Changes

'{{Infobox console|title = Android|logo = Android.png|developer = Google<br/> Open Handset Alliance|release = 2008|emulated = {{✓}}}}:''This page is about emulating software that emulates Android apps and games on PC as it is slowly building off an important library of exclusivesother hardware, and emulation coupled with CheatEngine is certainly interestinglike desktops. If you're interested in '{{for|emulators for your that run on Android|Emulators on Android phone, check [[:Category:Consoles]] and see individual console page.'''}}

'''[[wikipedia:Android(operating system)|Android]]''' is a mobile operating system (OS) based on the Linux kernel and currently developed by Googleand the Open Handset Alliance. Unlike It was originally developed in secret before launching in 2008 as a competitor against Apple's [[iOS emulators|iPhone]]. While other mobile operating systems have been made throughout the years, none have emerged in terms of market share nearly as well much 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 Android is like a Linux distribution in that it uses the Linux kernel to facilitate communication with DS emulatorsthe hardware and manage processes on the system. Unfortunately, the computer mouse similarities end there, as Android uses an entirely different toolset from standard Linux distributions and no support is used to emulate touch screen presses given for running it on PCs. (Software development on Android is also nothing like Linux development as apps are compiled into architecture-specific <code>APK</code>s via Java which can , like IPA files on [[iOS emulators|iOS]], are specially designed Zip files. They may be less than ideal in many casesoccasionally coupled with <code>OBB</code> files). While Android can technically run Linux binaries, and the keyboard emulates the button controller add-onsdoing so requires superuser privileges that Android does not provide by default. Some emulators support X360 controllers For many devices, you can expect to see a custom ROM that has an integrated su binary (or a means to install it easily, such as well with some more tweaksa custom recovery), but not all devices have one.

However, the Linux kernel is flexible enough that it can be emulated well, unlike iOS, older cell phone models, and older Japanese Galapagos mobile phones. While Android natively supports mice<ref group=N>If you have an Android device, you can confirm this by connecting a Bluetooth or USB mouse via a USB adapter.</ref>, most apps come expect users to have a touchscreen, so Android emulators will usually default to emulating touchscreen presses like [[Nintendo DS emulators|DS emulation]] (though it can be less than ideal in the apk file format (occasionally coupled with obb filesmany cases). Just like its iOS equivalent (ipa files)The host's keyboard may often emulate the button controller add-ons, their innards can be opened as a regular zip fileand some emulators support [[Xbox 360 emulators|Xbox 360]] controllers with some more tweaks. <references group=N/>

;Before diving in,;*To run Android apps on your computer, most of these emulators employ a two-step approach. First, they set up a virtual environment using [[Hypervisors|hypervisor]] (and of course support for [[Wikipedia:X86_virtualization#Hardware-assisted_virtualization|hardware assisting virtualization]] such as vt-x/amd-v and virtual gpu adapter such as [https://docs.mesa3d.org/drivers/virgl.html VirGL]). Then, they use [[Recommended_linux_distros#Emulation_focused|custom Android-x86 images]] and translation layer such as "[[Compatibility_layer|libhoudini or libndk or Intel BT]]" to convert instructions from ARM processors (used in phones) to work on your computer's x86 architecture. See [[#Hardware features]] supported ABI, API sections and [[#Enhancements]] built-in translation layer and VM columns for more information.;*[[Hypervisors|Hardware-assisted virtualization]] feature must be turned from your BIOS for most of these methods due to performance reasons.;*You need to turn off Hyper-V from Windows Feature panel if [[Hypervisors|Type-2 hypervisor]] used by the emulator due to [[Hypervisors#Hyper-V_feature_conflict_issue|conflict issue]]. Having said that some emulators like BlueStacks provide special Hyper-V build for prevent this issue. Recently, with [https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/22561951043981-BlueStacks-5-20-Release-Notes#01HMGBJDK8G7J7S9C0G5R9SBVR BlueStacks 5 version 5.20, you can now run BlueStacks with Hyper-V enabled] including all instances such as Nougat 32-bit, which will run as intended and no additional changes required. ;*There are also [[compatibility layers]] such as Waydroid and [[Anbox]] for running android applications on ARM and x86 devices but these projects kinda negligible due to their compatibility levels.;*Tons of bloated, obsolete or non-active Android "emulator" exists there but we're not gonna list them, see [https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php?title=Android_emulators&diff=66635&oldid=66634#Emulators this page] for that.<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">{| class="wikitable"|+PCstyle="text-align:center;width:100%"

! scope="col"|OSPlatform(s)

! scope="col"|Free[[#Hardware_features|Hardware features]]! scope="col"|[[#Enhancements|Enhancements]]! scope="col"|VMCompatibility! scope="col"|[[Accuracy]]<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>! scope="col"|Active

