Platform for Android games on PC. Best Android Emulators for Windows

2.Bluestacks

One of the most convenient options for running Android games on a computer. If you want Android just to play games on its platform, then this is your choice. A very convenient emulation, which is aimed only at running Android games and applications on a PC. But there is no Android OS environment itself, there is only its own GUI with shortcuts for the games that you have installed and Android only gives you the opportunity to play its games.

The Bluestacks emulator is easy to install and configure, so we won’t explain anything more. If you encounter any questions regarding the emulator, please visit its official website.

3.Android SDK

The Android SDK software is a game developer tool, which, of course, provides the ability to run any application for it on Android. But there is one big BUT in the operation of this system. The Android SDK is an extremely sluggish system that takes from 5 to 30 minutes to load, and the performance of the Android OS itself leaves much to be desired. It is for this reason that using the system is highly discouraged, but we have presented it here as a possible option.

If you still decide to use the Android SDK, then download it from the official page and start using it.

4.WindowsAndroid (Windroy)

The Android emulation environment WindowsAndroid is a pretty good job, combining the complete “inner world” of the Android OS, with all its settings and default programs. The emulator may be a little more unstable than BlueStacks, but it is a full emulation of the operating system. You can download the latest version of the emulator from the official website of the developer.

5. Android for PC + VirtualBox

And finally the turn has come to the last popular way to launch Android on your Windows OS. The whole point is to use a special Android for PC, which was discussed in the adjacent material, and VirtualBox, which will allow you to seamlessly install any operating system inside a running OS; in this case, you will need to install Android.

However, if you liked the option of using Android for PC more than its emulation, then just do everything as described in the material about it.

WindowsAndroid is an emulator program that allows you to simulate the operation of the Android OS on Windows computers, which in turn allows you to work on a computer under the same conditions and principles as on a smartphone with an Android operating system installed.

The unique feature and advantage of this PC emulator over analogues is its simple and at the same time intuitive use. It would seem that this is an elementary condition for the popularity of an application, however, oddly enough, it does not occur and is fulfilled as often as we would like. The main requirement from you when working with an emulator program for Android WindowsAndroid is to install the file. At this point, your work stops; the application will independently make the necessary settings for the system to operate.

The difference in use between a smartphone and a personal computer will be only that, in the first case, you use your fingers on the touchpad, and in the second, you use the mouse. To unlock the device, you will need to drag a specific item to its designated location.

The interface is no different from the one you are used to seeing on the screen of your smartphone. All functions of the device become available, as well as manipulations that are available by default on any gadget with the Android system.

Another important detail is the opening possibility of using Google Play for your computer. You can download and install all the games and programs available and available there on your PC just as you do on a smartphone.

This application, an Android emulator for PC, can confidently be called one of the best among similar applications that are available on the software market. It allows you to set up interaction for working with the new system quickly and clearly, without creating absolutely any inconvenience. In addition, it independently performs basic configuration when installed on a PC.

What is it needed for ? The first thing that comes to mind is that developers need such programs. But often ordinary users also use emulators. This is due to the fact that there are a number of ecosystems, games and applications that were developed only for the Android platform and are not available for Windows. In order to be able to run your favorite programs on your PC, you need to install a suitable emulator. Let’s talk about the latter in more detail, which ones exist and which one to choose depending on the user’s needs.

I would like to draw your attention to the situation with some games. For example, to play pubg mobile on a computer, it is recommended to use the official emulator, which is already fully configured for easy control and easy installation of the game on your PC. For using a third-party Android emulator, there is a possibility of sanctions being imposed on your account.

Gaming BlueStacks 3

The emulator that comes to mind first when talking about such programs. Some users sincerely believe that this is the only program capable of simulating Android on Windows. It is worth noting that the developers are constantly improving the application. Over time, the product began to be positioned as a program capable of high-quality support for mobile platform games.

The emulator has an extensive software library, and all applications and games in the catalog are specially optimized. Therefore, there are guarantees that they will function correctly on the computer. Some programs are built into the emulator interface. It is important to understand that installing applications from third-party resources cannot guarantee full functionality.

All necessary functions are implemented:

change screen orientation;
imitation shaking;
screenshots;
GPS;
simplified work with files.

The disadvantages of this application include a cumbersome interface and low performance. In addition, this emulator requires appropriate characteristics from the PC itself, and on weaker devices it may not support most applications.

Download BlueStacks 3 from the official website

It has wide functionality, but an overloaded interface. An excellent program for creating a full-fledged Android device based on Windows. Perfectly compatible with almost all applications available on Google Play. The internal memory, which is emulated by the device, is quite capacious, which allows you not to worry about its shortage. It features high performance, Multi-Touch support and the ability to control from a smartphone.

