the-hood improvements to improve gameplay. If you’re a developer, it still has you covered. You can manually set signal strength, network type, location, battery and lots of other things that can help you debug your Android application.
Overall, Remix OS Player is a solid Android emulator and perhaps the only emulator that runs Marshmallow, a relatively newer version of Android. Download: 2. MEmu MEmu is a high-performance Android emulator for Windows that is based on Android Lollipop. Unfortunately, it comes preinstalled with Android Jellybean 4.2 and upgrading to Lollipop requires downloading. It is compatible with Intel, Nvidia powered Windows PCs and unlike Remix OS Player, it is also compatible with AMD chipsets.
To run Windows apps on Mac operating system, scroll through and install any of these Best Windows Emulators for Mac on your Macbook or iMac. Parallels Desktop The Parallels Desktop is the paid Windows Emulator for Mac OS. With so many emulators to choose from, in this top list, I will tell you top 5 best free Android emulators for your Windows PC & Mac. We look at the features available, stability, ease of use and the overall user experience to determine the best.
The first time you open it, you are greeted with an ancient 4-year old Android version, with the main menu tucked in the right-hand sidebar. It comes pre-loaded with the Google Play Store, so you can browse and download Android apps and games to your heart’s content. Also, MEmu associates itself with APK files on Windows, so you can just open the APK file from anywhere and it would automatically open and run in MEmu. Also, if you happen to discover new, you can have MEmu push the app right away to your phone via the USB cable. It supports keyboard mapping, so you can assign certain keys to simulate touch in specific areas of the screen.
Other than this, it supports full-screen mode, screenshot tool, a handy “kill process” tool, screen record, amongst several other features. Also, it features an interesting “ operation record” tool, so you can record certain touch-screen actions and replay it anytime, thus automating tasks on-the-fly. I really like the flawless pointer and keyboard integration in MEmu. Perhaps my only rant about it is that it ships with a really old version of Android. You can upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop, but that is still at least 2-years old. If you can compromise on the amazing features that brings to the table, MEmu is one of the most capable Android emulators I’ve tried.
Nox Player Nox Player is another Android emulator for Windows, based on Android 4.4 KitKat that boasts of class-leading performance and advanced features. It ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to features, so it’s possible that some may find the interface to be a little overwhelming at first. But as you spend some time with it, you are bound to fall in love with it. In the settings, you can change the number of CPU cores, FPS or the amount of RAM you would like to allocate to Nox.
If you’ve compatibility problems with some games, you can switch between two graphic rendering modes: DirectX or OpenGL. It comes with inbuilt support for Google Play Store and also, you can just drag and drop APKs to the Nox player to install them. There’s a “ simulate touch” functionality which is just another name for keyboard mapping and it aids you in playing games. The “ script record” functionality lets you record specific events on screen and replay them later. It can be especially useful when you need to, that would otherwise be very monotonous to perform manually. To amaze you further, it comes with a rooted version of Android out-of-the-box. Also, the multiplayer feature lets you run multiple instances of Android at the same time.
As you can see, Nox player is an amazingly feature-rich Android emulator that is let down only by an older version of Android. Download: 4. BlueStacks You saw this one coming, didn’t you? After all, BlueStacks is based on Android 4.4 KitKat and has been one of the early pioneers of this whole “Android on PC” thingy.
But lately, BlueStacks has become a lot bloated and the competition has quickly caught up with it. However, it is still a very capable Android emulator and I strongly feel that this list would’ve have been incomplete without mentioning BlueStacks. It comes with the Google Play Store pre-installed, which gives you access to over 2 million Android apps and games. Installing APKs is pretty easy too.
It comes with a couple of features that none of its competitors offers. The first one is the ability to live-stream to Twitch, so you can show-off you game playing skills to your followers. The second one is that you can using BlueStacks TV.
Other than this, it supports multitasking, much like an actual Android phone. The free version is riddled with ads and constantly nags you to install sponsored apps. So, you can get the premium version, which brings an ad-free experience and priority support. Download: (, $3.33/month premium version) 5. AMIDuOS AMIDuOS, also called DuOS, is yet another Android emulator developed by American Megatrends, a Georgia-based company. Before installing DuOS, make sure that the “Virtualisation Technology” is enabled in BIOS and you have Microsoft Net framework 4.0 or above.
DuOS is based on Android 5.1 Lollipop but for some weird reason, there’s an option to download the Jellybean-based version too. One important thing you should know is that it does not come with the Google Play Store, but instead, ships with the Amazon App Store.