! colspan="10"|PC / x86|-|[[Genymotion]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|[https://www.genymotion.com/download/ {{GenymotionVer}}]|{{~}}|{{~}}|?|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}|-|[https://play.google.com/googleplaygames Google Play Games]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|[https://play.google.com/googleplaygames#section-system-requirements Beta]<br/>[https://developer.android.com/games/playgames/emulator Developer]|{{~}}|{{~}}|<small>[https://play.google.com/googleplaygames/exploregames Only for selected titles] (Beta build)<br/>? (Developer build)</small>|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}|-|[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/android/wsa/release-notes WSA]<br/><small>This shouldn't be confused with WSL or WSL2.<br/>See [[Hypervisor]] page for WSL2 and [[Compatibility layer]] page for WSL.</small>|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|Comes with Windows store<br/>[https://github.com/cinit/WSAPatch WSA patch for Windows 10]|{{~}}|{{~}}||[https://github.com/riverar/wsa-app-compatibility#support-tables 66%<br/><small>368 out of 558 reported titles</small>]|?|{{~}}[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/android/wsa/ *] ||{{~}}|-|[https://trinityemulator.github.io/ Trinity]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|[https://github.com/TrinityEmulator/TrinityEmulator/releases git]|{{~}}|{{~}}|?|{{✓}} ||{{~}} ||{{~}}|-|Android Studio<br/><small>It's an IDE and it includes [https://developer.android.com/studio/intro/update#sdk-manager built-in Android Emulator]</small>|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}|style[https://developer.android.com/studio/archive Beta and Canary builds]<br/>[https://developer.android.com/studio/ 4.0]|{{✓}}|{{~}}|?|<span title="textSource-available">^{{~}}</span> ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}|-|[[BlueStacks]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|macOS}}|[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/sections/360012290292-Release-Notes {{BlueStacksVer}}]|{{~}}|{{~}}|[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/4413818315789-Games-playable-on-different-Android-versions-on-BlueStacks-5 ?]|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}<ref group=N2 name=Bloatware>These emulators are closed-source, and while they're distributed for free, their devs look for roundabout ways to monetize them. '''Since these emulators closed-source and comes with adware and bloatware applications, it's important to research the developers background before using them to ensure their trustworthiness and avoid potential privacy risks before using them'''. MuMu, LDPlayer, NoxPlayer and MEmu developed by the various Chinese software companies and BlueStacks App Player developed by American technology company called "[https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4928776 BlueStacks]". Despite data security regulations existing in various regions (e.g., [[Wikipedia:center;General_Data_Protection_Regulation|GDPR]] in the "EU", [[Wikipedia:California_Consumer_Privacy_Act|CCPA]] in "California", and [[GenymotionWikipedia:Cybersecurity_Law_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China|Cybersecurity Law]] in "PRC"), concerns regarding government surveillance in certain countries like the "PRC" remain significant. Therefore, we recommend exercising caution when relying on closed-source software developed within such jurisdictions. Make sure to check if there are pre-installed '''extra''' apps comes with these emulators and disable or uninstall them (e.g. BlueStacks X, BlueStacks Services etc.), monitor your internet traffic and processor activity to detect any abnormal activity and block domains accordingly if the need arises or use tools like 'simplewall'. Also avoid giving sensitive account data as much as is possible due to potential security reasons. Besides basic safety, these precautions often make impacted emulators run faster and more responsive when the adware services and apps are turned off.</ref>|-|MuMu|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|macOS}}|[https://mumu.163.com/global/download/en/index.html 1.1.0.2]<br /><small>[https://mumu.163.com 1.1.0.5 (v2.3.17) (Chinese Ver)]</small>|?|?|?|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}<ref group=N2 name=Bloatware></ref>|-|LDPlayer|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|[https://en.ldplayer.net/ 4.0.50.3]|?|?|?|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}<ref group=N2 name=Bloatware></ref>|-|NoxPlayer|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|[https://www.bignox.com 7.0.2.7]|style?|?|?|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}<ref group=N2 name="textBloatware></ref>|-|MEmu|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|[https:center//www.memuplay.com/ {{MEmuVer}}]|?|?|?|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}<ref group=N2 name=Bloatware></ref>|}</div><references group=N2 /> ===Comparisons===;Genymotion:A closed-source Android emulator with lots of [[#Hardware_features|hardware features]], available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It's not designed for gaming, but [https://support.genymotion.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003059737-Can-I-play-games-with-Genymotion it has decent software compatibility]. It's a commercial product though, aimed at software developers and QA teams and you'll need to create an account and download the free non-commercial use license. Except for the pay-to-remove "free for personal use" watermark on the screen, paid builds add features only useful for Android app developers. Unlike other closed-source emulators, Genymotion avoids pre-installing unnecessary apps. ;Google Play Games:Not to be confused with the [[Preservation_projects#Private_Platform_Servers|service of the same name]], Google Play Games is a PC application that lets you browse, download, and play '''select mobile games''' on a Windowsdesktop or laptop. Use developer build if you want more [[#Hardware_features|hardware feature]] support. Google Play Games is not yet available for Mac. Currently, only bunch of games are available for beta version but Google adding games on a regular basis.<ref>[https://play.google.com/googleplaygames#section-faqs Google Play Games FAQ]</ref>[[File:Android Studio built-in emulator device skin demonstration.jpeg|thumb|298px|Android Studio built-in emulator device skin demonstration, see [[#Enhancements]]]] ;Trinity:Open source Android emulator, it aims for high [https://youtu.be/tfq4MsxaHZw?t=855 performance] and it's even faster than Google Play Games emulator. See [https://github.com/TrinityEmulator/TrinityEmulator#2-detailed-instructions Guest OS image installation guide] for installation. Also see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfq4MsxaHZw OSDI '22 - Trinity: High-Performance Mobile Emulation through Graphics Projection] presentation for more information. ;Android Studio:Android Studio is an IDE software based on JetBrains' IntelliJ IDEA. It has built-in Android emulator with [https://developer.android.com/studio/run/managing-avds AVD (Android Virtual Device) configuration manager]. While its built-in emulator (which is literally called as [https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator "Android Emulator"]) may not be the fastest or software compatible (supports lots of OS image though), Android Studio shines as a developer's toolkit, offering seamless integration with coding, debugging, and testing tools for Android smartphones, Mac[[Smart_TV_emulators#Android_TV.2FGoogle_TV|Android TVs]], [https://developer.android.com/wear Wear OS] and other Android ecosystem hardware. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1TTzkToDyE Recent updates brings new UI] aims to reduce complexity, provide easier access to essential features etc. It has built-in plugin manager which you can get Genymotion plugin for further enhance its emulation capabilities. Also you can use [https://developer.android.com/games/playgames/pg-emulator#debug adb to debugging with developer version of "Google Play Games" emulator]. Supports lots of [[#Hardware features]] and [[#Enhancements]]. See release notes for [https://developer.android.com/studio/releases/emulator built-in "Android Emulator"] and [https://androidstudio.googleblog.com/ Android Studio] for more information. ;BlueStacks:A commercial software with a decent compatibility and performance. It has lots of [[#Enhancements|enhancement]] and [[#Hardware_features|hardware feature]] support. Newer versions bundled with "BlueStacks X" software and "BlueStacks services" which you can uninstall it afterwards, and you need to uninstall these during each update session unfortunately (BlueStacks Player do not need these apps). It includes Google Apps by default. ;MuMu Player:Another closed-source Android emulator. There are three versions of MuMu available:;MuMu Player 6::This version of MuMu uses Android 6.0 Marshmallow:;MuMu Player X::This one is based on Android 12 Snow Cone and may have more compatibility with games:;MuMu Nebula::This version runs Android 7.0 Nougat and is more suitable for low-end computers ;MEmu:Another closed-source Android emulator and also with good compatibility. ;LDPlayer:Another closed-source Android emulator and also with good compatibility. When testing games alongside Nox, LinuxLDPlayer shows better performance/compatibility with games. ==Hardware features==''These are Android operating system features. This list only includes hardware features that can be possible to emulated through software or will be possible in the near future. Including everything would result in an endless list.''<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;width:100%"|- style="font-weight:bold;"! colspan=2 | Name! Genymotion[https://docs.genymotion.com/desktop/04_Emulating_sensors_and_features/]! Bluestacks! Google Play Games! Trinity! WSA! Android Studio! [[Recommended_linux_distros#Emulation_focused|BlissOS]]! [[Recommended_linux_distros#Emulation_focused|Android-x86]]|-| colspan=2 | [[Wikipedia:Android_(operating_system)#Home_screen|Home screen]]<br/><small>This shouldn't be confused with emulator frontend/GUI.</small>| {{✓}}| {{✗}}| {{?}}<ref group=N4>[https://developer.android.com/games/playgames/pg-emulator#navigation Exclusive to developer builds] and [https://old.reddit.com/r/GalaxyTab/comments/mt5ekb/in_android_12_google_is_all_about_tablets_again/ it's looking similar to Android 12 tablet home menu launcher] ([https://youtu.be/2KEaPQpfzkQ?t=408 Demonstration]). It's unclear whether this app directly emulates the native home screen or provides an alternative UI/UX with limited features.</ref>| {{✓}}| {{✗}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/touch-and-input/game-controllers Game controllers]| {{✓}}| {{✓}}[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405061625485 *]| {{✓}}[https://blog.google/products/google-play/google-play-games-beta-october-2023-update/ *]| {{N}}[https://github.com/TrinityEmulator/TrinityEmulator/issues/3 *]| {{✓}}[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/android/wsa/release-notes#build-22084000040 *]| {{?}}| {{✓}}[https://tested.blissos.org/hardware/inputs/gamepad/ *]| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/touch-and-input/keyboard-input Keyboard input]| {{?}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}[https://youtu.be/2KEaPQpfzkQ?t=153 *]| {{✓}}| {{?}}| {{✓}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/games/playgames/input-mouse Mouse input]| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}[https://youtu.be/2KEaPQpfzkQ?t=153 *]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/touch-input/pointer-input/multi-touch Multi-touch]| {{✓}}[https://docs.genymotion.com/desktop/03_Virtual_devices/#touchscreen]| {{✓}}[https://www.bluestacks.com/multi-touch.html][https://www.bluestacks.com/blog/bluestacks-exclusives/bluestacks-multi-touch-support-en.html]|{{?}}[https://support.google.com/googleplay/thread/249633800/lack-of-multi-touch-support-on-play-games-beta?hl=en]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/media/camera/camerax Camera]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{Y}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/develop/connectivity/usb USB and USB passthrough]| {{✓}}| {{N}}[https://old.reddit.com/r/BlueStacks/comments/z54s8p/usb_devices_in_bluestacks/iy2gtgb/ *]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{Y}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/notifications Notifications]| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{~}}[https://developer.android.com/games/playgames/faq#q_can_we_use_push_notifications_for_google_play_games *]| {{✓}}| {{✓}}[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/android/wsa/release-notes#build-220440000190 *]| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-install-add-files Sideloading/Installing]| {{?}}| {{✓}}<ref group=N4>If you're using latest version of BlueStacks you'll need to install a file manager to copy game cache when loading your own .apk files, or simply use .xapk containers.</ref>| {{~}}<ref group=N4>Exclusive to developer builds, [https://youtu.be/2KEaPQpfzkQ?t=280 Demonstration]. For using sideloading in the developer builds you need to use adb install "AppName.apk" command in the Command Prompt.</ref>| {{✓}}<ref group=N4>[https://github.com/TrinityEmulator/TrinityEmulator/wiki/Advanced-Usages#adb-connection Use adb to connect] then use adb install command.</ref>| {{~}}[https://github.com/Simizfo/WSATools#requisites *]| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/develop/connectivity/wifi/wifi-scan Wi-Fi]| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✓}}[https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-wifi *]| {{✓}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/Location Location]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{✓}}[https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-extended-controls *]| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/develop/connectivity/bluetooth Bluetooth]| {{?}}| {{N}}[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360061235612-Bluetooth-support-on-BlueStacks-5 *]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{N}}[https://xdaforums.com/t/looking-wsa-for-windows-11-where-bluetooth-also-works.4610551/post-88829045 *]| {{Y}}[https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22604305/how-to-use-android-emulator-for-testing-bluetooth-application *]| {{✓}}[https://tested.blissos.org/hardware/connectivity/bluetooth/ *]| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/develop/sensors-and-location/sensors/sensors_motion Motion sensors]| {{?}}| {{Y}}[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058638032-Advanced-settings-for-key-controls-in-BlueStacks-5-#%E2%80%9C9%E2%80%9D *]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{Y}}[https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-extended-controls *]| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| rowspan=2 | Connectivity| [[Preservation_projects#Private_Platform_Servers|Google Play Games]]<br/>[[Preservation_projects#Private_Platform_Servers|Google Play Services]]<br/><small>Achievements, Challenges, Leaderboards etc.</small>| {{?}}| {{Y}}[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059697231-How-to-log-in-to-Google-Play-Store-on-BlueStacks-5 *]| {{Y}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{✓}}| {{?}}| {{?