The application is suitable for both ordinary users and mobile program developers. The former will appreciate the ability to run the most demanding games, while the latter will be able to qualitatively test their own development.

The internal interface also completely replicates the Android device. For correct operationAndroid emulator on PCrequires at least 2 GB of RAM and a processor that supports visualization.

You can download Droid4X on the developers' website.

Genymotion is a developer's dream

Fast and recognized as one of the bestAndroid emulators on PC. The best program for testing new mobile applications, and therefore is very popular among developers. But this does not mean that the program is not suitable for users who are not involved in creating and testing new applications.

The emulator is compatible not only with Windows, but also with Mac OS or Linux. For Genymotion to work as correctly as possible, you need pre-installed VirtualBox. The program is freely available, but has functionality available for a fee. The second version of the program has much more extensive capabilities and is suitable for large development companies.

The disadvantages include the lack of a Russified version and the inability to emulate a voice call. The program has a lot of advantages, it is important that this is the fastest emulator of all available, it emulates WiFi, GPRS, 3G, LTE, rear and front cameras, flashes, changes IMEI and much more.

In general, the application differs little from its analogues; it does not have a Russian-language interface, but has open ROOT rights. PossibilitiesAndroid emulator on PC, the following:

setting up a mouse and keyboard to simulate a sensor;
change screen orientation;
imitation of geodata;
recording video content in avi format;
ability to take a screenshot;
video screen capture;
using a virtual camera;
changing screen resolution;
installing applications from the Market;
installation of third-party programs.

A browser is installed by default in the emulator, which simplifies the search for programs and applications; in addition, there is a directory with free optimized applications. KoPlayer allows the user to independently set the necessary parameters of the Android device, for example, the amount of RAM. The application is worthy of praise for being able to work correctly even on low-power PCs.

A product of Chinese developers that appeared not so long ago, but has already gained popularity among active users of such programs. According to the manufacturer, the emulator is one of the most stable and powerful offerings among existing competitors. Supported by all processors, even AMD. At the same time, it is freely available and completely free.

The Nox APP Player interface resembles the functional Genymotion. Moreover, some points are borrowed from Droid4X, this is clearly seen in the keyboard customization options, but gyroscope adjustments are added. The application also allows you to set the desired parameters of the Android device that you want to imitate.

To install the emulator you need:

XP/Vista/7/8/10;
processor with visualization support;
RAM from 512 MB;
with OpenGL 2.0 and higher;
gigabytes of free disk space.

Based on its characteristics, Nox APP Player can be an excellent alternative to emulators suitable for developing and testing applications. However, it has one huge advantage - it is free.

Download Nox APP Player from the official website.

Andy - simple and clear

A simple and convenient emulator designed to run simple programs. It is far from gaming applications, because it simply cannot handle the heavy games of modern gadgets. Otherwise, the emulator is quite good. There are no special bells and whistles, everything is extremely simple and no frills.

All simple applications can be launched without problems through this emulator. Available functions:

GPS simulation;
access to microphone and webcam;
full screen mode.

The downside of the application is the presence of intrusive advertising. This is the only emulator with this feature.

MEMU - gaming

Development is focused on mobile games. A special feature of the emulator is support for a gamepad and a keyboard layout tailored to game features (you can bind keys to on-screen buttons). It is worth noting that such capabilities are clearly lacking in the leading gaming application that simulates an Android device.

It handles heavy games well, but the graphics quality in full-screen mode leaves much to be desired. There is root access and a good catalog of optimized games.

This is not a complete list and whatbetter depends on the situation and purpose of its use. In any case, all the developments presented above are worthy of the user’s attention and will find application depending on the need for installation.

Reading time: 8 min

It would seem why you need an Android emulator on your computer if you are not developing applications. Everything is very simple. There are many games on Android that are not available on PC. Some games are too demanding and your phone or tablet simply can't handle it. The graphics will be better on a computer, because with high-quality graphics and a larger screen it is easier to play. There are many more reasons to download an Android emulator on your computer. We will look at the best emulators in this article below; emulators are suitable even for a weak computer.

Android application emulator for computer

Bluestacks emulator download to computer

bluestacks emulator

The bluestacks emulator is one of the very first emulators, which is rapidly developing at the present time. The Bluestacks emulator is quite popular, regular improvements, both the engine itself and the interface in Russian.

Almost all games and applications are compatible with bluestacks. This is what the developers assure. They have their own library of applications and games that are optimized to run on an emulator; such games will definitely work in the emulator. By installing a third-party apk file, the game can also work well. The emulator has all the functions as in the phone. Rotate screen, shake screen, screenshot phone screen. Convenient work with files, you can drag and drop them from your computer to the emulator.