Amazon’s offering is nowhere near the Play Store when it comes to the apps and games offered, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem because you can always install APKs in DuOS. In fact, you can just right click on an APK in Windows and it’ll present you with the option to install the APK directly in DuOS. On the hardware side of things, it supports gamepads and external hardware GPS. The configuration tool lets you set the amount of RAM, frames per second and DPI manually. One feature I really liked about it is the ability to run in “ root mode“. This means that you essentially have baked-in root user privileges and can run all the.
There’s no keyboard mapping feature, so playing games isn’t going to be any convenient, that is unless you attach an external gamepad. There’s a free 30-day trial version available, but you will have to shell out $15 for the full version. The full version comes with Android 5.x Lollipop and there’s $10 lite version that comes with Android 4.2 jellybean.
Download: (, $15 Full version, $10 Lite version) 6. LeapDroid LeapDroid is a powerful Android emulator that was acquired by Google last year and eventually shut-down (you can still download it from other sources). But make no mistake, despite the discontinuation, LeapDroid still manages to be one of the most robust Android emulators around. It is based on Android 4.4 KitKat and comes with all the AOSP apps like browser, music, camera, etc. The home screen offers shortcuts to download popular.
But that’s not it. It comes with full support for Google Play Store, so you can get Android apps and games up and running in no time. You can also directly install APKs from your PC if you like. Other than this, it comes with full-screen mode support, a screenshot tool and the option to choose graphics rendering mode between OpenGL or DirectX. It also supports keyboard mapping, so you can play games conveniently with keyboard shortcuts instead of having to awkwardly fiddle around with your mouse pointer. Furthermore, you can also set gesture details and simulate pinch zoom using the scroll wheel of your mouse.
If you can shove down the throat the fact that it comes with Android KitKat, LeapDroid is really impressive. Also, because it has been discontinued recently, the company behind it no longer offers any support. So, if you don’t mind searching the web on your own for squashing any bugs you might encounter, give it a try. Download: 7.
Genymotion Genymotion has emerged as a great alternative to Android Studio’s default emulator. It is intended to be for development purposes but of course, you can use it for personal use, too. Before downloading it, make sure that you’ve enabled the “virtualization technology” in your BIOS and you have the latest version of installed. Also, you’ll need to before you can start using it. One great benefit of using Genymotion is that it literally lets you select any Android phone to simulate and choose to install any Android version — from Android 4.4 KitKat to Android 7.0 Nougat. The free version comes with support for manually setting GPS coordinates, battery level, and camera.
The premium version unlocks lots of new features like screencasting and remote controlling of Genymotion using an actual phone. It has plugins for Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, and Eclipse to help developers test their apps directly within the Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It doesn’t come with the Google Play Store by default, but with a little bit of setup, you can have it by manually installing GApps. Genymotion also provides a cloud-based online emulator which you can try right within your browser, though you’d have to contact them and request for a private access. Overall, Genymotion is the perfect Android tool for developers.
You can still use it for casual gaming, although you’d be better off with other options on this list for that purpose. Download: (for non-commercial use only) Other Android Emulators For Windows There are some more Android emulators I gave a shot but they didn’t make the cut to the above list. Some of the other Android emulators I tried are,. The reason I didn’t include them above is because I wasn’t able to get them to work on my machine, even after hours of troubleshooting. This does not necessarily imply that these emulators are worthless. If you feel that even after trying out the best Android emulators, none of them really suits your needs, feel free to give these emulators a try. Lastly, there’s also an official Android emulator that comes bundled with.
It is built from the ground-up mainly for development purposes, and thus may not be an ideal choice for end consumers looking to run Android apps/games on their PC. That being said, there’s no harm in trying it out! SEE ALSO: Run Android Apps on Windows with the Best Android Emulators So, this was my list of some of the best Android emulators you can use to run Android apps on your Windows PC. Whether you’re a developer looking to test apps or you’re a casual user looking to play some games, you will certainly find the best emulator for your need.
If you ask me personally, I’m torn between MEmu and Remix OS Player. But with so many good alternatives around, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the same for you. Which one of them is your favourite Android emulator for Windows? Chime in your two cents using the comments section below.
I want to play RR3 (Real racing 3) on my laptop. I have 16 GB RAM and 4 GB AMD Radeon R5 Graphics Card paired with Intel Core i7-6500U 6th Gen Processor. I can easily play GTA V on low setting, however Real Racing 3 lags a lot in Bluestacks Also, Button mapping doesn’t work great in RR3. But again, it lags (much lesser than Bluestacks, but still it doesn’t feel good.) Which android emulator do you suggest for best performance for playing Real Racing 3.
Yeah, just one bloody game. Also, it should have better key-mapping (like in Nox).
