Changes

;Before diving in,

;*Know that each row under 'VM' specifies the which [[Hypervisor]] used for running Android operating system.

;*[[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.

! scope="col"|Platform(s)

! scope="col"|Version

! scope="col"|[[#Hardware_features|Hardware features]]

! scope="col"|[[#Enhancements|Enhancements]]

! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]

|-

|-

|[[BlueStacks]]

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|macOS}}

|[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/sections/360012290292-Release-Notes {{BlueStacksVer}}]

|{{~}}

|{{~}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}

|[https://www.genymotion.com/download/ {{GenymotionVer}}]

|{{~}}

|{{~}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}

|[https://play.google.com/googleplaygames#section-system-requirements Beta]<br/>[https://developer.android.com/games/playgames/emulator Developer]

|{{~}}

|{{~}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}

|Comes with Windows store<br/>[https://github.com/cinit/WSAPatch WSA patch for Windows 10]

|{{~}}

|{{?}}

|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>

|?

|?

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}

|[https://en.ldplayer.net/ 4.0.50.3]

|?

|?

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}

|[https://www.bignox.com 7.0.2.7]

|?

|?

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}

|[https://www.memuplay.com/ {{MEmuVer}}]

|?

|?

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}

|[https://developer.android.com/studio/ 4.0]

|?

|?

! Google Play Games

! WSA

! [[Recommended_linux_distros#Emulation_focused|BlissOS]]

! [[Recommended_linux_distros#Emulation_focused|Android-x86]]

| {{?}}<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>

| {{✗}}

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}

| {{?}}

| {{✓}}[https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/android/wsa/release-notes#build-22084000040 *]

| {{✓}}[https://tested.blissos.org/hardware/inputs/gamepad/ *]

| {{?}}

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}[https://youtu.be/2KEaPQpfzkQ?t=153 *]

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}[https://youtu.be/2KEaPQpfzkQ?t=153 *]

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{✓}}

| {{N}}[https://old.reddit.com/r/BlueStacks/comments/z54s8p/usb_devices_in_bluestacks/iy2gtgb/ *]

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{~}}[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 *]

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}

| {{~}}<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>

| {{~}}[https://github.com/Simizfo/WSATools#requisites *]

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}

| {{?}}

| {{N}}[https://xdaforums.com/t/looking-wsa-for-windows-11-where-bluetooth-also-works.4610551/post-88829045 *]

| {{✓}}[https://tested.blissos.org/hardware/connectivity/bluetooth/ *]

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{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://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 *]

|-

|-

| 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}}

| {{N}}

| {{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>

| {{N}}

| {{N}}

| {{N}}<ref group=N4 name=BlissOSsupport></ref>

| {{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=Androidx86OSsupport></ref>

| {{Y}}

| {{N}}

| {{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=BlissOSsupport></ref>

| {{N}}<ref group=N4 name=Androidx86OSsupport></ref>

|-

|-

| colspan=2 | [https://web.archive.org/web/20180507120451/https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/abis#sa armeabi]

|-

| colspan=2 | [https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/abis#v7a armeabi-v7a]<br/><small>Supporting armeabi-v7a ABI is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.<br/> Older applications and games often rely on the [[Wikipedia:ARM_architecture_family|ARM 32-bit (Cortex)]] 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-Binary-Interface-ABI-in-BlueStacks-5 What is Application Binary Interface (ABI) in BlueStacks 5 ]</ref>

|?

|?

|{{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}}<ref group=N4 name=BlueStacksABI></ref>

|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=GooglePlayGamesABI></ref>

|?

|?

|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=BlueStacksABI></ref>

|{{Y}}<ref group=N4 name=GooglePlayGamesABI></ref>

|?

|?

|?

|-

|-

| colspan=2 | [https://registry.khronos.org/OpenGL/index_es.php#specs10 OpenGL ES 1.0]<br/><small>Supporting OpenGL ES 1.x is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.</small>

|?

|?

|-

| colspan=2 | [https://registry.khronos.org/OpenGL/index_es.php#specs31 OpenGL ES 3.1]<br/><small>The OpenGL ES 3.x API is backwards-compatible with the 2.x API which is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons..</small>

|?

|?

|-

| colspan=2 | [https://registry.khronos.org/vulkan/#vulkan1.1 Vulkan 1.1]<br/><small>It's possible to use Vulkan 1.1 thanks to [https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/graphics/android-baseline-profile Android Baseline 2022 profile].</small>

|?

|?

! Google Play Games

! WSA

! [[Recommended_linux_distros#Emulation_focused|BlissOS]]

! [[Recommended_linux_distros#Emulation_focused|Android-x86]]

|rowspan=4 | Post-Processing

| [[Shader_Presets|Shader Chain]]

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

|-

| [[Shaders_and_filters|Filters]]

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

|-

| [[Wikipedia:Category:Anti-aliasing_algorithms|Post-rendering AA]]<br/><small>(FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)</small>

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

|-

| [[Wikipedia:Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-rendering scaling]]<br/><small>(Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and FSR 1)</small>

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

| {{?}}

| {{✗}}

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

|-

| Rewind

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

|-

| Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

|-

| Savestates

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

|-

| [https://tasvideos.org/Movies Movie recording/playback]

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

|-

| [[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs#PlayStation_1|Streamable compression format]]

| {{✗}}

| {{✗}}

| {{?}}

| {{Y}}[https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360055522292-How-to-use-the-Game-controls-menu-on-BlueStacks-5 *]

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{Y}}[https://old.reddit.com/r/BlueStacks/comments/163yg7p/command_line_options/ *]

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

|-

| On-Screen Display<br/><small>Showcases messages, controller input state which is useful for speedrunners, performance data, active settings, and various notifications.</small>

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{?}}[https://old.reddit.com/r/WSA/comments/z62m2v/how_do_i_remap_key_to_screen_presses_for_gaming/ *]

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{✓}}

| {{✓}}[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-bridge' section)][https://docs.blissos.org/knowledgebase/frequently-asked-questions/hardware-compatibility 2].</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>

|-

| File Sharing<br/><small>Similar to "Shared Folder" enhancement for [[Hypervisors#Type_2_hypervisors|Type-2 hypervisors]].</small>

| {{?}}

| {{~}}<ref group=N3>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

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{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-5 2]

| {{N}}[https://youtu.be/2KEaPQpfzkQ?t=422 *]

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{Y}}[https://developer.android.com/games/playgames/pg-emulator *]

| {{?}}

| {{?}}

| {{?}}