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! scope="col"|USB Link
|style="text-align:center;"|[[Xamarin Android Player]]|style="text-align:center;"|Windows, Mac|style!colspan="text-align:center;7"|[https://developer.xamarin.com/guides/androidAbandoned/getting_started/installation/android-player/ Official Site]|style="text-align:center;"|✗|style="text-align:center;"|✗|style="text-align:center;"|VirtualBox|style="text-align:center;"|?|style="text-align:center;"|✗Discontinued
* '''Genymotion''' is an Android emulator ;DuOS:Not to be confused with hardware-accelerated 3D graphics and USB host support, available for Windows, Mac and Linux. In its latest versions, it has pretty good compatibility with commercial games. It's a commercial product though, aimed at software developers and QA teams. You'll need to create an account and download the free non-commercial use license available (paid builds add features only useful for Android app developers).**Setting up the emulator itself is not too hard, but a bit of tinkering is required to add the Google Play store and [http://forumds-duos.xda-developersblogspot.com/showthread.php?t=2528952 ARM processor emulationsimilarly-named Nintendo DS emulator] (what you need essentially here by Roor, is a relative newcomer to play the commercial releases) as well as [https://groupsAndroid emulation market, made by American Megatrends i.googlee.comthe very same people behind the BIOS/d/msg/genymotion-users/JpO8HR39PR0/NpSkrnsB8d8J Xbox 360 controller support]UEFI firmware your PC may be using. Not noob-friendlyEmulation is modest at best, but if you're experienced enough with Android games and apps such as [[DraStic]] struggling on lower-end hardware. And to know your way around a rooted filesystem top it all off, it shouldnain't be too hardfree either.
* '''Bluestacks''' ;Google Chrome:Can open apk files using the ARC Welder extension, though their emulation on PC is also commercial with a free option (no account required)average at best. ItHere's less good than Genymotion, a [http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iIbxaftAu_ho5rv9fUlXSLTzwU6MbKOldsWXyrYiyo8/edit#gid=0 compatibility list] and doesn't handle USB cable emulationa [https://www.reddit.com/r/chromeapks dedicated subreddit]. Google has announced [http://arstechnica. Previous versions used com/gadgets/2016/05/the-play-store-comes-to come with an installer with adware, comes with junk apps within -chrome-os-but-not-the emulator, and has a non-intuitive uninstallerway-we-were-expecting/ Play Store for Chrome OS], but it works on a different "container" technology that's no longer is embed to the case todayChrome OS. It includes In addition, Google Apps by defaultwill [http://blog.chromium.org/2016/08/from-chrome-apps-to-web.html discontinue Google Chrome apps on PC], though you'll need so any major updates to "root" it to load apk files to your likingARC Welder for PC is unlikely.
* ;Windroy:(Without the 'e'suffix) is a fast Android emulator that does not rely on VirtualBox or any similar technology. It isn'Droid4x''' has good accuracy but forcefully uninstalls VirtualBoxt accurate though. While Google Play store can be installed with some tinkering, not many games can be installed (due to not faking device names) and will spawn multiple harmless-yet-annoying app_process.exe crashes. Official site is down since July 2016, so it cannot co-exist with Genymotion and Xamarinany updates are unlikely.
* ;Windroye:(With the 'e''andyroid''' works too, though the company behind it did adware before previously.**Just like Genymotion, Andyroid also use suffix) rely on VirtualBox, but with a twist: if it detects an still offers better performance than Bluestacks. The Play Store is installed virtualbox during installation, '''it will delete it''' by default and will refuse to workhas no stability issues found from classic Windroy. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ClashOfClans/comments/31lklr/misc_windroye_for_pcfaster_than_bluestacks_262_mb/ A related Reddit topic can be found here. Beware!]
* '''DuOS''', not to be confused with a [http;Android x86://dsA open-duos.blogspot.com/ similarly-named Nintendo DS emulator] by Roor, is a relative newcomer source project that aims to the port Android emulation market, made by American Megatrends ioperating system to x86-based netbooks.e. the very same people behind the BIOS/UEFI firmware your PC may While it can be usingrun on virtual machines like VirtualBox, it does not have 3D graphics emulation and cannot run most games. Emulation Genymotion is modest (or at bestleast used to be) a closed-source fork of Android x86, with games and apps such as [[DraStic]] struggling designed exclusively to be run on lower-end hardware. And to top it all off, it ain't free eitherVirtualBox.
