Android is one of the most popular mobile computing operating systems and powers a diverse range of phones, including the low-end ones and the high-end flagship. The good thing about Android is that other than running it on mobile devices, it can also run on the desktop with a suitable emulator.

In case you have an ancient Windows machine and want to convert it into something useful, running Android on it can give your ancient Windows machine a new lease of life. There are many free Android emulators for PC (Windows) on the market but only a few of them could match up to our expectations. Listed below is a carefully curated list of the best Android emulators for your PC. Nox It may be a little dated when it comes to the version of Android it runs (Lollipop 5.1.1, though a test version of Android 7.1 is available), but is one of the most stable and accurate Android emulators around. It’s good enough to emulate most games (you’ll want to use get the Android Nougat build for maximum compatibility), and very easy to get running.

Please note that the Xamarin Android Player is now discontinued. See our blog post and our documentation page for more information. Released: November 4th.

It’s highly customizable, and its UI does a great job of accommodating keyboard-and-mouse controls in place of touch controls. One thing that might concern more privacy-focused users is that Nox phones home to a Chinese IP, and installs some of its own crapware apps that you can’t remove. There’s no malicious code or anything like that, but it still removes a degree of control from what’s otherwise one of the top Android emulators out there. Bluestacks has been one of the most sought-after Android emulators thanks to its easy installation and the ability to accept third party apk’s by double clicking on them. This app supports one of the most exhaustive lists of applications and is a natural choice if you are on a quest for an Android emulator to and play Android Games. As we said earlier, Bluestacks comes packed in a single file which can be installed directly, and unlike other programs it doesn’t need a third-party virtualization tool.

We found Bluestack to be best optimised for playing games, though the UI is slightly different from any run-of-the-mill Android phone and keeps reminding you that you are using an emulator. Andy is another Android emulator, which unlike most of other emulators on the market, offers features like touchscreen support. We need to install virtualbox in the system, and the installer file will automatically install Oracle VM, in case you don’t have it installed in your system. Multiiplayer games for mac and pc. The installation process can be a bit time-consuming and resource-hogging if you are using an under-specced device. Once the installation is done, it prompts a restart after which you are ready to experience Andy OS.

The best takeaway of the emulator has to be the fact that it matches up so closely with an actual Android device, and if you dig inside the settings Andy will show that it is running on Android 4.4 (a.k.a KitKat). Another good bit is that Andy OS offers a feature wherein you can use your phone as a remote control whilst playing games! Genymotion is the best bet if you are looking for a complete Android experience., however, needs you to not only sign up at their website but also activate your account by verifying your e-mail address. Just like Andy, Genymotion uses VirtualBox, which will be used by the emulator to create a virtual machine. The unique feature of Genymotion emulator is that it lets you choose between a slew of Android devices, both smartphones and tablets, and then uses the Virtual Box to emulate the device.