Joe Hindy is known as the 'app guy' around these parts. He's been at Android Authority since September of 2012. Previously, Joe was a part of the US Army and attended college for video game design. AMIDuOS was one of the most feature-rich Android emulators that stood the test of time. This lightweight launcher offered excellent compatibility for Android apps and it instantly transformed a Windows 10 computer into a full-fledged Android smartphone. Unfortunately, AMIDuOS was discontinued on 8th March 2018.
Nowadays, people are looking for simple ways to download Android apps for PC because we all love to use applications and games on a bigger screen. There are several Android emulators available that allows us to download and install our favorite apps and games on our computer. A few months back, we shared the best emulators for Windows but today, we are going to share an updated post where we put together the best Android emulators for PC, Mac and Linux, so that you can run the apps on all the operating systems.
Since you have been searching for the best emulator software for Android, you might be looking for the best way to download and use your favorite apps on your computer without any difficulties. I have faced the same situation and after researching for a long time, I got to know about the best emulators for Android that I can use on different platforms. So I thought of making a list putting together the best Android emulator for Linux, Mac and PC so that everyone can get all the information at one single place.
How Does an Android Emulator Work?
An Android emulator is basically a software that creates a suitable environment for the Android apps to run on a computer. Without installing and running an emulator on your computer, you won’t be able to install or run any of the Android apps or games on your computer.
Once you download and install one of the below mentioned Android emulators on your computer, you will be able to search for the apps and games and install them on your computer via the Google Play Store integration.
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Best Android Emulators for PC, Mac and Linux
Droid4X
Droid4X is one of the newest Android emulator applications whose presence has had a major impact within the short period it has been on the market. Today, Droid4X is amongst the fastest growing and popular android emulators whose frequent upgrades have made it a platform of choice for many users because every improvement makes the application more effective, easier and friendly to use. With every new version that is released on the market, user requirements are addressed. Droid4X is a good choice if you are an expert with Android emulator applications. Being a relatively new application, it still has some bugs and also doesn’t have plenty of supporting documentation to guide new users.
On a brighter note, Droid4X is excellent, powerful and ranks among the top when it comes to Android virtual machines. If recent developments are anything to go by, it is expected Droid4X will soon rival major platforms such as Bluestacks, Andy and Genymotion. This android emulator is a better performer than many other emulators both on Mac OS X and Windows platforms. Droid4X runs on a machine as a guest operating systems and makes use of the same PC hardware facilities. Due to its superior performance, you can be guaranteed you’ll have an exciting and fruitful experience using various android apps and games.
AMIDuOS
If you’re looking for a great android emulator that will satisfy your needs, AMIDuOS is a powerful platform that has the capability to run android apps in Windows 7, 8 or 10. This android emulator is packed with numerous features especially for running android on a Windows PC. Compared to Bluestacks, Andy and Genymotion, this application has greater capability to run graphic intensive games thanks to well designed features. When using AMIDuOS, you get to experience excellent performance with android seamlessly running on your PC without any performance or usability compromises.
Since it’s a relatively new application, the performance is quite good. Overall, AMIDuOS is a smooth android emulator whose performance is impressive. This means you can comfortably run apps as well as games without encountering any major hitches. Furthermore, the installation process is stress free but developers lose out because this emulator lacks device-specific configurations; this emulator was evidently designed for the consumer. Even though AMIDuOS is a paid android emulator, you can enjoy it for free for one month. The key advantages for this emulator is it installs very fast, gives users a full android experience and runs at a great speed.
So what do you need to install AMIDuOS? A dual core CPU plus 2GB RAM, OpenGL 3.0 as well as a hardware virtualization enabled BIOS. This software has 3D acceleration allowing users to enjoy playing graphic intensive games on their Windows PC. The software makes use of Windows OpenGL drivers whose role is to make sure there is an acceptable frame-rate improvement. Once you have AMIDuOS installed, you’re free to easily share images, video and music between your Windows PC and Android. The software has an SD card option that permits you to tweak the size of the SD card with the help of a simple tool. If you’re keen on having an android emulator that offers you a full android experience, AMIDuOS is your best bet for windows powered PC.
Manymo
Unlike other android emulators, Manymo is a lightweight program that brings app right into the browser. It is more of an online android emulator meaning it permits you to successfully run android apps in a web browser. Here, you can easily and conveniently add functional android apps to website the same way you embed YouTube videos. Testing is a key phase in mobile app development. Fortunately, Manymo allows you to perform automatic testing with the assistance of virtual Android devices available in almost all screen sizes as well as OS versions. In other words, Manymo performs well with any android compatible automation platform. The good news is this online android emulator has been used by thousands of users online and therefore, can be trusted to deliver good results. In addition, you can open a free account and launch any android app; you will not be asked to provide your credit card details.