In this emulator, you can switch between applications using tabs. In addition, there is gamepad virtualization. You can control the game using the keyboard. Installing the bluestacks emulator is quite simple. You just need to follow the installation instructions. You can download the emulator from the official website

Nox App Player Emulator

Nox App Player - made in a more minimalistic style, there are no large menus, for example, like bluestacks. After launching the emulator, you will see a regular Android desktop, with a side control panel. This sidebar contains all the functions that the phone has, as well as home and back buttons.

When you start a program or game, the emulator automatically adjusts the screen size and rotates it if necessary. In the emulator settings, you can independently set the screen size and adjust performance. Adding processor cores, RAM and more.

If you need root rights, you can get them without any problems. It is enough to turn the toggle switch to the on position in the settings and root rights are obtained. You can set your own keyboard shortcuts. It is possible to record video from the screen.

You can download the Nox App Player emulator from the developer’s official website.

Genymotion

This emulator is more intended for application and game developers, but ordinary people can also use it. The emulator can be installed on operating systems such as Windows, OS X and Linux.

Templates for various devices are available in this emulator. You can emulate any device from the list. Each template has its own characteristics like a real device, resolution, processor, video accelerator, RAM.

You can download the emulator on the official website.

Android emulator on PC for weak computers

MEMU emulator

But this emulator is precisely intended for games. It has a built-in convenient keyboard and gamepad emulation. For example, to click on the screen, you can bind keystrokes on the keyboard, so you can play by controlling the keyboard. This function is often not enough for a full and convenient game. Otherwise, the emulator has the same functions as other emulators.

There are several features to note about this emulator. This is sending a game from a computer to an emulator, quickly changing the screen orientation and full-screen mode. Of course, in full-screen mode the quality of the graphics is worse, but you can play and it depends on the game itself. Most of the top heavy games can be easily launched on this emulator.

The MEMU emulator has root rights, which makes life easier for those who need root rights. The emulator has its own catalog of games and applications, but it is better not to use it, since everything there is in Chinese. It’s better to download the game from Google Play or from third-party resources. Overall, this is not a bad emulator, compact, with many features and without advertising. You can download the memu android emulator on the developer’s website

Andy android emulator for PC

A good emulator, practically no different from the same Memu. The same simple interface awaits you, in this case this is a plus, not a minus.

But there is a small drawback: the emulator does not always cope with heavy games. Therefore, this emulator is more designed for applications. Another thing to note is that this emulator has advertising, which is not entirely good. In folders with files, it is suggested to install an application; such applications are marked with the A AD sign. You can download it from the official website.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. If earlier emulators were a tool aimed primarily at developers, now they are a mass product used by ordinary users.

There are quite a few application scenarios: someone plays mobile games using a keyboard and mouse, webmasters, for example, can see what their website looks like on various devices, and many simply get acquainted with Android in this way.

And over the past couple of years, several popular services have appeared that do not have PC clients, but thanks to Android emulators it is possible to use them on a computer (for example,). Natural questions arise: which emulator to choose, which is the most functional, and which is better for certain purposes? In general, let's figure it out.

BlueStacks 2

When you first launch BlueStacks, you can't help but notice that it is significantly different from its competitors. The developers installed their own special Gamepop launcher on top of Android, which displays only games and applications. That is, you won’t find the usual desktops and menus here – the main emphasis is on testing software for mobile devices on a computer.

For the convenience of users, the developers have added a sidebar that simulates various actions with the device: this way you can take a screenshot, change the screen orientation from horizontal to vertical, move files from your computer to the emulator, and much more.

The program has Google Play, so you just need to log into your account to then install applications. Alternatively, this can be done using APK files.

BlueStacks has implemented file transfer from a computer to an Android emulator and vice versa, but to do this you will first have to download a file manager and do some manipulations. In this article you will find detailed instructions for using BlueStacks, in particular for sending files.

In conclusion, I would like to note that BlueStacks is the most popular Android emulator on PC. I can’t say whether this was influenced by the fact that it is also one of the first emulators, but I know for sure that most users download it exclusively for gaming, and this program interface is perfect for this purpose.

Droid4X

Droid4X can be downloaded from the official website droid4x.com or you can download the full version from specialized resources. The installation process itself lasts 5-10 minutes. After the program is installed, a corresponding notification will appear on the screen. On a 2-core Intel processor, the emulator takes quite a long time to open, about 2 minutes.

Droid4X runs on a slightly redesigned version of Android 4.2.2, the appearance of the desktop is not much different from what we can see on smartphones with the same OS.

In particular, the changes affected the menu and desktops, while the “OS” settings item is generally embedded in the interface. The main screens are divided into 3 types: “Device”, “Recommended” and “App Store”. The last screen is the classic Google Market.

The controls themselves are located at the bottom of the screen and are almost similar to how the Android 4.2.2 operating system looks in the tablet version. At the same time, the standard keys for a mobile OS have been supplemented with buttons for controlling the camera, zooming, keyboard, and others.