}}[https://groups.google.com/g/android-x86/c/BGVX_bwpibA *]|-| [[Wikipedia:Google_Cloud_Messaging|Google Cloud Messaging (GCM)]]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-! colspan=9 | [[Wikipedia:Android_version_history|OS version]]|-| colspan=2 | [[Wikipedia:Android_version_history#Android_4.4_KitKat|KitKat]] (API 19)<br/><small>Supporting [[Wikipedia:Android_version_history#Android_4.4_KitKat|Android 4.4 (KitKat)]] is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.<br/> Older applications and games often rely on the "[[Wikipedia:Dalvik_(software)|Dalvik]]", which isn't present in newer versions and there could be '''[https://web.archive.org/web/20141215220606/http://www.androidruntime.com:80/list compatibility issues]'''.<br/>Android 5.0 (Lollipop)(API 21) introduced the "[[Wikipedia:Android_Runtime|Android RunTime]]" (ART), [[Wikipedia:Android_Runtime#History|replacing "Dalvik" entirely]].<br/>Having said that ART is mostly backwards compatible with Dalvik. See these sources for more information: [https://xdaforums.com/t/explained-art-runtime-in-android-4-4-kitkat.2622098/ 1], [https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/difference-between-dalvik-and-art-in-android/ 2], [https://developer.android.com/guide/practices/verifying-apps-art 3].</small>| {{N}}<ref group=N4 name=GenymotionOSsupport>[https://support.genymotion.com/hc/en-us/articles/9511224511901-Which-Android-versions-are-available Genymotion: Which Android versions are available?], Since September 2022, Genymotion no longer provide Android 4.4 and below images, see[https://support.genymotion.com /hc/en-us/articles/360002708018-I-can-t-find-Android-4-4-and-below this page].</ref>| {{N}}<ref group=N4>You need to use [[Wikipedia:BlueStacks#BlueStacks_3|BlueStacks 3 version]] (not 3N), because it is the latest version supports KitKat.</ref>| {{N}}| {{N}}| {{N}}| {{Y}}| {{N}}<ref group=N4 name=BlissOSsupport>[https://blissos.org/index.html#download BlissOS OS support].</ref>| {{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=Androidx86OSsupport>KitKat and Nougat supported with [https://sourceforge.net/projects/android-x86/files/ Android-x86].</ref>|-| colspan=2| [[Wikipedia:Android_version_history#Android_7.1_Nougat|7.1 Nougat]] (API 25)<br/><small>New JIT Compiler, making for 75 percent faster app installations and a 50 percent reduction in compiled code size.<br/>JIT compiler with code profiling to ART, which lets it constantly improve the performance of Android apps as they run.<br/>Vulkan 3D rendering API support.</small>| {{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=GenymotionOSsupport></ref>| {{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=BluestacksOSsupport>[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058931031-How-to-utilize-the-different-Android-versions-available-on-BlueStacks-5#%E2%80%9C1%E2%80%9D Which Android versions are available on BlueStacks?].</ref>| {{N}}| {{N}}| {{N}}| {{Y}}| {{N}}<ref group=N4 name=BlissOSsupport></ref>| {{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=Androidx86OSsupport></ref>|-| colspan=2| [[Wikipedia:Android_version_history#Android_12|Snow Cone]] (Official SiteAPI 31)<br/><small>Android Runtime (ART) module added to the updatable core OS components via Google Play, added functionality to existing modules.</small>|style{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=GenymotionOSsupport></ref>| {{N}}<ref group=N4 name=BluestacksOSsupport></ref>| {{Y}}| {{N}}<abbr title="textIt uses android-x86 9.0 64bit">*</abbr>| {{N}}| {{Y}}| {{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=BlissOSsupport></ref>| {{N}}<ref group=N4 name=Androidx86OSsupport></ref>|-! colspan=10 | [https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/abis Supported ABIs]|-| colspan=2 | [https://web.archive.org/web/20180507120451/https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/abis#sa armeabi]| colspan=8 | armeabi and MIPS support deprecated in [[Compatibility layer|libndk translation layer]] version r16 and [https://android.googlesource.com/platform/ndk/+/master/docs/Roadmap.md#ndk-r17 removed in r17].<br/>But [[Compatibility layer|libhoudini translation layer]] still supports it?|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/abis#v7a armeabi-v7a]<br/><small>Supporting armeabi-alignv7a ABI is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.<br/> Older applications and games often rely on the [[Wikipedia:center;"ARM_architecture_family|✓ ARM 32-bit (NonCortex)]] architecture, which isn't used in newer hardware.</small>|?|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=BlueStacksABI>[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058929011-What-is-Application-Dev VersionsBinary-Interface-ABI-in-BlueStacks-5 What is Application Binary Interface (ABI)in BlueStacks 5 ]</ref>|?|?|?|{{Y}}|?|?|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/abis#arm64-v8a arm64-v8a]|?|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=BlueStacksABI></ref>|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=GooglePlayGamesABI>[https://developer.android.com/games/playgames/start#playbility-architecture Google Play Games ABI Architecture support].</ref>|?|?|{{Y}}|?|?|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/abis#x86 x86]|?|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=BlueStacksABI></ref>|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=GooglePlayGamesABI></ref>|?|?|{{Y}}|?|?|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/abis#86-64 x86_64]|?|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=BlueStacksABI></ref>|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=GooglePlayGamesABI></ref>|{{Y}}|?|{{Y}}[https://developer.android.com/games/optimize/64-bit#64-bit-emulator *]|?|?|-! colspan=10 | [https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/graphics/opengl/about-opengl Supported APIs]|-| colspan=2 | [https://registry.khronos.org/OpenGL/index_es.php#specs11 OpenGL ES 1.x]<br/><small>Supporting OpenGL ES 1.x is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.</small>|?|?|?|?|?|{{Y}}|?|?|-| colspan=2 | [https://registry.khronos.org/OpenGL/index_es.php#specs31 OpenGL ES 3.x]<br/><small>The OpenGL ES 3.x APIs is backwards-compatible with the 2.x APIs which is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.</small>|?|?|?|{{Y}}[https://youtu.be/tfq4MsxaHZw?t=923 *]|?|{{Y}}|?|?|-| colspan=2 | [https://registry.khronos.org/vulkan/#apispecs Vulkan 1.3]<br/><small>See [https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/graphics/android-baseline-profile Android Baseline 2022 profile] and also see [https://source.android.com/docs/core/graphics/implement-vulkan#versions Vulkan API versions for several Android releases].<br/>Vulkan releases are backward compatible with each other.|?|?|?|?|?|?|?|?|}</div><references group=N4/> ==Enhancements==<div style="textoverflow-alignx:centerauto;width:100%"|VirtualBox>{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;width:100%"|High|- style="textfont-alignweight:centerbold;"! colspan=2 | Name! Genymotion! Bluestacks! Google Play Games! Trinity! WSA! Android Studio! [[Recommended_linux_distros#Emulation_focused|BlissOS]]! [[Recommended_linux_distros#Emulation_focused|Android-x86]]|-|rowspan=6 | Post-Processing| [[Shader_Presets|Shader Chain]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-|✓[[Shaders_and_filters|Filters]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{~}}<ref group=N3>Android Studio emulator [https://developer.android.com/studio/run/managing-avds#skins supports lots of device frame and custom skin] (similar to libretro overlay/bezels). You can get additional skins from various sources (e.g. [https://github.com/mingchen/android-emulator-skins mingchen's Android Emulator Skins], [https://sourceforge.net/projects/android-emulator-skins/files/ CREAL's AVD skins]), also you can use buttons on these device frames.</ref>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}