I am not entirely sure if expecting so much clarity from an emulator that you are basically using FREE OF CHARGE is the best course of action. You could simply download this or any other game that is built for PC, just like we used to play NDS on Laptops and PCs back in the day. These emulators help you project the phone onto a big computer screen and you could use it for diverse purposes but gaming is a different thing that requires hardcore graphics, you should know that before expecting too much from it. The internet has become a list of useless info from people who don’t know, don’t use things, don’t go out, don’t have any experience, ahhh the list goes on.
For me, I found Bluestacks to work really amazingly well even on my old Packard Bell RHEA laptop, 1Gb RAM, 1.4 Celeron CPU lol! Browsing the Internet using Bluestacks was amazingly fast, even though using Windows on the same laptop is misserable.
That was the last thing I ever expected to see happen ? NOX ran so slow on the same laptop, it was unusable, oddly. Hi Abhishek, You have even mentioned emulators, which are on the verge of going out of business. However, there are several points, which you have not mentioned here. For example, 1. Nox App Player does not support several AMD processors. I have tested half of Android emulators mentioned here for my client, and guess what, you have also excluded important points like Intel VTX and AMD SVM should be enabled, in order to run them smoothly. I would appreciate if you can cover these points because downloading & installation of 400MB Android emulator isn’t your everyday cup of tea for several readers.
Cheers, kksilvery.
By. 6:30 am, January 2, 2015.
Because you can. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac One of the selling points of a Mac these days is the ability to run Windows software on it, via or Apple’s own. Running Windows lets you play PC games that haven’t been ported to the Mac, or stay completely compatible with your documents from a PC-centric workplace. Advertisement Virtualization software like Parallels or VMWare Fusion (two of the best apps to run Windows software on your Mac without partitioning your hard drive for Boot Camp) isn’t free, though these applications do allow you to try before you buy. Windows 8.1, the current version of Microsoft’s operating system, will run you about $120 for a plain-jane version. You can run the next-gen OS from Microsoft (Windows 10) on your Mac using virtualization for free, however. We took a quick run at doing just that, as originally sussed out by the.
Grab that virtual box We’re going to use a free, open source bit of emulation software called VirtualBox, from Oracle. It’s pretty robust and works almost as well as the more costly solutions like Parallels or VMWare Fusion, so you can get a taste of things without having to bust out the credit card. Head on over to the, and click on the Download link over to the left. You’ll want to choose the latest VirtualBox version (4.3.20 as of this writing) for OS X hosts x86/amd64.
Once downloaded, you can launch and install the app, which will get you ready to roll with Windows 10. Get Windows 10 for free To get a free, legal copy of Windows 10 Technical Preview, you’ll need to sign up with your Microsoft account (or create one in the process) for the. The process takes a couple of minutes, and it’s free as well. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll be able to that acts just like an inserted install disk. You’ll want to download the 64 bit version of file in the language you want Windows to run in. The instructions at the Technical Preview page tell you to move the file to a USB drive and then install from there, but you don’t need to–I installed it just fine from the file on my Mac’s hard drive.
Now you’ll want to launch VirtualBox. Click on the blue New star button at the top, and click through the default settings. You’ll first give the newly created virtual environment a name and choose the Windows Type and then Windows 8.1 (64 bit) from the two drop-down menus. Name it something clever, like “Windows 10” if you like. Install the virtual disk on the virtual hard drive Next you’ll need to choose the size of your virtual hard drive.
I left this at the default 2 GB setting, but you can increase it by moving the little slider to the right. Avoid a size that hits in the yellow or red zone, or you may have issues with running both OS X and Windows at the same time.
Allow VirtualBox to create a virtual hard drive using the default setting. Simply click on Create, then let it make a VirtualBox Disk Image, or VDI, on the next screen. I let it create a dynamically allocated hard drive, since that was the default option, as well. Give your new hard drive image a name (VirtualBox will choose the name you gave the environment in the first place – it’s ok to let this stand), and then find a size that fits well on your hard drive. I left it at the default 25 GB setting, and then clicked on Create. You’ll now have a virtual environment to install Windows onto. Click the green Start arrow, and then click on the little folder icon to choose the ISO you downloaded from Microsoft above.
You’ll have an option to Capture your mouse within the environment, and then you’ll find out that your host OS (OS X) allows for mouse pointer integration. Just click on the Continue buttons here. Rock the Windows install After you click Next on the Windows Setup window, you’ll need to click Install Now and then accept the license terms.
If you didn’t move the ISO to a USB drive, choose the second option when asked what kind of installation you want: Custom Install. Click Next when you see the Disk 0 Unallocated Space screen, and then click through the rest of the Windows installation prompts. As soon as all the Windows installation fooferah finishes up, you’ll be running Windows 10 on your Mac. You can hit Command-F to go full screen and trick anyone into thinking you’re running a Windows machine (except your Macbook looks way better than most PCs).
You can now install Steam or other PC games, or just mess around with the new OS.