* Recently, '''Google Chrome''' can open apk files too, though their emulation ;Anbox:A project that aims to run Android applications on PC Ubuntu distributions. Currently it is average at beston alpha state and only known to work on Ubuntu 16. Here04. Anbox requires custom kernel modules to run because unlike other emulators which emulates the whole Linux kernel, this one uses the host system's a [http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iIbxaftAu_ho5rv9fUlXSLTzwU6MbKOldsWXyrYiyo8/edit#gid=0 compatibility list] and a dedicated subredditLinux kernel directly.
* '''Xamarin ;Shashlik:A project by KDE that aims to run Android Player''' applications on Linux using KDE5 and Qt5 technology. The project is also a newcomer infancy state and only known to the Android run on latest Kubuntu versions. It currently lacks ARM processor emulation market, so not many games will run. Not much It is however known about this as $25to play [https:/month subscription is required for use/www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SC6c_ih_Ac Flappy Bird] and can show [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_R8ftiIp4 Spotify's login screen]. It uses modified [[Qemu]] to emulate the Android operating system. Last major update was March 2016 and seems abandoned.
* ''';Xamarin Android x86''' is a open-source project that aims Player:A newcomer to port the Android operating system to x86-based netbooks. While it can be run on virtual machines like VirtualBox, it does not have 3D graphics emulation and cannot run most gamesmarket. Genymotion Not much is (or at least used to be) known about this because it required a closedminimum of $25/month subscription of main Xamarin products. The main Xamarin products were [https://blog.xamarin.com/xamarin-for-source fork of all made available for free] after the purchase by Microsoft, but Xamarin Android x86, designed exclusively to be run on VirtualBoxPlayer was discontinued.
<!;Project Astoria:A Microsoft--* '''Shashlik''' is developed Android emulator for Windows 10 Mobile included in several insider previews. It could run [https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone/comments/3gaoct/android_apps_that_work_on_win10_right_now/ a few applicaions], though apps required Google Play Services did not run or had issues. This project by KDE that aims to run Android applications on Linux using KDE and Qt5 technologywas reportedly [http://www.windowscentral. The com/microsofts-project is infancy state -astoria-delayed discontinued] in November 2015 and reportedly can only display a black rectangle for now[http://www.winbeta. To editors org/news/microsoft-confirms-the-death-of this page-project-astoria-focusing-on-other-bridges-instead its cancellation was confirmed] on February 2016, please uncomment and rewrite this if this so the emulator becomes relevantis not included in more recent versions of Windows 10 Mobile.-->
→Emulators: AmiDuOS was canceled
'''This page is about emulating Android apps and games on PC as it is slowly building off an important library of exclusives, and emulation coupled with CheatEngine is certainly interesting. If you're interested in emulators for your Android phone, check [[Emulators on Android|this page:Category:Consoles]] instead and see individual console page.'''
'''Android''' is a mobile operating system (OS) based on the Linux kernel and currently developed by Google. Unlike iPhone, as well as older cell-phone models and older Japanese Galapagos mobile phones, emulating Android software on PC is more developed, though no open source emulator with a high degree of game compatibility exists yet.
Like with DS emulators, the computer mouse is used to emulate touch screen presses (which can be less than ideal in many cases), and the keyboard emulates the button controller add-ons. Some emulators support X360 controllers as well with some more tweaks.
==Emulators==
'''Important Note:''' These emulators are usually closed source and while they're distributed for free, their devs look for roundabout ways to monetize them. One such high profile case was BlueStacks. Make sure to check if there are pre-installed apps on your emulator (and disable them), monitor your Internet connection download caps and processor activity to detect any abnormal activity (and block domains accordingly if the need arises) and avoid as much as possible giving sensitive account data (just in case it's key-logged). Besides basic safety, these precautions often make impacted emulators run much faster when the adware services and apps are turned off. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+PC
|-
! scope="col"|Version
! scope="col"|Free
! scope="col"|VM
! scope="col"|[[Accuracy]]
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
