Android-x86 is a free, open source project that allows you to run Android on x86 operating systems on your computer. With Android-x86 you can run or install a full android operating system on your computer or laptop.
The Android Studio 2.0 (or higher) preview includes the new Android Emulator 2.0 with improved performance and a new user interface to control device features. This page describes some of the changes compared to the emulator available with the stable version of Android Studio 1.5 and how to setup your development environment to use the Android Emulator. For best performance with Android Emulator 2.0, your system should meet the following specifications:. Windows: Intel® processor with support for Intel® VT-x, Intel® EM64T (Intel® 64), and Execute Disable (XD) Bit functionality. AMD and Intel Atom processors do not support VT-x virtual machine acceleration.
Linux: Intel® processor with support for Intel® VT-x, Intel® EM64T (Intel® 64), and Execute Disable (XD) Bit functionality or AMD processors with support for AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™). 64-bit Operating Systems. New Features The most valuable updates to the Android Emulator are the speed improvements.
When running with Android Studio 2.0 or higher on an x86 machine, response time is faster than the previous Android Emulator and you can transfer files from your machine faster than a physical Android device. The latest Android Emulator supports new multi-finger touch inputs, including pinch zoom and two finger rotate gestures.
Holding down Alt or Option reveals two finger points. Moving the mouse moves one finger and the second finger is mirrored across an anchor point. Clicking the left mouse button enables pinch-zoom gestures and clicking the right mouse button enables two-finger rotate gestures (such as to tilt the perspective when viewing a map). The panel on the right side of the emulator lets you perform common tasks, such as rotate the screen, capture screenshots, and zoom in on the display.
To install apps, you can drag and drop an APK right on the emulator. You can also drag and drop other file types and they'll be saved to the /sdcard/Download/ directory. At the bottom of the toolbar on the right is an ellipsis button that opens the Extended Controls window. In here you'll find various controls that invoke device events and mock device sensors.
Keyboard shortcuts are available for most actions and are listed in the Help panel, listed on the left. Get Android Emulator 2.0 The new Android Emulator is available with Android Studio 2.0 or higher, which is available in both the. Once you make sure you have the appropriate emulator system image and other tools:. Open the SDK Manager from Android Studio. Click the SDK Platforms tab, and select the check box for a recent version such as the Android 6.0 (Marshmallow).
By default, this includes the x86 system image that you need for the emulator. You can see and modify the files to download by clicking Show Package Details at the bottom-right.
Click the SDK Tools tab, then select the check boxes for the following:. Android SDK Tools ( 25.0.0 or higher to get the new emulator). Android SDK Platform-Tools (23.1.0 or higher to get the fast ADB). Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator (HAXM installer) (rev 6.0.1 or higher to get CPU acceleration). Click OK to check for updates. Create new Android Virtual Device (AVD) To take advantage of the new Android Emulator and adb speeds, you need to create new AVDs.
In this example below, we are creating a Nexus 5x AVD. Open the AVD Manager from Android Studio.
Click Create Virtual Device. Select the defaults for Nexus 5x. Select a system image, such as Marshmallow - API 23 - x86. Select Show Advanced Settings. Select the Multi-Core CPU check box. The number of cores available depends on the number of cores available on your development machine. Run your new Android Virtual Device by click on the green Play button.
You should see the Android Emulator now start up. Troubleshooting Check Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator Installation If you selected the defaults during the Android Studio installation you should be ready to go. If you created a custom Android Studio installation or run into issues, read the troubleshooting guide below. If your Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator is out of date, Android Studio will automatically inform you and suggest a quick fix to update, as shown in the following screenshot in the AVD Manager.
Installing CPU Accelerator (HAXM) If you skipped the initial setup of Android Studio, you should make sure the CPU acceleration is installed. You can manually install Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator by opening intelhaxm-android.exe (on Windows) or intelHAXM6.0.1.dmg (on Mac) from /sdk/extras/intel/HardwareAcceleratedExecutionMangager, as shown below: Installing HAXM in Windows Installing HAXM in OS X For Linux, the Android emulator uses (KVM).
GenyMotion is an Android Virtual Device that runs on Oracle’s VirtualBox software. If what you want is an adoption of the Android OS in its original form, then this is the solution for you. The features of GenyMotion remain its best perks.