|style="text-align:center;"|[[BlueStacks]]|style="textShaders_and_filters#AI-align:center;"|Windows, Macpowered filters|style="textAI-align:center;"|powered filter compatible]]<br/><small>([httphttps://www.bluestacksnvidia.com/ Official Siteen-us/geforce/news/gfecnt/nvidia-freestyle-ansel-enhancements-geforce-experience-article/ Freestyle])</small>|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|✓{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|Original{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|High{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|✓{{?}}

|style="text-align:center;"|[[MEmu]]|style="textWikipedia:Category:Anti-align:center;"|Windowsaliasing_algorithms|style="textPost-align:center;"|[http:rendering AA]]<br/><small>(FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/www.memuplay.comSMAA)</ Official Site]small>|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|✓{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|Original{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|Mid{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|✓{{✗}}

|style="text-align[[Wikipedia:center;"Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-rendering scaling]]<br/><small>(Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and [[Droid4xWikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 1]])</small>|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|Windows, Mac{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|[http://www.droid4x.com/ Official Site]{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|Original{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|High{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|{{✗}}

|style="text-align:center;"|[[DuOSHigh_dynamic_range#Inverse_tone_mapping|Inverse tone mapping compatible]]|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|Windows{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|[http://www.amiduos.com/ Official Site]{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|Mid{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗{{?}}

|stylerowspan="text-align5 | [https:center;"//tasvideos.org/Emulatorresources/Features TAS features]|[[andyroidWikipedia:Macro_(computer_science)|Macros/Scripts]]/[https://tasvideos.org/LuaScripting Lua]|style="text-align:center;"|Windows, Mac{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|{{Y}}[httphttps://andyroidwww.bluestacks.netcom/ Official Sitefeatures/macros.html *]|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|✓{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|VirtualBox{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|Mid{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{?}}

|style="text-align:center;"Rewind|[[Android x86]]{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|Multi-platform{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|[http://www.android-x86.org 4.4-r5] (Official Site){{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|N/A{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|Low{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|{{✗}}

|style="textFast-align:center;"Forward/Turbo Speed|[[Anbox]]{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|Linux{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|[http://anbox.io/ Official Site]{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|Original{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|?{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|{{✗}}

|style="text-align:center;"Savestates|[[Nox App Player]]{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|Windows{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|3.7.5.1{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|?{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|High{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{✗}}

!colspan="7"|Abandoned[https:/Discontinued/tasvideos.org/Movies Movie recording/playback]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}

|stylerowspan="text-align:center;"10 | Quality of life|[[ARC WelderSave_disk_space_for_ISOs#PlayStation_1|Streamable compression format]] (Google Chrome)|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"{{✗}}|[https://developer.chrome.com/apps/getstarted_arc 50.5021.602.0] (Official Site){{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|Original{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|Mid{{✗}}|style="text-align:center;"|{{✗}}

|style="textPer-align:center;"|[[Windroy]]Game Profiles|style="text-align:center;"|Windows{{?}}|style="text-align{{Y}}[https:center;"|1//support.bluestacks.2 (Discontinued)com/hc/en-us/articles/360055522292-How-to-use-the-Game-controls-menu-on-BlueStacks-5 *]|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|✓{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|Original{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|Low{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗{{?}}

|style="text-align:center;"|[[Windroye]]Command Line Options|style="text-align:center;"|Windows{{?}}|style="text-align{{Y}}[https:center;"|2//old.9reddit.0 (Discontinued)com/r/BlueStacks/comments/163yg7p/command_line_options/ *]|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|✓{{Y}}|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|VirtualBox{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|Mid{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|{{?}}

|style="textOn-align:center;"Screen Display<br/><small>Showcases messages, controller input state which is useful for speedrunners, performance data, active settings, and various notifications.</small>|[[Shashlik]]{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"{{?}}|Linux{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|[http://www.shashlik.io 0.9.3] (Official Site){{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|✓{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|Original{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|Low{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗{{?}}

|style="textBuilt-alignin On-Screen Control<br/><small>Simulating touch input on display via keyboard or gamepad. This QoL enhancement is crucial for lots of touch input exclusive games.<br/>Also you can use third party apps such as [https:center;"|[[Xamarin Android Player]//github.com/Shyri/TouchMapper TouchMapper]for this.</small>|style="text-align:center;"|Windows, Mac{{?}}|style="text{{Y}}[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-align:center;"us/articles/360058928871 *]|Discontinued{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗{{N}}|style="text-align{{?}}[https:center;"//old.reddit.com/r/WSA/comments/z62m2v/how_do_i_remap_key_to_screen_presses_for_gaming/ *]|VirtualBox{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|{{?}}|style="text-align:center;"|✗{{?}}

|style[[Compatibility_layer|Built-in translation layer]]| {{✗}}<ref group="textN3>You need to manually install libhoudini translation layer on guest system for Genymotion. See [[Compatibility layer]] page.</ref>| {{✓}}| {{✓}}[https://developer.android.com/games/playgames/start#playbility-architecture *]| {{✓}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{Y}}<ref group=N3>BlissOS supports out-of-package translation layer [https://blissos.org/ (See 'Bliss OS Variations->Native-alignbridge' section)]. Also see [https:center;//docs.blissos.org/knowledgebase/frequently-asked-questions/hardware-compatibility this page].</ref>| {{~}}<ref group=N3>libhoudini is not bundled with Android-x86, there's a script under /system/bin named "enable_houdini" which tries to download it and install from two different urls. So, if these sources are offline, manual installation is necessary. See [https://groups.google.com/g/android-x86/c/tXyfFZ7xeTw this page] for more information.</ref>|Project Astoria-|style[[Hypervisors|Built-in VM]]| {{~}}<ref group=N3>Exclusive to "text-align:center;with VirtualBox"|Windows 10 Mobilebuilds.</ref>|style{{Y}}<br/><small>Multiple<ref group=N3>BlueStacks uses QEMU (before v2.5), VirtualBox (after v2.5). Also as mentioned in "Before diving in"textsection, BlueStacks '''supports''' Hyper-V if you are using BlueStacks v4 Hyper-V builds or v5.20+ versions.</ref>| {{Y}}<br/><small>Hyper-alignV</small>| {{Y}}<br/><small>[https:center;"//github.com/TrinityEmulator/TrinityEmulator#4-code-organization QEMU 5.0]<ref group=N3>Also supports Hyper-V and obsolete HAXM for hardware acceleration.</ref>|Discontinued{{Y}}<br/><small>Hyper-V</small>|style{{Y}}<br/><small>[https://developer.android.com/studio/intro/update#recommended QEMU]<ref group="textN3>Also supports [https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-acceleration#vm-windows-aehd AEHD], [https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-acceleration#choose-windows-alignhypervisor WHPX for Windows] and [https:center;//developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-acceleration#vm-linux KVM for Linux] for hardware acceleration.</ref></small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| File Sharing<br/><small>Similar to "Shared Folder" enhancement for [[Hypervisors#Type_2_hypervisors|✗Type-2 hypervisors]].</small>| {{?}}|style{{~}}<ref group="textN3>Only for media type files, it supports [https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360055684992-How-to-use-the-Media-Manager-on-BlueStacks-5 media file sharing via Media Manager].</ref>| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| Big Picture Mode| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{N}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| Multiple instances and instance manager| {{?}}| {{Y}}[https://www.bluestacks.com/features/multi-instance.html 1][https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360052834092-How-to-create-and-manage-instances-using-the-Multi-instance-Manager-on-BlueStacks-align5 2]| {{N}}[https:center;"//youtu.be/2KEaPQpfzkQ?t=422 *]| {{N}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|Original-|stylerowspan="text2 | Misc| [[Wikipedia:Variable_refresh_rate|Variable Refresh Rate compatible]]| {{?}}| {{N}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-align| Debug features</br><small>adb support, [https:center;"//developer.android.com/agi AGI support], integration with IDE etc.</small>|Low{{?}}|style="text{{~}}[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360053245871-How-to-use-the-BlueStacks-5-Settings-alignmenu#%E2%80%9C6%E2%80%9D *]| {{Y}}[https:center;"//developer.android.com/games/playgames/pg-emulator *]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{Y}}| {{?}}|✗{{?}}