|style="text-align:center;"Genymotion|Windows, Mac, Linux|[[Genymotion]https://www.genymotion.com/fun-zone/ 2.11]|style="text{{✓}} (Non-Dev Versions)|VirtualBox|High|{{✓}}|-align:center;"|BlueStacks|Windows, Mac, Linux|style="text-align:center;"|[http://www.genymotionbluestacks.com 2/ 3.56.474.01828] |{{✓}}|QEmu (before v2.5) / VirtualBox (Official Siteafter v2.5)|style="textHigh|{{✓}}|-align|MEmu|Windows|[http:center;"//www.memuplay.com/ 5.0.5]|{{✓ (Non}}|VirtualBox|High|{{✓}}|-Dev Versions)|style="text-alignDroid4X|Windows, Mac|[http:center;"//droid4x.haimawan.com 0.10.6]|{{✓}}|VirtualBox|High|{{✗}}|style="text-align|YouWave|Windows|[http:center;"//youwave.com/ 5.7]|{{✓}}|VirtualBox|style="textMid|{{✗}}|-align|Andy|Windows, Mac|[http:center;"//andyroid.net/ 0.46.16.66]|{{✓}}|VmWare|High|style="text{{✓}}|-align|Android x86|Multi-platform|[http:center;"//www.android-x86.org 7.1-r1]|{{✓}}|N/A|Low|{{✗}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;"|[[BlueStacks]]Android Emulator (AVD)|style="text-align:center;"|Windows, Maclinux|style="text-align:center;"|[httphttps://wwwdeveloper.bluestacksandroid.com/ Official Sitestudio/run/emulator.html 26.1.3]|style="text-align:center;"|{{✓}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗QEmu|style="text-align:center;"|OriginalLow|style="text-align:center;"|Mid|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{✗}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;"|[[Droid4x]]Anbox|style="text-align:center;"|Windows, MacLinux|style="text-align:center;"|[http://www.droid4xanbox.comio/ Official SiteGit]|style="text-align:center;"|{{✓}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗|style="text-align:center;"|Original|style="text-align:center;"|High?|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{✗}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;"|[[DuOS]]Nox App Player|style="text-align:center;"|Windows|style="text-align:center;"|[httphttps://www.amiduosbignox.com/ Official Site6.0.5.3]|style="text-align:center;"|✗|style="text-align:center;"|✗{{✓}}|style="text-align:center;"|?VirtualBox|style="text-align:center;"|MidHigh|style="text-align:center;"|✗{{✓}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;"|[[andyroid]]XePlayer|style="text-align:center;"|Windows, Mac|style="text-align:center;"|[http://andyroidxeplayer.netcom/ Official Site3.8.1.0]|style="text-align:center;"|{{✓}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗|style="text-align:center;"|VirtualBox|style="text-align:center;"|MidHigh|style="text-align:center;"|{{✓}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;"|Google ChromeKoPlayer|style="text-align:center;"|Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS|style="text-align[http:center;"|duh//www.koplayer.com 1.4.1055]|style="text-align:center;"|{{✓}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗|style="text-align:center;"|OriginalVirtualBox|style="text-align:center;"|MidHigh|style="text-align:center;"|✗{{✓}}
|-
|-
|style="text-align:center;"|[[Android x86]]LeapDroid|style="text-align:center;"|Multi-platformWindows|style="text-align:center;"|[http://www.android-x86leapdroid.org Official Sitecom/ 1.8.0]|style="text-align:center;"|{{✓}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗VirtualBox|style="text-align:center;"|N/AHigh|style="text-align:center;"|Low|style="text-align:center;"|✗<!--{{✓}}
|-
|style="textAMI DuOS|Windows|[https://ami.com/en/tech-align:center;"blog/farewell-amiduos/ 2.0.8.8511]|{{✗}}|VirtualBox|Mid|{{✗}}|-|[ARC Welder (Google Chrome)|Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS|[Shashlik]https://developer.chrome.com/apps/getstarted_arc 50.5021.602.0]|style="text{{✓}}|Original|Mid|{{✗}}|-|Windroy|Windows|1.2|{{✓}}|Original|Low|{{✗}}|-align:center;"|Windroye|Windows|2.9.0|{{✓}}|VirtualBox|Mid|Linux?|style="text-align:center;"|Shashlik|Linux|[http://www.shashlik.io Official Site0.9.3]|style="text{{✓}}|Original|Low|{{✗}}|-align:center;"|Xamarin Android Player|✓Windows, Mac|style="text[https://developer.xamarin.com/releases/android/android-align:center;"player/ 0.6.5]|{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"VirtualBox|?|Original{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|Project Astoria|Too early to be listedWindows 10 Mobile|style="text-align:center;"Discontinued|{{✗}}|Original|Low-->|{{✗}}
|}
The VM column describes what backend technology the emulator uses. Emulators labeled with "VirtualBox" requires sometimes needs the user to install [https://www.virtualbox.org/ Oracle VM VirtualBox].Usually it is installed automatically. ===Comparison===;Genymotion:An Android emulator with hardware-accelerated 3D graphics and USB host support, available for Windows, Mac and Linux. In its latest versions, it has pretty good compatibility with commercial games. It's a commercial product though, aimed at software developers and QA teams. You'll need to create an account and download the free non-commercial use license available. Except for pay-to-remove "free for personal use" watermark on the screen, paid builds add features only useful for Android app developers. Setting up the emulator itself is not too hard, but a bit of tinkering is required to add the Google Play store and [http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2528952 ARM processor emulation] (what you need essentially here to play the commercial releases) as well as [https://groups.google.com/d/msg/genymotion-users/JpO8HR39PR0/NpSkrnsB8d8J Xbox 360 controller support]. Not noob-friendly, but if you're experienced enough