An Android emulator is an Android Virtual Device (AVD) that represents a specific Android device. You can use an Android emulator as a target platform to run and test your Android applications on your PC.
- I had the same issue on a Mac. I was able to fix it be updating Android Emulator to 30.6.5 from Android Studio - Sdk Manager - Android Sdk - SDK Tools. Also I had to install Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator (HAXM Installer).
- The power of Android is undiscussable these days, anyone who has an android device is delightful because they can use lots of app with the rapid operation so.
- Extension for Visual Studio Code - Run Android emulator and iOS simulator easily from VScode!
The Android studio comes with a variety of tools that help developers to design and build games applications and games, solely for Android. Similarly, it even comes with a built-in emulator which aids in testing out your game or an application. However, the setup is rather complex and can be time-consuming.
extremely slow and do not support the same feature set as real devices.We do not recommend that you attempt to use an Android emulator:
- If you have an Android device, use your Android device instead.
- You can also use Mobile Preview to do initial debugging of an Android app.
Minimum Requirements for an Android Emulator
To create an Android emulator (made available by Google as part of the Android SDK), we recommend using at least the following:
- Intel Core i5 CPU
- 4GB of RAM
- GPU emulation must be listed in the hardware list of the emulator image, as explained in Running Your Android Application on an Android Emulator.
We do not recommend using an Android emulator on a virtual machine (VM), because GPU support for the emulator is generally not available on VMs. However, if you are running Delphi on a VM on a Mac OS X computer, you can consider using a remote emulator on the Mac, given that the emulator does not work on VMs. For more information, see http://delphi.org/2013/09/debugging-against-a-remote-android-emulator/.
RAD Studio supports the emulator for Android versions 4.x.
We do not support emulators for the 2.x version (Gingerbread) because emulators for Android versions 2.x target an ARMv6 CPU, which Delphi does not support.
Android Studio Emulator Mac Download
Android Emulators Require a Separate GPU
Android emulators are heavily hardware-dependent, and this includes the hardware being emulated as well as the hardware on which the emulator runs.
For this reason, we recommend that you verify the presence of a suitable graphics card on your development system.
- Open Control PanelAppearance and PersonalizationDisplayScreen Resolution.
- Click Advanced Settings.
- Take a look at the displayed properties of your graphics card.
- If you do not have a suitable GPU, it is probably not worth your time to create and attempt to run an Android emulator. Find another development system that does have a suitable GPU.
- We do not recommend Intel GPUs.
- If you receive error messages about OpenGL ES when you try to run your Android emulator, this means that your GPU is probably not suitable.
Creating an Android Emulator Is Optional
If you decide to create your own Android emulator, consider creating an emulator for each Android device you want to support. Keep in mind that Android emulators often run so slow that some people consider them unusable.
RAD Studio supports the following targets:
- Android emulators that are version 4.0 or newer
- Android devices that are ARM version 7 or newer
Android emulators cannot be run on a Virtual Machine (VM). Although an emulator might run on a VM, the emulator will not actually run an application.
- Note: It is a well-known performance issue that Android emulators are extremely slow.
Installing an Android System Image (Required)
Before you create an Android emulator, you need to install an Android system image that your emulators can use.
- Note: If you installed the Android SDK and NDK during RAD Studio installation, a valid Android system image (such as Android 4.2.2 API 17) should already be shown as Installed in the Android SDK Manager. In this case, you do not need to install another Android system image.
Follow these steps:
- Start the Android Virtual Device Manager (select Start > All Programs > Embarcadero RAD Studio XE6 > Android SDKs > Android AVD Manager).
- In the packages tree, locate and check the ARM EABI v7a System Image node within the first Android node in the list.
- For example: Android 4.2.2 (API 17) or Android 4.3 (API 18)
- Click Install 1 package. (Clear any checkboxes that were auto-selected.)
- In the Choose Packages to Install page, click Accept License, and then click Install to install the system image.
Creating an Android Emulator Using the Android Virtual Device Manager
To create an Android emulator on your system, follow these steps:
- Start the Android SDK Manager (select Start > All Programs > Embarcadero RAD Studio XE6 > Android SDKs > Android AVD Manager).
- In the Android Virtual Device Manager, click the New button to create a new virtual device.
- In the Create new Android Virtual Device (AVD) dialog box, select an Android device to emulate, and enter the details describing the Android device you want to emulate. In order to run a FireMonkey mobile application, your Android emulator must meet the following requirements:
- In Target, select an Android SDK with an API level that is 17 or higher. The drop-down list contains your installed versions of the Android SDK.
- Under Emulation Options, check Use Host GPU.
- In Device, select the Android device to emulate.
- Tip: Emulating an older Android device like the Nexus S might be faster than emulating a newer, larger device like the Nexus 10.
- Click OK twice to create your new Android emulator.
- You can now view your emulator in the Android Virtual Device Manager.