The VM column describes what backend technology the emulator uses. Emulators labeled with "VirtualBox" requires the user to install [https:</div><references group=N3/www.virtualbox.org/ Oracle VM VirtualBox].>

* '''Genymotion''' is an ==Android emulator with hardware-accelerated 3D graphics and USB host support, available for Windows, Mac and Linux. In its latest versions, consoles==Because it has pretty good compatibility with commercial games. It's a commercial product thoughpossible to fork and create your own Android-based OS, aimed at software many developers and QA teams. You'll need have used Android to create an account and download the free non-power their own commercial use license availableconsoles. Except for pay-to-remove "free for personal use" watermark However, as mentioned before, just because it uses Android as a base does not mean they will all work correctly on the screen, paid builds add features only useful for a standard Android app developers.**Setting up the emulator itself is not too hard, but a bit as they may require specific hardware setup, extra non-standard APIs or frameworks provided by the OS 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 console, or extra authentication that relies on 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 services bundled with Android to know your way around a rooted filesystem it shouldn't be too hardthe console.

* '''Nox App PlayerNote: [[Smart_TV_emulators|Smart TVs and smart TV boxes/digital media players/media boxes]] (e.g. ChromeCast with Google TV, Amazon Fire TV) are not consoles, despite some of them are able to run video games. The distinction is simple: If a device is not designed with gaming as its sole or main purpose, then it's not an Android console. Please do not add [[Home_Media_Player|Home media players]] or general Android devices that can play video games, such as [[Smart_TV_emulators|Smart TVs and smart TV boxes/digital media players/media boxes]] etc. to this section.'''<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"! scope="col"|Name! scope="col"|[[MAME]] support! scope="col"|ROMs! scope="col"|Description|-|Atlantis Land Kora|None|None||-|[https://www.clementoni.com/it-en/16612-clemstation-60/ Clemstation 6.0]|None|None|Released in 2018 by Clementoni, the Clemstation is a "multimedia educational console" only sold in Italy that appears to be on a running custom version of Android. Because it's still being sold, it' s unknown how games will be made for it and when it will be discontinued. Information on how many units have been sold so far has not been released to the public. |-|Diyomate X18|None|None||-|flarePlay|None|None||-|Fuze Tomahawk F1|None|None|A Chinese console with Nvidia Tegra SoC, similar to Nvidia Shield. Has some heavy-hitting exclusive Android titles such as ''Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1'' and ''Dynasty Warriors 8'', but eventually flopped.|-|GPD Mars Gamebox|None|None||-|[[GPD XD Devices|GPD XD / XD+]]|None|None|A foldable handheld console manufactured by Gamepad Digital (GPD).|-|LeapFrog Epic|None|None||-|LC Smart Pandora TV Box|None|None||-|Lexibook LexiBox TV|None|None||-|Lexibook Playdroid|None|None||-|Mad Catz Mojo|None|None||-|MeLE X8|None|None||-|My Clem Box|None|None|Released in 2018 by Italian toy company Clementoni and sold exclusively in Italy, My Clem Box is an educational console with Wii-like motion controls. Because it's still being sold, it's unknown how games will be made bootleg for it and when it will be discontinued. Information on how many units have been sold so far has not been released to the public. |-|[https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/zukanneopad NEO Consoles]|None|None|Released in 2017 by Takara Tomy. The NEO Series are educational consoles only sold in Japan and appear to use a custom version of BlueStacks Android. Because it's still being sold, it's unknown how games will be made for it and when it will be discontinued. Information on how many units have been sold so far has not been released to the public. |-|Nvidia Shield TV|None|None|A console/media box hybrid manufactured by Nvidia. Has a lot of heavy-hitting titles such as ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'', ''Doom 3'', ''Half-Life 2'', etc.|-|[[Ouya emulators|Ouya]]|None|[https://archive.org/details/ouyalibrary?&sort=-downloads&page=2 Yes]|A failed microconsole that comes started from a Kickstarter project. The controller sucks and the games can be found elsewhere. Since the Ouya runs on Android, emulation is technically possible by extracting menu/application APK files and running them in an Android emulator or VM.|-|PlayJam GameStick|None|None|A tiny console the size of a USB thumb drive. |-|Razer Forge TV|None|None||-|Phoenix One|None|None|A console/desktop computer hybrid, equipped with malware Qualcomm 660 SoC, running PhoenixOS which is an Android distro designed for desktop computers. Has a "computer mode" that enables multi-window multitasking and system-wide file manager integration, such as copying & pasting files.|-|Razer Forge TV|None|None||-|miniStation|None|None|A console designed by Tencent and a keyloggermanufactured by multiple manufacturers such as Lenovo and Skyworth. Users report stolen credit cards Designed to run cellphone games and hacked Google Accountssimple emulators.|-|Snail Games OBox|None|None||-|Soomax Sensory (享动体感游戏机)|None|None||-|TCL T2|None|None||-|UIS Xtreamer Multi-Console|None|None||-|UTStarcom DanDan (蛋蛋)|None|None||-|ZTE FunBox|None|None||-|}</div>  ==GM Android-based==Some General Motors cars are equipped with an in-car entertainment system running on Android.

* '''MEmu''' is a free Android emulator with very good accuracy[https://developer. It is often bundled with malware so run it in a sandboxgm.com/app-gallery App Gallery].

