The five best emulators for Android to PC

We have emulators of game consoles, subsystems, Linux for Windows, software that allows run apps from Windows in Linuxetc, etc In the background, we want to be able to use it all at all timeswithout this we suppose to have to be changing of device. Even screen.

But, what if what we want is to be able to use it on our PC the same applications that we have been using in our mobile? Well, for that we have several emulators of Android available for our use. From Engadget we have made a brief list of the highlights:

Android x86 + virtual Machine

The first Android emulator from the list of our… is not an emulator. Android x86 it is a ‘port’ or adaptation of the Android our smartphones to be able to be installed directly on PCs and used, if you wish, as the main operating system. If instead of this what we install in a virtual machine like VirtualBox or VMWare Workstationwe give you the option to use the Android software without the need to stop using our Windows systems (or Linux).

The project Android-x86 was born only a year after launching the Android market, and currently has already adapted the penultimate version of Android, the 9 ‘Foot’. Android x86 emulates WiFi connections on computers with Ethernet to improve the compatibility with the applications and provides a taskbar alternative equipped with a start menu and a tray of recent apps (in the style of Microsoft Windows and Linux desktops).

Android, as a good relative of GNU/Linux that is, it also lends itself to that of the ‘distributions’so if the Android-x86 standard doesn’t convince you, you can always resort to alternatives such as Bliss OS or PrimeOS.

Genymotion

Genymotion it is a special case: it is not an operating system designed to run by itself a device, but still works on VirtualBox, as Android-x86. Does not mean that you have to install two programs separately, because VirtualBox is already included in the installation of Genymotion.

Your Android experience iscontrary to the previous case, identical to that you could find in any mobile. The explanation is simple: is especially directed to developers of applications for Android, you need to get an idea as detailed as possible of how to work their apps in the smartphones of the users.

In fact, allows you to emulate models of smartphone specific: the virtual machine HTC One with Android 4.3 will not work just as well as a Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.1.1.

To make the task easier to the developers, we can use Genymotion to test on the fly the apps that we believe, from Android Studiothough this IDE also allows install your own virtual machines (the performance is usually better if you opt for Genymotion).

BlueStacks

Possibly the Android emulator most used (now has 400 million users, according to their website) and one of the veterans, BlueStacks is specially designed for the public ‘gamer’. This has led to its creators to simplify their use, facilitating their installation and including a large amount of installed applications (whose number can be extended using the Google Play Store).

In addition, its interface also looks, as in the case of Android-x86, resemble a standard desktop PC, including aspects such as functions, multi-window. In addition, thinking in facilitating the use of games, includes mapping of keyboard and mouse, and up to translation of real-time applications (function, especially designed for role-playing asians, which many times lack of version for the West).

MEmu Play

Also MEmu Play (formerly ‘MEmu’, to dry) is an emulator focused in the field of video games. Like BlueStacks, it has integration with Google Play, key mapping and mouse and the ability to run and display multiple apps simultaneously.

MEmu provides, in addition, all kinds of facilities for transferring files between the PC and the emulator environment, in addition to a simulation system of the GPS. A feature that its users stand out about this program is its good performance when you run the games.

ARCHon

6 years ago, Google released a technology called App Runtime for Chrome (ARC), which allowed run Android apps in Chrome OS. Shortly after, a developer took advantage of this technology to create ARChonan extension for Google Chrome that allows you to run Android apps directly from the browser.

Despite what it may seem, is not a good option for the user who wants to “go easy”: installation required to activate the mode ‘developer’ of Chrome because it is not included in the Play Store, and any app that we want to execute we have to convert previously in the Chrome extension, using tools that collects ARCHon in your web.

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The news

The five best emulators for Android to PC

it was originally published in

Engadget

by
Marcos Merino

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