How to install and run Android apps and games on your computer
With such a large collection of applications and fun games, the Android OS is something that many people want to emulate on their computers. Thankfully, there are plenty emulators we can utilize to do that.
What is an Android emulator?
An emulator imitates another program or device. In this case, you can have your computer host an Android environment just by installing dedicated software. And by doing that, you can enjoy your favorite Android mobile games on your desktop computer or your laptop without having to own an actual smartphone or a tablet. Even if your are not into gaming, you can leverage the technologies behind Android emulators to test your application and its behaviour across various configurations like Android OS version, screen size, etc. To make sure we are not wasting your time, this article contains a curated list of the best Android emulators available on the market right now.
BlueStacks
BlueStacks is one of the best solutions to our problem, and not only this app is available on Windows computers, but Mac computers as well. It was launched back in 2009, so it has plenty of history and improvement behind. Even though you can use this emulator for apps also, it was designed with gaming in mind. It brings proper performance, various optimizations for gaming, multi-instance support, and more.
BlueStacks features
Game Controls: thanks to this aspect, you can enjoy your favorite Android mobile games like you would on a geniune Windows video game. Use a keyboard, a mouse, or a gamepad. Plus, you can customize your controls as you desire throught the Controls Editor section. You can even create gamepad controls in the editor.
Shooting Mode: it's time to display your shooting skills and dominate the battlefield with some proper aim. The default key for enabling this feature is F1, but you can change anytime you want. The Advanced Editor is there to assist you in customizing this component to a tee.
MOBA Mode: as you can see from its name, this mode is all about enhancing your MOBA playing experience. It does this by providing the ability to assign keyboard shortcuts to your character's skills and abilities. Moving your hero inside the game and casting attacks is pretty intuitive.
Multi-Instance: this module makes it possible to play multiple games or playing on multiple accounts at the same time. Enable Eco Mode to optimize your computer for the best gaming experience possible. It works with both Android 32-bit and Android 64-bit games without problems.
Macros: automate boring tasks and actions by following a bunch of simple steps. You can easily create macros for any Android game and make your life easier. The customizating is there as well because you can adjust at which speed the macro runs. You can also decide how many times the macro is in use.
Real Time Translation: use this feature to automatically translate your favorite Android games to any of the languages supported by BlueStacks. However, you shouldn't use this component during active combat.
High FPS: BlueStacks' strong optimization enables you to play mobile games at up to 240 frames per second (FPS). This aspect comes in handy especially in competitive games like first person shooters, for example. Playing at a higher FPS gives you an advantage over players who don't. The game is smoother and it is easier to identify enemies and take them out.
High-Definition Graphics: play your favorite Android games in full HD, QHD, and UHD with this emulator. Put yourself in a better position compared to your competitors by playing at a higher resolution. If you do that, it is much easier to spot enemies from far away. As long as your computer is capable, you can even play at the 2160p resolution.
Google Play Games
Google Play Games enhances the way you play Android games on your computer. It does that by optimizing various areas of Android OS and gaming emulation. One of the most atractive traits of this application is the large collection containing over 200.000 games available at your fingertips. The installation process is pretty simple. The software requires your system to have Windows 10 (v2004) or newer, 8 GB of RAM, solid state storage, a multicore processor, Windows Admin account, and hardware virtualization. Once you finish installing Google Play Games, you gain access to its vast collection of games through a friendly user interface.
Google Play Games features
Play across different devices: synchronize your progress and your game library so you can always continue from where you left off. It works regardless of the platform (computer or smartphone).
Rewards system: earn Google Play Points and use them to purchase in-game items. The more you earn, the more you can spend on rewards and perks.
Organized gaming information: your gamer profile allows you to track your progress, statistics, achievements, and streaks for all your mobile games. Everything is kept simple and friendly with a single profile across PC and mobile.
Secure Play: play without worries because Google offers top protection and security for all your games. It achieves best security by checking over 10.000 checks on every game in your library.
Play Games Sidekick: this feature leverages Gemini Live to give you easy access to your achievements, stats, and tips without leaving the game. In addition, you can get real-time assistance from Gemini Live each time you play.
Nox Player
Nox Player is a free application which helps you emulate, install, and run Android apps and games on your PC. Just like the other emulators available on the market right now, it brings support for keyboard and for gamepad also. You can expect good optimization and performance from this emulator, but this aspect is tied to your computer's specification.
Nox Player features
Multi-instance: this component lets you run multiple games at the same time without problems as long as you have enough RAM and processing power. Plus, you can run multiple instances of the emulator, but with different Android versions.
Keyboard mapping: configure your controls to make gaming more convenient. There are 12 keys which you can configure, and you can also combine a bunch of them if you play a game that requires that type of action. Moreover, Nox Player comes with sets of special key mappings for MOBA games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor, and more, by default.
Controller support: connect your controller to your computer, and Nox Player automatically identifies it. Adjust the 6 keys to enjoy your gaming session more. It also comes with a Mouse mode, a feature which turns your controller into a mouse, allowing you to move and click as you like.
