Dev’s Choice: The 15 Best Android Simulators for Developers

15 Best Android Emulator in 2024 (Mac and PC)

Ollie Mattison

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

People install Android emulators on their PC for a variety of good reasons. Before shipping out an application, developers might be testing it. Using a mouse and keyboard to play games may be an option for gamers. Possibly you want it there just for its own sake. In any event, Android emulators can now be installed on a computer much more seamlessly than they used to be. There are many best android emulators available in the market. But today we will discuss the 15 best android emulators that you can get in 2021.

Let’s start our topic with a basic introduction to Android Emulators in case you are new and don’t know what they are. A mobile emulator allows you to emulate Android operating system features on your PC. By using this program, you can install Android apps natively on your computer or laptop. This tool mainly serves to debug purposes.

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15 Best Android Emulators

Here is a list of top Android emulators with their features and websites. Both free and commercial software are included in this list.

1. LDPlayer

Platforms: Windows PC

Price: Free

Game performance is the main focus of the LDPlayer android emulator. It’s powered by Android Nougat 7.1 and includes a wide range of gamer-specific features, such as keyboard mapping controls, macros, a high frame rate, and graphical support. The emulator is among the few on the list that receives frequent updates to improve compatibility. A variety of games are supported on this emulator, like Garena Free Fire, Among Us, and Clash of Clans. Players can now control their skill release with greater accuracy in the latest version of Brawl Stars, thanks to LDPlayer updates that make the game more competitive.

Features:

• Games and apps can be downloaded from the preinstalled LD Store or Google Play.
• Managing your gaming automatically is possible with it.
• Provides a customizable user interface using a keyboard and mouse
• Multiple games can be opened at the same time.

2. Bluestacks

Platforms: Windows and Mac

Price: Free / $2 per month

A list of the top PC emulators would be incomplete without mentioning the oldest and most popular emulators in the market. Windows and Mac users can use BlueStacks to run Android on their computers. It provides the perfect balance between graphics, processing, and power making it the most favorable Android Emulator for PC.

As Bluestacks is capable of playing high-graphics games, users can use Apps or play games smoothly. Your computer should have good specs that can handle the graphics. Yet, BlueStacks is the most trusted, reliable Android emulator for Windows and Mac.

Features:

• Multiple games can be played simultaneously.
• Live recording and replay of any action are possible.
• It lets you record your screen and video.

3. GameLoop

Platforms: Windows and Mac

Price: Free

The GameLoop emulator is an Android emulation platform. The emulator has been specifically designed to play games on your desktop. PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile are popular games on the GamLoop emulator. Neither productivity nor development testing is recommended using this emulator. In terms of gaming emulators for mobile FPS, it is a decent choice and offers a good selection of current titles. It also has good keyboard controls and performance.

Features:

• You can play mobile games like PUBG Mobile on your PC using the Gameloop Android emulator.
• The control overlay in PUBG mobile can be customized.
• There is no need to create an account with this emulator, so you do not need to register for it.
• It can work on computers having low specifications.

4. NoxPlayer

Platforms: Windows and Mac

Price: Free

Gamers can use Nox as another Android emulator on their PC. In addition, key mapping can be done with a keyboard, a controller, as well as gesture controls. The swipe right function can be assigned to the arrow key and used in a game without hardware controller support. Most of the time, it works pretty well and is a lot of fun. A plus in this space is that it is completely free and currently in active development.

Features:

• You can run it with one click and use all controls with your mouse and keyboard. It is one of the best emulators for PC.
• To record complex operations, the Nox player includes an inbuilt macro recorder.
• Its user-friendly interface and superior performance are unbeatable.

5. Memu

Platforms: Android and Windows.

Price: Free

Memu is an Android emulator that is easy to install. It is one of the leading Android emulators for PCs, which supports Intel and AMD processors, integrated graphics, and dedicated graphics.

Features:

• Enhanced gaming experience with a wide range of keyboard mappings.
• Provide a virtualization option.
• The keyboard features several dedicated settings for a faster gaming experience.

6. AndY

Platforms: Android, macOS, and Microsoft Windows.

Price: Free

Despite Andy’s simplicity, it is a powerful emulator for PCs and Macs. Your device can be more intimately integrated with the PC. This application is a good feature because it syncs across all connected devices, which does not require game progress to be transferred. Transferring apps from Android to the emulator is also easy.

Features:

• A user can store a lot of information on it, and use any Android game with ease.
• It allows for multi-touch gaming elements and multi-touch using the phone as a joystick.
• Using AndY, desktop and mobile devices can easily connect.
• This Android Emulator for Mac allows you to use your desktop browser to download Android apps.