* '''Droid4x''' ==Emulation issues=====Google apps===Android is open-source, but the Google Play Store has good accuracy but forcefully uninstalls VirtualBoxto be licensed from Google in order to incorporate it into a build, so it cannot co-exist with Genymotion including Play Services and Xamarinmany other Google apps. It's not recommended because it will install hidden background services That often means developers pay a fee that can trickle back to the user in some form (xunlei.exeeither through adware, and Thunder.exeprivacy-invading trackers, both or by selling the Chinese company which developed Droid4xemulator as a commercial product) in the background seeding Chinese torrents constantly . Custom ROMs for real Android devices on Android 4 and they are a pain earlier used to uninstall or deactivate (in case you've already fallen for itbundle the Google Play Store, use Revo Uninstaller)but this changed with newer versions. The new method is to install a custom ROM and then install "GApps" through another service like [https://opengapps.org/ the Open GApps Project].

* '''andyroid''' works too===Architectural differences===Many games often optimize and compile specifically for ARM processors, though the company behind it did adware before previouslywhich prevents them from being executable on x86 CPUs, even when using a project like Android-x86.**Just Some emulators, like BlueStacks, have ARM translation layer by default; in others, like Genymotion, Andyroid also use VirtualBox, but with a twist: if it detects is possible to install an installed virtualbox during installation, '''it will delete it''' ARM translation layer manually. See [[#Hardware features]] supported ABI section and will refuse to work[[#Enhancements]] built-in translation layer section for more information. Beware!

* '''DuOS''', not ===Conflict===Many emulators like to be confused with a [http://ds-duosuninstall each other for some reason.blogspot.com/ similarly-named Nintendo DS emulator] by RoorDroid4x, Andyroid, is a relative newcomer to the Android emulation marketGenymotion, made by American Megatrends i.e. and Xamarin cannot co-exist on the very same people behind the BIOS/UEFI firmware your PC may machine without modifying their installers, which can be usinga problem if one game works on only one of these emulators but other games do not. Emulation is modest at best, with games and apps such as Also keep in mind that you should turn off Hyper-V windows feature if [[DraSticHypervisors|Type-2 hypervisor]] struggling on lowerused for emulator backend due to [[Hypervisors#Hyper-end hardware. And to top it all offV_feature_conflict_issue|conflict issue]], it ain't free eitheralthough some emulators like BlueStacks provide special Hyper-V build for this.

* '''Google Chrome''' can open apk files using ===Antitamper protection===In order to reduce cheating, many games refuse to run if they discover that the ARC Welder extension, though their emulation on PC is average at best. Here's a [http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iIbxaftAu_ho5rv9fUlXSLTzwU6MbKOldsWXyrYiyo8/edit#gid=0 compatibility list] and a [https://www.reddit.com/r/chromeapks dedicated subreddit]. Google device has announced [http://arstechnicabeen rooted.com/gadgets/2016/05/If the-play-store-emulator comes-to-chrome-os-but-not-the-way-we-were-expecting/ Play Store for Chrome OS]rooted by default, but it works on a different "container" technology that is embed to must be manually unrooted before the Chrome OSgame can be played. In additionThe rooting method for modern devices is Magisk, Google will [http://blog.chromium.org/2016/08/from-chrome-apps-to-web.html discontinue Google Chrome apps on PC]which installs itself in the bootloader instead of the system partition, so any major updates which makes it harder to ARC Welder for PC is unlikelydetect.

* '''Windroy''' Some games take more aggressive measures to detect the presence of Custom ROMs (unofficial firmware) or Android emulators (without like the 'e' suffixones listed on this page) is in a fast Android emulator that does not rely on VirtualBox variety of ways, such as checking for the existence or absence of system files in order to prevent the game from running in any similar technologyunverified environments. It isn't accurate though. While Google Play store can be installed with some tinkering, not many These games can be installed (due are very difficult or plain impossible to play on emulators without resorting to not faking device names) and will spawn multiple harmless-yet-annoying app_process.exe crashes. Official site is down since July 2016, so any updates are unlikelycracked versions of the games.

* '''Windroye''' ===Android-based Operating Systems===There are many [[wikipedia:Fork_(with software_development)|forks]] of Android; some of these go beyond a custom UI and are instead entirely new OSes that use the Android code in addition to writing their own code, such as Amazon'e' suffixs Fire OS; in some cases these come as compatibility layers on top of an otherwise unrelated OS, such as Windows Subsystem for Android. Depending on how much (and what) rely new code, features, and APIs were added, will determine the effects they will have on VirtualBox, Android emulation but still offers better performance than Bluestacks. The Play Store if one thing is installed by default and has no stability for sure, these forks are (most likely) going to cause some emulation 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.]

===Emulator Specific Issues=======BlueStacks====* '''Android x86Can't root the device:''' is a open-source project that aims to port 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 games. Genymotion is (or at least used to be) a closed-source fork of Android x86, designed exclusively to be run on VirtualBox.

* The latest Kingroot'''Anbox''' is a project that aims to run Android applications on Ubuntu distributionss . Currently it is on alpha state and only known to work on Ubuntu 16.04apk will do the job when loaded inside BlueStacks. Anbox requires custom kernel modules to run because unlike other emulators which emulates the whole Linux kernel, this one uses the host systemIt's Linux kernel directlythat simple.

* '''Shashlik''' is a project by KDE that aims to run Android applications on Linux using KDE5 and Qt5 technology. The project is infancy state and only known to run on latest Kubuntu versions. It currently lacks ARM processor emulationAlternatively, so not many games will run. It is however known to play you could use Universal [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SC6c_ih_Ac Flappy BirdBlueStacks] and can show [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_R8ftiIp4 Spotify's login screen]Rooting Software on an existing BlueStacks installation. It uses modified [[Qemu]] Before opening it, go to emulate the Android operating systemfolder where BlueStacks is installed under Program Files, and run "HD-Quit. Last major update was March 2016 and seems abandonedexe" once.

* '''Xamarin Android Player''' was a newcomer to Then, from the Android emulation marketextracted "BlueStacks RootEZ 32_64", open as administrator "BlueStacks RootEZ. Not much is known about this because it required a minimum of $25/month subscription of main Xamarin productsexe". The main Xamarin products were [https://blogClick "Automatic Detect from Installed Bluestacks", enable "Enlarge System (Root.xamarinfs) Size to 400MB", and click "I'm ready for Step 1".com/xamarinA command-line window should appear. Now just wait until "Preparing Complete" appears. Then, click "Go for-all made available for free] after the purchase by Microsoft, but Xamarin Android Player was discontinuedStep 2" and wait until "Rooting is Complete" appears.

