Android emulators have a wide array of use. They can be used by developers that can use them for testing applications that they worked on, or they can be used by a gamer who wants to play his mobile phone games on a larger screen. Also, some of the regular users would probably like to run Android apps on their Windows PC or a MacBook for instance.
Naturally, by using a keyboard and a mouse in the process. Naturally, as there are Android emulators, there are iOS emulators that can be used on Mac or Windows PC. In this article, we are going to focus on the best android emulators for Mac and Windows. We’ve concluded a list of the best ones that you can use. If you are ready, let’s go.
Genymotion
We are going to start this list of ours with Genymotion. This is not your average Android emulator. It targets only experienced developers. It will give you the opportunity to test the apps you developed on a wide array of virtual devices and by many versions of the system. It is compatible with Android Studio and Android SDK. It is so good that it can work with Linux and Mac OS X. Naturally because it is targeting developers, this emulator has many friendly features for developers. This is not the best choice if you just want a good gaming experience. This emulator is much more than that. However, you should definitely check it out.
Pros
- Supports Android from 4.1 to 8.0 versions
- Supports Android Studio
- You can run it on Linux and MacBook
Nox Player
Nox is an emulator that targets specifically Android gamers. Moreover, the emulator works just fine with other types of applications, and it can provide you with an exceptional Android experience. As we said, it mainly focuses on large multiplayer games like Justice League or PUBG. The best thing about this emulator is that it’s completely free and it doesn’t show any kind of sponsored ads that are so typical for a vast majority of applications nowadays. It will allow you to use a keyboard, mouse, and even a gamepad. However, it does have one perk. Its only problem is that demands a lot of memory from the machine you installed it on.
Pros
- Easy rooting
- Multiple windows on one device
- Controllers can have mapping shortcuts
Ko Player
Ko player is an Android emulator that focuses on delivering great gaming experience on lightweight software. This is a free emulator, but you are going to see some ads here and there, but not too much. It is pretty easy to set up and navigate through all the apps you can find on the Google Store. It supports both gamepad and keyboard mapping and emulation. When it comes to the downsides of this app, it can be buggy sometimes, which can be a problem when you try to uninstall the emulator. Also, sometimes it can happen that it can just freeze without any reason. The recovery of saved progress is in this can impossible.
Pros
- East installation
- Simple user interface
- It can support any Android device
BlueStacks
BlueStacks is probably the best-known Android emulator in the world. It has a big number of users throughout the world. It is pretty easy to set up, and it focuses mainly on gamers. Of course, you have the option of downloading the Play Store, but you can opt for downloading their own apps from their own store. How cool is that? The only real perk of this app is that their keyboard support mapping is not going to well with the gestures. This is a paid app, so you can expect sponsored apps to appear every now and then. Thanks to low memory and CPU usage, this app will provide you with exceptional gaming performance. This emulator is based on Android 7.1.2 called Nougat. Be sure that you can use this emulator for other types of apps. But as we said, it mainly focuses on gaming.
Pros
- Supports multiple accounts
- The latest version of Android
- Really easy setup
MEmu
Now, we are going to talk about a relatively new application player, called MEmu. It was launched in 2015, this is just another emulator that mainly focuses on gaming. Despite being less known than, for example, Nox or Bluestacks, it has similar results in terms of performance. The thing that we feel that needs to be pointed out is that it supports Nvidia and AMD CPU. Also, it supports a wide array of Android versions like Kit Kat, Lollipop, and Android Jelly Bean. This emulator advocates for high-performance gaming. However, the graphics are not so good. You can even see some smoothness missing and textures that don’t translate too well on bigger screens.
Pros
- Supports both Nvidia and AMD
- Keymapping
- You can set a location on Google Maps
Android Studio
We are going to end our list with Android Studio. This is a development IDE that was made by Google itself. It focuses on developers, and it provides a plethora of plugins and tools that can help you with building and testing apps. Naturally, Android Studio features an emulator but doesn’t offer so many features that you can get from emulators like Genymotion or Nox. Unquestionably, this emulator is not good for gamers. Especially if you are trying to play heavy games. It is kind of hard to set up, but it is the favorite tool for many developers.
Pros
- Regular update
- Google’s official emulator