Gameloop
Gameloop is primarely known as the official emulator for PUBG Mobile, exclusive emulator for Call of Duty Mobile, but it works just fine with other games as well. This software boasts a user interface designed with friendliness in mind which makes it easier to install and launch applications and mobile games directly on the computer. It is a popular option for those who want to emulate the Android operating system because it is reliable, performant, and easy to use. However, if you install a very demanding app or game, the app might respond to you with lag which is something that other emulators do also.
Gameloop features
Tencent Protect: solid anti-cheating solution to provide a fair gaming experience for all users. This component covers multiple multiplayer mobile games.
Multi Instance: leverage this feature each time you want to play the same game, but with different accounts at the same time. And it's not just about that, because it supports multiple instances of the same application also.
Screen capture: take screenshots or capture video and audio of your best moments while gaming. Save the files wherever you want on the computer. The higher the resolution, the more storage space will be in demand.
Support for various resolutions: play Android mobile games at 720p, 1080p, and 2k resolutions. For lower spec computers, we recommend you to play games 720p or 1080p. The higher the resolution, the lower the FPS, unless you have a very capable computer.
Key remapping: this is a feature found almost on all Android emulators. Feel free to configure and to adjust the keyboard and mouse mappings as you see fit.
LDPlayer
LDPlayer is a free Android emulator which brings a powerfull gaming experience, various optimizations, high FPS, and more. Thanks to its lightweight design, this app minimizes resource demand. Because of that, your computer will perform better. The installation process is pretty basic. Just follow the steps on the screen, and you should be fine. LDPlayer lets you install and run various Android applications and mobile games. This emulator supports both 32-bit and 64-bit APK packages. Plus, it brings support for keyboard mapping controls, location spoofing, file sharing between the Android virtual system and Windows, multi instance, and more.
LDPlayer features
High framerate: the key to a proper gaming session is good and stable FPS. If you are playing a competitive first person shooter, this is even more important. LDPlayer can output 60 FPS even on lower end computers and laptops.
Lower CPU and GPU consumption: this emulator learns and expands from the work done on its previous versions to optimize CPU consumption and memory usage. This means, you can run your favorite games at a stable FPS.
Quality graphics: feast your eyes on the high quality visuals delivered by this Android emulator. The latest version of LDPlayer fixes most of the issues present in previous releases, such as red dots, blurred images, low quality graphics, and more.
Faster processing: there are advantages to its lightweight design. This emulator handles game pretty easily, and it also loads pretty quickly. Users should also expect better response times during gaming sessions.
Genymotion
Genymotion is amongst the best Android emulators available on the Internet right now. This software appeals to those curious about the Android environment, but also to developers. Unlike the other emulators reviewer on this page, this one is not about gaming. It's about emulating a variety of Android smartphones, such as Samsung Galaxy and Google Nexus. It allows users to customize their own virtual device according to their specific needs. One of Genymotion's best features is its ease of use design. At launch, you don't have to get lost because there are too many options to play with. Everything is kept simple.
Genymotion features
Gamepad support: improve your gaming experience and test various apps with your gamepad. It's as simple as connecting the gamepad to your PC and you are ready to go.
Camera and Microphone: this feature allows users to send video and audio streams from a virtual device to the Android environment. This comes in handy if you are looking to test and application which uses Android built-in cameras.
Phone widget: emulate text messages and phone calls when you want to test Android apps who rely on these features. Keeping track of their behaviour is also possible.
Screen capture: take screenshots and record the screen of your Android virtual environment with this simple module. Use the Browse Files button to access the captured pictures and videos.
Motion Sensors: this widget lets users simulate Android motion sensors, such as accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer. In addition, you can enable the Enable emulator window rotation option if you want to rotate the device display window according to the motion sensors values you set.
MEmu Play
MEmu Play is yet another solid and reliable solution available for those looking to emulate the Android OS on their computers. Just like the other emulators, this one is free. It brings a native user experience on this mobile operating system and it is feature rich. One of its best traits is the good performance that it offers on all sorts of hardware configurations. However, be careful when running very demanding apps and games. You might have to take a look and adjust the amount of processing, memory, and graphics power in use by the emulator. The way you interact with your installed applications and games is no different from the other emulators. You do it with your keyboard and mouse. In terms of system requirements, MEmu Play demands a multicore processor, Windows 7 or newer, 5GB of storage space, hardware virtualization, and 2GB of RAM for 32-bit or 4GB for 64-bit installation. These are the minimum requirements.
MEmu Play features
Multi Instance: after you are done installing this emulator, you have two shortcuts on the screen. The shortcut named Multi-MEmu launches the application in a multi mode, allowing you to configure your instances. Obviously, this feature is very popular with users playing the same game across multiple accounts, but you can use it for other tasks also.
Key mappings: take advantage of this trait to reconfigure the keys and what they do. The interface is pretty friendly, so it should be easy to adjust the key mappings.
Backup and Restore User Data: each time your reinstall MEmu Play, the data is lost. The same thing happens when you install this software on a different machine. If you want to preserve your configurations and settings, please use Export feature to save the data. Later on you can import it into the application and have everything ready to work just like it did in the past.
File sharing: send files and folders back and forth between the host computer and the virtual Android machine with this component.
Smart Key: this is an image detection technology which empowers users with the ability to get more out of this emulator when gaming. This feature works on mobile games, such as Free Fire, PUBG, Brawl Stars, Call of Duty Mobile, Life After, and PUBG Lite.