* '''Project Astoria''' was a Microsoft-developed Android emulator for Windows 10 Mobile included Close the application, and open the "output" folder in several insider previewsthe same directory as the extracted application. It could run [https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone/comments/3gaoct/android_apps_that_work_on_win10_right_now/ You should find a few applicaions], though apps required Google Play Services did not run or had issuesnewly generated "Root. This project was reportedly [http://wwwfs" file.windowscentral.com/microsofts-project-astoria-delayed discontinued] in November 2015 You can use it to replace the existing one under "%programdata%\BlueStacks\Android" (Press Windows+R and [http://www.winbeta.org/news/microsoft-confirms-go there), but it's recommended to keep a backup of the-death-of-project-astoria-focusing-on-other-bridges-instead its cancellation was confirmed] on February 2016, so original in case the emulator is not included new one causes Bluestacks to hang in the loading screen for more recent versions of Windows 10 Mobilethan a few minutes.

==General Emulation issues=====Lack of Release Notes The package also includes Nova Explorer and Update History information===While Root Launcher. You may verify the rooting status with the "Root Checker" app from Google Play. Considering some emulators such as Genymotion do have version history on their websiteapps check for Google Play services for online checks, most other emulators do not have such history pagesyou can also install "Modded Google Play Store", making it difficult to track updates as well as regressions"[https://www.luckypatchers.com/ Lucky Patcher]" and "Magisk".

===Emulator Conflict=Andyroid====Many emulators, such as Droid4x, andyroid, Genymotion and Xamarin cannot co-exist on the same machine because they will uninstall each other. This can be a problem if one game runs only on one of these emulators but the other games do not work on it.* '''Unable To Launch VM Process:'''

===GoogleOn the taskbar, right-related Libraries===Likely due to licensing issuesclick Andyroid's notification icon, most Android emulators do not come with Google-related applications and related libraries preinstalled (Google Play Storechoose Settings, Play ServicesAdvanced, Play Games client, etc) and requires the user to manually install themSet Andy Protocol. Many games verify the existence of Google-related components at the start Type "tcp" and refuse to work if some or any of them are missingconfirm, then launch Andyroid.

===ARM Applications=Android-x86====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 * '''3D Support is possible to install ARM emulator manually. The ARM emulator requires Intel CPUs to work correctly and not guaranteed to work with all games.broken on VMWare when using newer kernels:'''

===Games Kernels > 4.14 with rootversion 8.1 break 3d acceleration in VMWare (see https://Custom ROMsgroups.google.com/Emulator Detection===Many commercial games refuse to run if the device is "rooted" (hacked to allow access to deep portion of Android OSforum/#!searchin/android-x86/4.9%7Csort:date/android-x86/wB65vJnuJiI/ytJaWYWUBwAJ) in order to reduce cheating and pirating. If the emulator is rooted by default, it must be unrooted manually before the game can be playedUse kernel 4.9 with 8.1 instead.

Some games are very aggressive that they detect Custom ROMs (unofficial firmware) or Android emulators (like the ones listed * '''Setting resolution 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.VMWare'''

==Emulator Specific Issues=====BlueStacks===* Pass in a kernel option to grub when booting. Select the boot entry and then press 'e'to edit it, and then 'Cane't root to edit again. Add the device:kernel option here. For example, to use a video resolution of 1920x1080, add 'video=1920x1080'. Press return to save the changes (for this boot session only), and 'b' to boot (the keys to edit and boot may be different depending on your grub version, there are usually instructions on the grub screen for the requisite keys)

The latest Kingroot====KMRE====* 's ''Installing third-party apks'''Installing third-party apks requires a dedicated installer <code>kmre-apk will do the job when loaded inside Bluestacks-installer</code>. It's that simplecould be acquired by command <code>sudo apt update && sudo apt install kmre-apk-installer</code>.

Alternatively, you could use Universal Bluestacks Rooting Software Notice that KMRE is still not designed with third-party apps in mind. Installing third-party apps may result in abnormal behaviors of KMRE such as unable to start & stop itself on an existing Bluestacks installation. Before opening it, go demand due to the folder where Bluestacks is installed under Program Files, and run "HDclogged-up background processes of third-Quit.exe" onceparty apps.

Then, from Installing apks inside KMRE is specifically filtered out unless 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 application running is Complete" appearsupgrading itself.

Close * '''Receiving a notice that the application, and open mobile environment is not running while trying to install third-party apps'''Go to app store - mobile apps to trigger the "output" folder in the same directory as the extracted applicationstartup process of KMRE. You should find can see a newly generated "Root.fs" file. You can use it to replace startup notice in the bottom right corner on the existing one under "%programdata%\BlueStacks\Android" (Press Windows+R and go there), but desktop while 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 minutesstarting up.

The package also includes Nova Explorer and Root Launcher* '''Accessing Android system settings'''Execute command <code>startapp com. You may verify android.settings</code> in the rooting status with the "Root Checker" app from Google Playterminal. Notice that changing system settings is very likely to break KMRE. Considering some apps check for Google Play services for online checks, you can also install "Modded Google Play Store", "Lucky Patcher" and "Magisk"* '''Accessing files of Android'''Files in <code>/storage/emulated/0</code> are mapped to <code>/var/lib/kmre/data/kmre-1000-${LOGNAME}</code>.

===Andyroid===* '''Unable To Launch VM Process:Notice that this path contains a hard link to <code>/home</code>. KMRE will filter out file deletion, but not creation and modification. Improper file management in Android could result in data loss in host machine.'''

On As KMRE is not really an emulator/hypervisor, the taskbar<code>/</code> and other paths such as <code>/sys</code> on Android doesn't have mappings, rightbut some paths are mapped to <code>/var/lib/kmre/kmre-1000-click Andyroid's notification icon, and choose Settings, Advanced, Set Andy Protocol. Type "tcp" and confirm, then launch Andyroid${LOGNAME}</code>.

*[[Cellphone emulators]] - info Information on emulators for various feature phone/non-smartphone platforms.* [[Emulators on Android]] - Various emulators on Android OS ==External links==*[[Wikipedia:Comparison_of_mobile_operating_systems|Comparison of mobile operating systems]]*[[Wikipedia:Android_version_history|Android version history]], [https://developer.android.com/topic/performance/baselineprofiles/overview Android Baseline profiles]*[https://developer.android.com/ Android Developer]*[https://xdaforums.com/t/list-of-devices-armv7-armv6-armv5.1596800/ XDAForums - List of devices: ARMv7, ARMv6, ARMv5]*[[Wikipedia:Comparison_of_high-definition_smartphone_displays#720p_by_1280_.28HD_ready.29|Early Android devices with OLED and HD Ready display]]

[[Category:ConsolesMobiles]][[Category:Linux-based]][[Category:Android emulators|*]][[Category:Operating systems]][[Category:Mobile Operating Systems]][[Category:Various Emulation]]----{{NEL}}==Notes==<references group=N />