7. Genymotion

Platforms: Android, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, and Linux

Price: Free

A lot of Android developers use this emulator. It lets you test your applications across different devices without having to buy them. It’s possible to configure the emulator to help you suit your needs with different devices and Android versions. It assists you in testing, sharing live demos, and monitoring performance across all devices.

Features:

• Your PC will experience better clarity due to its high-definition pixel compatibility.
• You can use it to test Android applications in a virtual environment while running on Linux.
• It lets you record screencasts using a webcam.
• More than 3000 Android configurations can be emulated by this Ubuntu emulator for Android, such as the Android version and screen size.
• Mac users can use this Android emulator with strong sensors, including GPS and multi-touch.

8. PrimeOS

Platforms: Android, Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows.

Price: Free

Using PrimeOS is similar to using Mac OS or Windows, and many Android applications can be accessed. This Android emulator blends Android with PC in a complete fusion.

Features

• With PrimeOS, dual booting is easy with a single click.
• In addition to providing a great gaming experience, it also integrates the Android ecosystem.
• Comparing it with a budget Windows system, it offers high performance.

9. Android-x86

Platforms: Windows PC

Price: Free

It’s a free and open-source project. There is a free Android emulator featured under Apache Public License 2.0.

Features:

• Support WiFi through a GUI.
• Power Resume/suspend capability
• Battery Status is available.
• Camera support for the V4L2.
• Native resolution support for netbooks is provided by this application.
• External monitors can be connected to the mirror mode.
• Support for external storage automount.
• Support for external keyboards

10. ARChon

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Price: Free

ARChon is not like typical PC emulators. It is basically a google chrome extension using which you can load the apk files in google chrome at runtime. In order to make the APK file compatible with ARChon, you must edit the file using a tool that makes it difficult to use the emulator. The good news, though, is that it can be used on any operating system that runs Chrome (Mac OS, Linux, Windows, etc.).

Features:

• The integration with Google Chrome makes it very lightweight.
• It can be used on any operating system.
• You can use it to run Android on Linux, and it supports all Android systems.
• All applications and Android games can be run on this Android emulator.

11. Ko Player

Platforms: Windows and Mac

Price: Free

A quality Android gaming experience can be obtained by using Ko player on a Windows PC or Mac. Its primary goal is to provide lag-free gaming experiences to its users.

Features:

• Using it, you can experience all of Android’s features and functions without owning a device.
• It features an intuitive and interactive UI.
• You can record videos and watch them later at your convenience, thanks to the built-in video recording.
• You can also record videos with this Android emulator.
• Gamers will have a better experience.
• You can download any app from the Google Play Store, as it comes with one installed.

12. Droid4x

Platforms: Windows

Price: Free

With Droid4X, users can run Android apps on a desktop. Most of the games available in the Play Store can be played by using this emulator.

Features:

• It provides users with a complete PC experience and supports touch screen computers across a vast array of devices.
• Using the emulator, you can customize the controls to your requirements and download applications directly to the emulator.
• This Android emulator for Windows 10 allows for fast configuration of games using a keyboard and gamepad.

13. ARC Welder

Platforms: Windows

Price: Free

It is an Android emulator tool for Chrome for Windows that runs Android applications. It is basically a chrome extension that allows you to run different android applications in real-time running chrome browser.

Features:

• It lets you test and runs Android applications inside Chrome OS without worrying about runtime errors or bugs.
• Applications can be tested in Google Chrome.

14. Remix OS Player

Platforms: Windows

Price: Free

In comparison to other Android emulators for PC, Remix OS Player by Jide is relatively new. As of this writing, it’s using Android Marshmallow, which is still relatively new compared to many of the other emulators mentioned above. It’s fairly easy to install and use. It is primarily aimed at gamers. The emulator comes equipped with a customizable toolbar along with some game-specific features

Features:

• You can play more than one game at once on it.
• It is still in active development.
• It is a very clean emulator and can be used as a productivity tool.

15. Bliss OS

Platforms: Windows

Price: Free

Bliss is a bit different from other emulators. It functions as an android emulator using a virtual machine. You can also run it directly on your computer using a USB stick. It can directly power boot from a USB and you can experience a fully-fledged emulator.

Features:

• Support for mouse and keyboard is included.
• It is a very portable emulator.

Conclusion:

So, these are some of the best android emulators that you can try on your computers to have an android experience from your computers. All these emulators have their own system requirements. Some of them are lightweight and require low specs to run; however, some of them may need excessive resources to function properly.

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Ollie Mattison

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