An emulator is a program that allows us to virtualize an operating system on top of the main system, such as, in our case, Windows. In this way we can download and install any app or game exclusive to this operating system on our computer and use them as if we were using them on a computer with that other system.
Android, for example, is an operating system designed exclusively to work on mobile devices. This means that we can only use this system, its applications and its games, on a smartphone. At least in theory, since this is where emulation comes into play.
Although we can install WhatsApp on Windows, the desktop version of this messaging client has nothing to do with the mobile version. The same goes for other programs like Instagram and many other apps and games that are only available for Android.
Thanks to an Android emulator we will be able to load the Google operating system on top of Windows and download and use all these applications from our PC, using the keyboard and mouse to control them.
The main advantage What this type of program offers us is that we will be able to use this operating system, its programs and games without problems without having to pay anything. In addition, some of the emulators even have access to the Google Play Store to be able to download and install the programs from there. Among its drawbacks, yes, we must stand out the performance. A virtual machine, or an emulator, is never going to work as fast and smooth as a real smartphone, which can translate into a worse than expected experience.
In addition, there may be apps or games that are designed so that they cannot run on these types of emulated systems. Of course, depending on the emulator that we use, we can have some advantages or other disadvantages.
Hence the importance of choosing the most appropriate in each case where one of the most important factors will be based on our experience and how much we want to complicate life. With this we want to tell you that for now we can find more of these characteristics that are really simple and very easy to put into operation. However, for those users who are more experienced in this type of work with emulators, there are some applications of this type with a multitude of functions and configurable parameters that allow us to customize them to the maximum.
Improves the performance of Android emulators
A virtualized Android will never work the same as on a smartphone. Virtualizing an operating system implies accepting some limitations hardware that can cause Android to go slow, and even that some apps may not work or some games have performance or graphics failures. We must bear in mind that both Windows and the emulator are going to share resources, so unless we have a very powerful computer and a lot of RAM, performance can leave a lot to be desired. These aspects must be taken into account from the outset.
To have the best experience when virtualizing Android we need a powerful computer, with a medium or high-end processor and, above all, a lot of RAM. And if we also have an SSD instead of a normal hard drive, performance will improve much more. One of the problems with these emulators is that they do not allow us to select the amount of RAM that we want to use when emulating the operating system on our computer, an option that is available in applications such as VirtualBox or VMware that does allow us to dedicate the amount of RAM memory that we want so that the operation is the best possible.
If we have a mid-range or low-end computer, although we can run these Android emulators, they won’t work out very well, and the best option is to opt for an emulator that loads directly as its own operating system, as is the case with PhoenixOS. , which we will talk about later.
Luckily, most of the emulators that we are going to see below are very well optimized. This really means that they try to consume as few resources as possible on the computer in order to enjoy the emulation as much as possible.
The compatibility with apps and games is very good and, in addition, they have 3D acceleration, so the games should not work badly.
The best Android emulators for PC
Next, we are going to see which are the most complete Android emulators that we can find to install the Google operating system on our PC. At the same time, we can find ourselves with the possibility of installing a complete operating system that, in one way or another, also allows us to benefit from the virtues of Google software on the desktop PC.
Windows 11
Without a doubt, Windows 11 is the best way to emulate Android apps on a PC, since Microsoft introduced this functionality natively with the release of this version of Windows, a functionality that we cannot bring to Windows 10, so It is the best option if our computer is managed by the most recent version of Windows. In addition, it is necessary to have at least 8 GB of RAM memory and we will only be able to run applications available through the Amazon Store, the Android application store of the e-commerce giant.
To activate the Android Subsystem for Windows, known as WSA for its acronym in English, we just have to install the application amazon app store Available in the Microsoft Store.
Highlight
It is a native Windows functionality, so it will always offer us the best performance than any other application to emulate Android that we are talking about in this article.
to improve
It is only available for Windows and it is necessary to have at least 8 GB of RAM. In addition, we will only be able to run applications available in the Amazon Android application store.
Android Studio, the official Google IDE with emulator
AndroidStudio It is the official programming IDE recommended by Google to create new apps for your operating system. In addition to a countless number of functions, options and tools, Google offers together with this software package one of the most complete virtual machines for Android. This is fully customizable, we can choose the version of the system that we want to load and it offers a more or less acceptable performance. Android Studio is very useful for debugging the apps we create with this program, but it can also be used to download and install apps from the Play Store. Of course, the performance and 3D acceleration are not exactly the best.
Can download android studio free from .
Advantages
The first advantage that we find with Android Studio when it comes to emulating Android on a PC is that the application is completely free. In addition, it allows us to download and install applications directly from the Play Store, so we won’t find ourselves with any limitation in terms of the number of applications available as is the case with most Android emulators for PC. In addition, it includes all the necessary tools to create applications for Android, even if this is not the main use that we are going to give it.
Drawbacks
The main disadvantage of this application is that it requires somewhat high minimum requirements, being necessary to have a good PC for it to work correctly. Consequently, it also consumes quite a lot of battery. Another of the negative points is that it does not support development for NDK, although it only affects developers of Android applications and games. Being an application intended for programming, the user interface is not exactly simple, especially for users who do not have programming knowledge.
GameLoop, the easiest way to play Android games on PC
We have already talked about this Android emulator before, when we explained how to play Call of Duty Mobile from your computer. GameLoop, Formerly known as Tencent Gaming Buddy, it is specially designed to allow us to download and install the most popular Android games on our computer. This emulator has excellent optimization, since it is mainly focused on emulating mobile games on our computer. It is compatible with Google Play Services and allows us to play with keyboard and mouse without problems.
Pros
In addition to being free, Gameloop allows us to configure the keyboard and mouse to enjoy our favorite games. It also allows us to configure a PlayStation or Xbox controller, however, the number of options in terms of remapping the controller buttons is a bit scarce, although it will always be better than nothing.
Cons
The first problem we face with Gameloop is that it only allows us to install the games and applications available in the application store, without offering the option to install applications or games that we have stored on our equipment. In addition to emulating games, it does not allow us to carry out any additional activities, so its use is limited to emulation only.
NoxPlayer, a robust and stable Android emulator
This is one of the purest, simplest, most robust and stable emulators that we can find. NoxPlayer It is characterized above all for being one of the best free options for using Android on Windows 10 and Windows 11. This emulator has regular updates, it does not have unexpected crashes or crashes, it is compatible with controls, it allows you to map the keyboard and, above all, it It is compatible with all available Android apps. It is not an emulator optimized for gaming (although the games work smoothly too), it is an emulator for using apps.
Can download NoxPlayer free from . It also has a version for macOS.
We like
Nox Player is a perfect emulator to emulate applications. In addition, it allows us to install any application that we have downloaded to our PC. Unlike other emulators, it is updated regularly and is officially compatible with both Windows 10 and Windows 11, making it an ideal option for using Android applications that are not Available for Windows and include cloud synchronization of data.
we like
Nox Player is not characterized by being an emulator that consumes few resources. In fact, it requires a fairly powerful computer to be able to play with the necessary fluidity to be able to enjoy our favorite games. Despite being an emulator for Android, its main use is not aimed at the world of video games, so the number of options in this regard is quite limited.
BlueStacks, one of the oldest Android emulators
BlueStacks It has been with us for many years. This has been one of the best emulators to install WhatsApp on Windows (even before WhatsApp Web existed), and it is one of the longest running. The main features of this program is that it is one of the easiest to install and use, it has a very simple and comfortable interface to use. In addition to a full Android interface, we can use its own App Center to download and install apps.
Can…
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