It comes packed with over 3,000 different configurations for Android. Also, if you prefer to switch between different screen sizes and resolutions, then you are in for a treat. Other mobile features such as Wi-Fi, GPS and multi-touch are fully supported. GenyMotion supports full Android on PC application testing and development. It’s also optimized for speed. GenyMotion is free for personal use but comes with a paid plan for commercial use. Android Studio’s Android Emulator This one from Google is another powerful Android to PC solution.
Like GenyMotion, the operates on a layer inside your PC. It is the native solution from Google for running Android devices on PC, and it does it pretty well.
To get the Android Virtual Device, you’ll need to install Android studio first, and then run the Virtual Device from the app. One advantage of this solution is that its supports links to Google’s Android development, so you can be pretty sure it’s not going anywhere soon. Another big win is that it supports. This improves the speed of the OS to almost native feel. Internet, Wi-Fi, multi-touch, an accelerometer, and many more features come packed in this OS, so you can be sure that you won’t run out of options while using it.
Android Emulator is free to use. BlueStacks is one of the old-time favorites for running Android OS on PC. It is built upon the native Android, so it is capable of supporting the millions of apps on Google Play.
And you can access Play from inside the app. Unlike GenyMotion and Android Virtual Device, BlueStacks is an application. However, it’s still a virtual machine in its core, so you don’t need to install any other helper application.
Just download and run the app. The good thing about BlueStacks is that it is optimized for gaming on your desktop.
This means you can play popular games like,. The latest version, BlueStacks 3, comes preloaded with optimizations for gaming experiences. Users who love running Android games on their PC are in for a smooth experience. The good news is that it runs on Android Nougat, too. Android X86.org Android on PC This leverages the power of the open source community to deliver on its promise.
It is a full-featured Android on PC, designed to run independently on PC. It requires VirtualBox to be installed and run on your PC, though. The OS is on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) which is quite behind.
However, it is one of the most stable OS available to run Android apps on PC. The open source community touts it as the most stable solution available. The designers of this app chose to use a wide-screen user interface on this OS, so it feels like using an Android tablet with a keyboard. Another advantage is it comes installed with Google Play and comes with clean Android UI. No bloatware to clog up space. If what you seek is a reliable Android on PC solution that doesn’t crash often, then this is for you.
Anbox Anbox, or Android in a Box, is an open source Android-to-PC project. The Apache and GPLv3 license covers this project. In a Linux subsystem sandbox. This project doesn’t have emulation layers, so it does not virtualize your hardware. This feature makes it run fast. The project integrates with the host OS to give users a feature-rich experience. And it works on both mobile devices and laptops.
The downside of the Anbox project is that it doesn’t run on Fedora/CentOs Linux distribution. It works only on Ubuntu and Debian. You can install third-party apps using an Android Debug Bridge (ADB).
Anbox doesn’t support Google Play and has no built-in app store. Bliss OS Another contender for the top spot is.
Started as an open source project, this OS has morphed to become one of the best Android OS available. It is also a true multi-tasking workhorse. Bliss OS seeks to be a full-featured Android on PC OS and comes with an installer package for dual-booting.
This means that you should expect to run Bliss as a standalone OS for Android. It also comes pre-installed with Google Play, so you can access all apps on your PC at will. Unlike some other projects, it is a lot more stable. There are a few crashes but nothing that affects your use. To Wrap It Up Running Android on PC is no longer a pipe dream. The six solutions above are capable of turning your Android OS into a full-featured PC OS.
Each solution is suited for different uses. No matter what your peculiar needs are, there’s something for everyone. One use case is replacing a Desktop OS with a simpler point-and-shoot variant for certain users. There are quite a few users out there (sadly) that are overwhelmed by the options available in a full-fledged OS and the decisions they have to make. Something like Android (with auto-updates for apps), simpler UIs for specific websites, easier to manage setups for Wifi and similar would make their PC more useful to them. I wouldn’t replace Linux with Android for myself but I know a few people that would benefit greatly from a Windows 10 to Android migration.
They do quite well on their phones but can’t manage a full-blown OS.