MEMU
Memu is known for its exemplary performance with Windows PC especially for users who’re keen on enjoying a great Android experience. Memu is a new entry on the market and therefore, doesn’t have enterprise grade features such as those found in bluestacks or Genymotion. Memu is a product of Microvirt Co. Ltd and there’s every indication the developers intend to nurture this software to greater heights in order for it to compete with market leaders such as Andyroid, Genymotion and Bluestacks.
For now, you can use this software to comfortably play Android games, chat using the keyword while using apps such as wechat and whatsapp, enjoy live TV shows as well as run multiple android windows. In addition, this software supports multiple hardware configurations and therefore you don’t have to worry so much about compatibility. In addition, users are guaranteed of having great experiences while interacting with this Android emulator.
BlueStacks (For PC and Mac)
Download (PC) | Download (Mac)
BlueStacks is one of the best and the most popular Android emulator that everyone uses and recommends when it comes to downloading Android apps on PC.
The app player is available on both Windows PC and Mac so if you own any of these, then you can download it on your computer and install the application to start using your favorite apps. It is free to download and install – all you have to do is follow the installation instructions. Note that, in order to run BlueStacks without any glitches, you must have a decent graphics card installed in your system.
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AndyRoid (For Mac and PC)
AndyRoid emulator is growing in popularity and more and more people are loving the way it allows you to use your favorite apps and games from your desktop.
With AndyRoid, you can not only play apps and games on your computer, but it also provides you with a lot of features like using your smartphone as a remote control to play games with ease and also allows you to download nay app from desktop browser to Andy OS. Once you start using this particular Android emulator, I am pretty sure you won’t be looking at any other software.
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YouWave (For PC)
Another great alternative to run apps and games on your computer is YouWave. With this particular emulator, you will be able to get the apps running on your PC easily.
The emulator comes in two different variants – free and paid. If you don’t want to pay for the app then you can download the free version and use it without any troubles but if you don’t want any limitations then you would have to go with the paid version of the emulator. Also, YouWave is available for only Windows platform.
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Official Android Emulator (For Linux, PC and MAC)
Amiduos Mac
This Android emulator software, as its name suggests, is the official emulator that was designed specifically for developers so that they can install it on their computers and test the applications. The emulator can be operated on Linux, Mac as well as Windows PC and can be downloaded for free.
Since it was developed for app developers, the installation process is a bit complicated, so I suggest you to follow the steps in the link mentioned below.
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GenyMotion (For PC, Linux and Mac)
GenyMotion can be considered as one of the best Android emulators for Mac, Linux and PC because it is the perfect platform for developers to test their apps and games.
Using GenyMotion emulator, you will come across no glitches or difficulties when running Android apps and games on your computer. To download the software, you will have to create an account, confirm your email address and then you will receive the download links to get it on your computer running either Linux, Windows or Mac OS.
Nox
http://noxappplayer.com/
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If you’re an Android game lover, Nox has been specifically designed to cater for the needs of gamers. The software is packed with numerous features whose role is to help gamers have full control of their games using the mouse and keyboard. Some of the great addons included in this software are “swipe right” to simulate gesture movements on your keyboard or a joystick if you are in possession of one. When you begin using this android simulator, you will not want to stop because it’s a lot of fun. In addition, the software features seem stable and reliable. The best part about Nox is its completely free so you need not worry about any charges.
Jar of Beans
http://www.androidemulator.in/emulators/jar-of-beans/
This is an awesome Android emulator with capability to run all games and apps that can be run on Android Jelly Bean devices. The user-developed emulator is a product of “UnrealManu” and gamers love it because this Android emulator can smoothly run games which rely on hardware graphics acceleration. When it comes to app and games emulation, Jar of Beans comes in second after Bluestacks. The good news is you can enjoy playing your games in full-screen mode as well as switch to tablet mode for games which are supported by Android tablet. There are plenty of settings which enable you to customize how you play your games as well as app usage experience. Jar of Beans avails a wide variety of configuration options that include keyboard support, a virtual SD card as well as different viewing modes. It is expected that in future Jar of Beans versions, this emulator will incorporate numerous skins and multiple resolutions.
Apparently, this emulator can also work as an app-testing sandbox and therefore, you can easily and conveniently test your apps without having to use a real device. In addition, you can also import .apk files you’ve created on your PC into the emulator via a special button. Given that Jar of Beans is extremely flexible when it comes to customization, you can easily adjust your settings according to your app preferences. Also, feel free to create a virtual SD card with a size of your choice. This emulator has mixed reviews so feel free to download it and be the judge.
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So those were the best Android emulators that you can use on your desktops to either play games or use apps or if you are a developer, then you can test your apps to see if they are working fine in all the platforms or not.
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Amiduos Cost
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