A useful feature of this Andoid emulator on Windows is that it has a pre-installed SuperSU application, or in other words, ROOT access. Another very useful feature is Droid4X Multi Manager, which makes it possible to create several copies of the system at once. To control actions in the program, it is possible to use an Android smartphone on which a special controller application is installed.

It is possible to install the Droid4X emulator on the operating system Windows XP or higher. For full operation, the PC must have 1 GB of RAM. During operation, the amount of RAM used by the program is 400 MB and will increase as applications are launched. Well, one of the main advantages is that it is free and completely free of advertising.

Andy OS

Working with Andy OS begins by running the installation file, which can be downloaded from andyroid.net. There are two versions - offline and online. So if there are problems with the connection, it is better to immediately download the offline version, which weighs about 450 MB. If installed online, the volume of the distribution will be 10 MB, and the remaining necessary files will be downloaded as you work.

By the way, the installation is slow, although the manufacturer indicates that the process takes about 10 minutes, in reality everything takes longer.

After downloading, we are taken to the standard Android 4.2.2 desktop. The developer did not “reinvent the wheel” and left the operating system unchanged, and even the graphical shell was the same. True, you can then customize the appearance of the interface yourself.

In the application menu you can find all the programs necessary for operation, including Google Apps. However, the emulator also has an unpleasant property - it independently loads applications that the user does not need without his consent.

In the lower menu, as expected, all controls are located. In addition to the home button, “Back” and “Running Applications” buttons that are standard for this version of Android, there are new keys, for example, controlling the camera, resolution, orientation and other elements.

You can interact with the emulator using peripheral controls, as well as from the touch screen of connected devices. The easiest way to do this is to use the Andy Remote Control program.

In terms of performance, Andy OS shows good performance. You can install it on Windows 7 SP1 or higher. For normal operation, the PC must have 3 GB of RAM, since on average the program uses about 500 MB of RAM during operation. Despite the fact that Andy OS is a free Android emulator, it constantly downloads various advertising applications, which gradually clutters up the memory and leads to uncontrollable traffic consumption.

Genymotion

This emulator is based on VirtualBox. That is, a virtual machine is created, thereby achieving maximum performance. The main thing is to check whether the hardware virtualization extension is enabled in the BIOS (if it is supported by your processor) so that Genymotion works with maximum power.

First you need to register on the official website, after which you can download the program installation file with or without VirtualBox. If you downloaded and installed VirtualBox previously, you can download the regular version of Genymotion.

When you first start, you will have to create a virtual device: you can choose from various smartphones and tablets running Android OS versions that exist for these models. For example, Nexus 9 can run Android 5.0 and higher.

The emulator interface is a bare Android with three familiar control buttons, a menu, a “curtain”, etc. In addition, there is a special side panel from where you can turn on/off the Internet, GPS or webcam, adjust the sound or change the screen orientation.

If you want to learn more about this Android emulator on PC, take a look at the thematic resource. Genymotion is a solution for geeks, which is still actively being developed and updated with new virtual devices.

You can download this emulator from the developer’s website bignox.com, and it can be either an online or offline distribution, at the user’s choice. The installation itself is simple and relatively quick, and takes no more than 5 minutes. The experience begins with a redesigned Android home screen, with an interface similar to a tablet. The shortcuts are arranged in a square grid; there is a dock panel, a status bar and other necessary elements.

There is no menu with applications in Nox App Player, thus reminiscent of the interfaces of Chinese developers, where the application shortcut immediately goes to the desktop. But widgets in the emulator cannot be placed on the desktop. Initially, the installed program has several built-in applications, including Google Play.

The controls are located on the right side of the screen, where you can add the required icon yourself. The advantage of the program is a full-fledged full-screen mode, which is not always found in Android emulators for Windows.

You can interact with Nox APP Player using a mouse or touch screen. In addition, it is possible to assign and add additional control keys in the future, which is easy to do in the control settings.

The functionality here is quite decent. It features the ability to record video from the screen, save multiple system images and switch between them, and support gaming peripherals with built-in profiles. Interestingly, the settings allow you to independently limit the amount of RAM consumed by the software, with the minimum amount required for operation being 400 MB during startup.

You can install Nox App Player on the operating system Windows XP SP2 or higher. To work, you will need at least 512 MB of RAM on your computer. The program is free, and this Android emulator does not annoy the user with intrusive advertising.

Which Android emulator for PC is better?

The review presents 5 utilities, they all do their tasks perfectly, but I would like to especially highlight Nox App Player and Genymotion. These emulators have maximum functionality, are suitable for both developers and ordinary users, and they do not contain advertising.

If you are a fan of games, then the best option, in my opinion, is BlueStacks.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site