with Android to know your way around a rooted filesystem it shouldn't be too hard. ;Bluestacks:Also commercial with a free option (requires a google account). It's less good than Genymotion, and doesn't handle USB cable emulation. Previous versions used to come with an installer with adware, comes with junk apps within the emulator, and has a non-intuitive uninstaller, but that's no longer the case today. It includes Google Apps by default, though you'll need to install a file manager to copy game cache when loading your own apks. ;MEmu:A free Android emulator with very good accuracy, sometimes outperforming Bluestacks. ;Droid4xA free Android emulator with very good accuracy, sometimes outperforming Bluestacks.Has good accuracy but forcefully uninstalls VirtualBox, so it cannot co-exist with Genymotion and Xamarin. It's not recommended because it will install hidden background services (xunlei.exe, and Thunder.exe, both by the Chinese company which developed Droid4x) in the background seeding Chinese torrents constantly and they are a pain to uninstall or deactivate (in case you've already fallen for it, use Revo Uninstaller). ;andyroid:It works too, though the company behind it did adware before previously. Just like Genymotion, Andyroid also use VirtualBox, but with a twist: if it detects an installed virtualbox during installation, '''it will delete it''' and will refuse to work. Beware!
==General Emulation issues==
===Lack of Release Notes and Update History information===
While some emulators such as Genymotion do have version history on their website, most other emulators do not have such history pages, making it difficult to track updates as well as regressions.
===Google-related Libraries===
Likely due to licensing issues, most Android emulators do not come with Google-related applications and related libraries preinstalled (Google Play Store, Play Services, Play Games client, etc) and requires the user to manually install them. Many games verify the existence of Google-related components at the start and refuse to work if some or any of them are missing.
===ARM Applications===
Most commercial games are developed and published only for devices with ARM CPUs such as most smartphones and tablets. However, the PCs we regularly use contain x86 CPUs, so these games cannot directly run. Some emulators like Bluestacks have ARM emulation by default, and in some others like Genymotion it is possible to install ARM emulator manually. The ARM emulator requires Intel CPUs to work correctly and not guaranteed to work with all games.
===Games with root/Custom ROMs/Emulator Detection===
Many commercial games refuse to run if the device is "rooted" (hacked to allow access to deep portion of Android OS) in order to reduce cheating and pirating. If the emulator is rooted by default, it must be unrooted manually before the game can be played.
Some games are very aggressive that they detect Custom ROMs (unofficial firmware) or Android emulators (like the ones listed in this page) by variety of ways like checking the existence and absence of system files in order to prevent the game from running in any unauthorized environments. These games are very difficult or plain impossible to play on emulators without resorting to cracked versions of the games. Solutions exist, like using MagiskSU (bundled with the Magisk flashable zip) and hiding root on anything Google Play related or installed apps that check for it.
==Emulator Specific Issues==
===BlueStacks===
* '''Can't root the device:'''
The latest Kingroot's apk will do the job when loaded inside Bluestacks. It's that simple.
Alternatively, you could use Universal Bluestacks Rooting Software on an existing Bluestacks installation. Before opening it, go to the folder where Bluestacks is installed under Program Files, and run "HD-Quit.exe" once.
Then, from the extracted "Bluestacks RootEZ 32_64", open as administrator "Bluestacks RootEZ.exe". Click "Automatic Detect from Installed Bluestacks", enable "Enlarge System (Root.fs) Size to 400MB", and click "I'm ready for Step 1". A command-line window should appear. Now just wait until "Preparing Complete" appears. Then, click "Go for Step 2" and wait until "Rooting is Complete" appears.
Close the application, and open the "output" folder in the same directory as the extracted application. You should find a newly generated "Root.fs" file. You can use it to replace the existing one under "%programdata%\BlueStacks\Android" (Press Windows+R and go there), but it's recommended to keep a backup of the original in case the new one causes Bluestacks to hang in the loading screen for more than a few minutes.
The package also includes Nova Explorer and Root Launcher. You may verify the rooting status with the "Root Checker" app from Google Play. Considering some apps check for Google Play services for online checks, you can also install "Modded Google Play Store", "Lucky Patcher" and "Magisk".
===Andyroid===
* '''Unable To Launch VM Process:'''
On the taskbar, right-click Andyroid's notification icon, and choose Settings, Advanced, Set Andy Protocol. Type "tcp" and confirm, then launch Andyroid.
==See also==
