Design your way

Do you enjoy using your Android apps, but find the screen too small to see well or use comfortably? The best solution might be an Android emulator for your PC.

What is emulation, you might ask?  An emulator either imitates or replicates games or apps on your PC. For a lot of people, this might be the best way to use their apps or play games.

The screens on many Android phones, or even tablets, can be hard to use or difficult to see.  Someone might not have a phone that can run a game they want to play. An Android phone emulator solves this problem.

There are a lot of Android emulators available on the web.  A lot of them have unique features.  We’ve provided an overview so you can pick out the best Android emulator for your needs.

AMIDuOS

AMIDuOS is a newer emulator for Android on Windows that comes into versions:  Jellybean (Lite; $10) and Lollipop (Pro; $15). You can buy both outright; you’re not renting access for a month, like with some services.

AMIDuOS is productivity based, and a good choice for office work or homework.  It can be used for basic testing, but don’t expect to do anything advanced with it.

It isn’t designed to be used as a gaming emulator, but it still works fairly well for games. It is a good overall Android emulator for Windows.

Android Studio

This emulator has Google’s stamp of approval for Android development IDE. As such, it is entirely geared towards the development of games and apps. Its built-in emulator allows for in-depth testing.

It’s not a good option for regular, consumer-level use, but it’s a potent and free tool for app developers. Android Studio is difficult to set up, but the thorough process means it’s very easy to use once you get it settled.

Andy

Andy is a free emulator for Android on PC. It’s not geared to any particular activity, though it offers a good experience to include launchers, productivity, and game apps.

You can install root access if you need it, making Andy a great emulator for productivity purposes. Be aware of the occasional installation issues, which are possible but not guaranteed.

Bluestacks

This is often recommended as the best Android emulator for PC. It certainly is the most popular and offers both Windows and Mac versions, both of which run quite well and both of which are free.

Bluestacks works by creating a virtual copy of Android OS apps on the guest OS. It avoids the use of a Virtual Desktop Application by using “LayerCake” technology to enable the use of Android apps on the PC.  The key to keeping it from glitching is to have a good graphics card in your PC.

Droid4x

Droid 4x is a bit different than other emulators. It is definitely designed with a focus on gaming emulation. It comes with the Play Store installed and is also pre-rooted.  Lag is minimal. This emulator allows a keyboard to be configured as a controller.

GenyMotion

GenyMotion is another app geared towards developers for testing apps and games. It can be configured to emulate several different devices in order to test for issues on each one.

You can switch between devices at will and it is a very handy development tool. GenyMotion is another one that’s not ideal for consumer use, though it can be gotten for free for personal use.

KoPlayer

KoPlayer is another gaming-focused emulator. It is one of the newer ones you can find and looks to be tailored to streaming, featuring the option to record and upload gaming sessions.

You can use keymapping for controls. It can be buggy. Hopefully, the bugs will be worked out in the future, as this is a still a new emulator. This is also another free emulator.

Leapdroid

Leapdroid is primarily a gaming emulator, designed entirely towards that end. It installs and runs quite smoothly.

Users can create multiple accounts and don’t require new logins when you change between apps. It can run just about any app available for Android and is a really solid choice for an Android gaming emulator.

Manymo

The Manymo emulator is online. You can use it on any computer. It is primarily designed for use by developers, with a number of tools to that end.

It comes with a variety of different pricing options based on the number of emulators you want to run from the site.  It isn’t really meant for personal consumer use, as the pricing does reflect.

MEmu

MEmu is compatible with a large variety of PCs, including those with AMD chipsets. It is a very high-performance Android emulator, based on Android Lollipop.

It gets a touch complicated. It is preinstalled with Jellybean 4.2. and the Lollipop upgrade requires downloading additional packages.

When opened for the first times, you’ll find a 4-year old version of Android, with the main menu on the right sidebar. It is a very good and powerful emulator, but it does need some adjustment.

Google Play is already installed on MEmu. It also associates itself with Windows APK files, allowing you open and run the file anywhere. In one of its more interesting and useful features, it can push new apps to your Android phone via USB cable.

MEmu is a very capable app, supporting keyboard mapping, full-screen mode, a screen recorder, a screenshot tool, and a “kill process” tool. The “operation record” tool is something pretty unique to MEmu, allowing you to record touch screen actions and replay them whenever you want to automate tasks.

Nox

Based on Android 4.2.2, Nox is free and available for both PC and Mac. It’s an emulator designed for games and supports not only keyboard controls but also gamepads.

It doesn’t require a great deal of technical know-how to get it running, just a simple download and install.

Remix OS Player

Remix OS Player is based on the Androidx86 project. It can be installed on either Windows or Mac. It’s based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It does not work with support some AMD chipset and requires Virtualisation Technology to be enabled in your BIOS.

When first running, the Remix OS Player features a taskbar on the bottom and a shortcut to access apps. The Remix Central app recommendations of trending apps available for download and the Google Play store is supported.

Remix OS has been optimized for gaming. Keymapping is available and multiple games can be up simultaneously on one screen. It is also great for developers, allowing the settings for locations, network type, battery, and signal strength to be adjusted for help with debugging.

Windroy

Windroy runs using the Windows Kernel. It requires no external Virtualbox support. It doesn’t have too many requirements, making it simple to use. Just make sure the directory path you install it in does not contain Spaces.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a wide variety of Android emulators for your PC.  They are all unique, tailored to different uses and specifications. Hopefully this list will help you find an emulator suited to your needs!

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