The Android emulators allow users to run their favorite game or app on PC. The software creates a virtual Android environment on your Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1 or Win 10 computer and integrates itself with the OS in such a way that you can install apps through their APK files without opening the emulator.
Emulators play a crucial role in app development. The ADB emulator that ships with Android Eclipse plugin or Android Studio is naive and it may slow down the computer. Instead of ADB, you must use a third-party emulator.
Below, we’ve shared the best emulator software which you can use on your Windows PC for testing apps or for running Android applications and games.
Top 5 Best Android emulators for Windows OS
1Nox
Nox is one of the most popular Android emulators for Windows 10 OS. According to its developers, Nox offers smooth gaming and multitasking experience.
Nox emulator is powered by the Android 4.4 OS and it supports all types of games and applications published in the Google Play Store. It has a beautiful desktop-like interface. The great thing about Nox is that all apps are arranged on the desktop of the emulator. It doesn’t feature the app drawer module.
Nox app player enables you to download and use root apps. It can recognize APK files you have saved on hard disk drive of the PC. It has an option to change performance settings. If you’re running this software on a low-end computer, you should alter these settings for better performance of games and apps.
Nox runs on Mac and Windows OS. It lets users take screenshots of the gameplay. It also allows users to change the default language of the interface. The size of the Nox app player setup file is about 300 megabytes.
Minimum system requirements: 1.5 GB system memory, 1GB storage memory, and a dual-core CPU.
2Bluestacks
Bluestacks was the most popular Android emulator for Windows until Nox app player was launched.
Bluestacks allows its users to install apps from their APK files. It supports applications designed for the Intel X86 and ARM architecture based mobile devices.
Bluestacks lets you sync files between PC and the emulator. It can detect multi-touch events. Hence, if you’re using a convertible laptop or 2-in-1 tablet, you don’t need a keyboard to use apps or play games.
The Android emulator for Windows supports audio recording through the computer’s microphone. It can use your laptop’s web camera as a mobile device camera.
The emulator includes ads and it supports offline installation. It works on computers equipped with at least 2GB RAM and DirectX 9.0C. It consumes up to 4GB HDD space.
3Andy
Andy is a free Android emulator for Windows that provides many interesting features.
Andy includes App drawer function and supports push notifications. It lets you explore files and folders on the hard disk drive. Hence, you can easily locate your APKs and install them with Andy.
This software allows users to change the orientation of the screen. Hence, if you run a game that works only in landscape mode, you can change the orientation to portrait mode.
Andy enables its users to set the screen resolution, mouse scroll speed, swipe length, etc. It provides a toggle option to turn on/off the on-screen Android keyboard.
Andy can run your favorite Android messaging apps and games on PC. It runs on the latest version of an Android operating system.
Requirements: Virtualization technology enabled processor, 10 GB storage memory, 3GB RAM and a graphics card.
4Remix OS
Remix from Jide is a powerful Android OS. You can install it alongside Windows operating system. During installation, Remix will install a bootloader utility.
Jide, the developer of Remix OS has also launched Remix app player software, which you can install on your Windows PC for running games.
The OS features a Windows 10 style taskbar, notification panel and a start menu with a search option that functions as an app drawer. It supports multitasking. It gives you access to over 1 million apps and 1000s of games.
Remix has a recycle bin utility where you’ll find deleted files and folders. It supports playback of full HD videos. It can display complex animations. The Android app player supports customization and it is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit processors.
Remix OS gets updates over-the-air. It provides a tool to capture the desktop’s screenshot.
Installing Remix on PC is an easy task. The installation wizard takes care of the setup process. The ROS app player doesn’t support AMD processors.
Requirements: 8GB HDD, Intel Core i3 or higher processor, Windows 7+ OS.
5KoPlayer
KoPlayer is an X86 architecture based Android Emulator for Windows. It is the only emulator that supports recording of desktop videos. It is stable and fast.
KoPLayer lets you save files to Windows OS. It supports multiple game profiles. Hence, if you have two or more accounts of the same game, you can access the accounts simultaneously with the KoPlayer.
The Android emulator supports gamepad and requires minimum 512 megabytes RAM to function.
Conclusion: KoPlayer, Remix OS, Andyroid, Bluestacks, and Nox are the best Android emulator for PC. They are fast and support every app and game you’ll find on the Google Play Store. Some of these applications support Mac OS.
