Best 3 Android Emulator for Mac to Run Your Wanted Android Apps

Part 1. Why You Would Run Android Apps on Mac

• • To run around 1.2 million apps on Mac from Google Play Store.
• • To play tons of Android games on larger screen.
• • People, who spend a good amount of time in front of desktop, will find it more convenient if they were able to use apps like WeChat, WhatsApp, Viber, Line etc. on their Mac.
• • App developer can test their apps on the desktop before sending it to the Google Play Store for user reviewing.
• • Some Emulator supports battery and GPS widgets. So, developers can test their apps based on the battery performance and can also test how their apps will work on different geographical locations.

Part 2. Top 3 Android Emulator for Mac

• • BlueStacks
• • Genymotion
• • Andy

1. BlueStacks

BlueStacks App Player is probably the most popular emulator for running Android apps on Mac. It is available for both Mac and Windows. It creates a virtual copy of Android OS apps on the guest OS. It uses the unique "LayerCake" technology that allows you to run android apps on your PC without any external Virtual Desktop Application. Once install user can enjoy Android games and apps such as News Feeds, Social Network on a large screen.

BlueStacks maintain an internal search manager that allows any apk, the package file format that is used to distribute and install application and middleware on any Android device, to install within it. It can be

Advantage

• • .apk files can be installed into BlueStacks from Mac simply by double clicking.
• • It can also sync between the apps on Mac and the android phone or tablet by installing BlueStacks Cloud Connect app on Android Device.
• • Apps can be launched directly from Mac dashboard.
• • No need to configure additional Internet connection as it automatically gets the Internet connection of host computer.
• • BlueStacks App Player is available for both Windows and Mac.

Disadvantage

• When running complex graphic apps it fails to respond to the input in a timely fashion.
• It does not provide any mechanism to uninstall cleanly from the host computer.

Download

• • It can be downloaded from the official website of BlueStacks. It is absolutely free.

How to use

Download BlueStacks for Mac OS X from the official website of BlueStacks and install it like any other software on your PC. Once installed, it will boot up to its Home Screen. From there you can find the installed apps, find new apps in the "Top Charts", search apps, play games and change settings. Mouse will be the basic touch controller. To access Google Play you will have to associate a Google Account with BlueStacks.

2. Genymotion

Genymotion is a fast and wonderful third party emulator that can be used to create a virtual environment for Android. It is the fastest Android emulator on the earth. It can be used to develop, test and run Android apps on Mac PC. It is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux machine. It is easy to install and can create a customized android device. You can start multiple virtual devices at the same time. It has the pixel perfect functionality so you can be precise to your UI development. By using the OpenGL acceleration it can achieve the best 3D performance. It directly commands the virtual devices sensors with Genymotion sensors. It is evolution of the Android open source project and already trusted by about 300,000 developers around the globe.

Advantage

• • Best 3D performance is achieved through OpenGL acceleration.
• • Support full screen option.
• • Can start multiple virtual devices at the same time.
• • Fully compatible with ADB.
• • Available for Mac, Windows and Linux machine.

Disadvantage

• • Require virtual Box to run Genymotion.
• • Cannot deploy Android machine offline.

Download

• Genymotion can be downloaded from the official website of Genymotion. The latest version of Genymotion is 2.2.2. You have to choose a package that meets your requirements.

How to use

• 1. Download Genymotion. You have to create an account to download it.
• 2. Open the .dmg installer. It will also install Oracle VM Virtual Box on your computer.
• 3. Move the Genymotion and Genymotion Shell to application directory.
• 4. Click the icon from Application directory and the following window will appear.
• 5. To add virtual device click on the add button.
• 6. Click on the connect button.
• 7. Enter your user name and password to connect to the Genymotion Cloud and click on the connect button. After connecting with the Genymotion cloud the following screen will appear.
• 8. Select a virtual machine and click on Next.
• 9. Give a name for the Virtual machine like below and click on Next.
• 10. Your virtual device will be now be downloaded and deployed. Click on the Finish button after successful deployment of your virtual machine.
• 11. Click on the Play button to start the new virtual machine and enjoy.

3. Andy

Andy is an open source emulator that allows developers and users to enjoy more robust apps, to experience them in multiple device environments, and to stop being constraint by the limits of device storage, screen size or separate OS. User can update their Android through Andy. It provides seamless sync between desktop and mobile device. User can use their phone as joystick while playing games.

Advantage

• • It provides a seamless sync between desktop and mobile device.
• • Enable Android OS update.
• • Enable app download from any desktop browser to Andy OS.
• • Phones can be used as joystick while playing games.
• • Unlimited storage expansion.

Disadvantage

• • Increase CPU usage.
• • Consumes a lot of physical memory.

Download

• • You can download Andy from www.andyroid.net.

How to Use

• 1. Download and install Andy.
• 2. Launch Andy. It will take about a minute to boot and then it should see a welcome screen.
• 3. Sign into your Google Account and complete the rest of the setup screen. You will be asked to provide your Google Account Information to 1ClickSync, the app that let's you sync between Andy and the mobile device