RAD Studio lists your Android emulators in the Project Manager, within the Target node of the Android target platform node. See Using the Target Node.
Note: As reference, here are the default installed locations of the Android development tools as installed by the RAD Studio installer:- If you need to start the Android SDK Manager directly, here is its location:
C:UsersPublicDocumentsEmbarcaderoStudio14.0PlatformSDKsadt-bundle-windows-x86-20131030
- If SDK Manager.exe does not start, use Android.bat, which is located here:
C:UsersPublicDocumentsEmbarcaderoStudio14.0PlatformSDKsadt-bundle-windows-x86-20131030sdk
Creating an Android Emulator Using the Command Line
You can create an Android emulator in the command window by entering a command such as this:
For the skin, you might want to add this option:
For more information, see the Android documentation.
Starting an Android Emulator
When the emulator is the current target platform, you do not have to start the emulator before running your Android app on the emulator. However, we recommend that you start your Android emulator separately, perhaps before you start RAD Studio. Emulators are notoriously slow to start and to run, so starting the emulator beforehand means that your app can get to the emulator more quickly.
The recommended way to start an Android emulator is by using the Android Virtual Device Manager, which can be started from the Android SDK Manager.
To start an Android emulator such as the default emulator installed in RAD Studio:
- Start the Android Virtual Device Manager (select Start > All Programs > Embarcadero RAD Studio XE6 > Android SDKs > Android AVD Manager).
- Select the emulator and click Start.
- Then click Launch on the Launch Options dialog box.
- Your emulator should now start (this might take five or ten minutes):
- In the Project Manager, your emulator should appear in the Target node of the Android target platform, with its assigned port (such as (5554)):
- Tip: If the Project Manager does not show your running Android emulator as running, with the same icon as in the screenshot above, see Using the Target Node.
Your next step is to run an Android app on your emulator. In the Project Manager, ensure that the emulator's name is in boldface and the port number is indicated in parentheses (such as (5554)), indicating that the emulator is running and is the current selected target platform.
For more information, see http://developer.android.com/tools/devices/managing-avds.html.
See Also
Android Emulators are the perfect solution to access and run various Android apps directly on your Windows or Mac enabled computers. It has become popular among both developers as well as users in recent years.
Are you looking for Android emulators for your PC, but don't know which one to use? Well, you have arrived at the right place. With this article, we will guide you to select the best Android Emulator for your PCs and Laptops. But before we proceed to the list, we want to provide you with the basic knowledge of an Android emulator.
Android Studio Emulator On Mac Os
As the name suggests, Android Emulator is a software that can emulate or run the Android operating system on your desktop or laptop. There are many reasons associated with running an Android Emulator on your Windows or Mac system. For example, developers may run this to check their application before shipping it out whereas gamers may want to use a mouse and keyboard while playing their favorite games.
In any case, Android emulation on PC is possible and we are going to list some of the best free and paid Android Emulators software that you can run on Windows and Mac. For some of them, you might need to have technical knowledge but these are more or less made for tech-savvy people. All you need is to find a suitable one as per your requirement(s).
Best Android Emulators for Windows and Mac in 2020
Android Studio Emulator Macro
#1Android Studio
Android Studio is Google's official developer toolkit which is specially made for creating Android apps. You can run this Android Emulators to simulate various Android phones, tablets, Wear OS, and Android TV devices on your computer. It comes with predefined configurations for popular device types and can transfer data faster than a device connected over USB.
This Android Emulators offers you almost all the capabilities of a real Android device such as incoming phone calls and text messages, specify the location of the device, simulate different network speeds, simulate rotation and other hardware sensors, access the Google Play Store, and much more. However, this Android Emulators doesn't have any gaming-specific features. Also, this is targeted towards Android developers so, it requires some technical knowledge for using it.
In our opinion, you shouldn't bother about it unless you are an android developer.
#2 Andy
Andy is an absolutely free Android Emulators that has emerged as one of the replacements for Bluestacks. It provides android experience for productivity apps, launchers, games, and you can even install root access if needed.
This Android Emulator breaks down the barrier between desktop and mobile computing while keeping a user up to date with the latest Android OS feature upgrades. It also provides users with unlimited storage capacity, and the freedom to play the most popular mobile games on a desktop. You can use your Android phone as a controller, but Andy also supports Xbox and PlayStation controllers.
In any case, it is free and it does work very well for both Windows and Mac OS. But, be cautious as some people have experienced some installation issues and other technical problems. However, you can get decent support via Facebook if you do get stuck. The current version is based on Android Nougat.
#3 Archon
Archon isn't a traditional android emulators. You can install it on Google Chrome to give your Chrome browser the ability to run Android apps. As soon as you have installed it in Chrome, you have to obtain APKs and load them in. As an added rub, you may need to use a tool to change the APK in order to make it compatible. We have the basic instructions linked up at the button above. This one is compatible with Mac, PC, and Linux. It's also one of the most difficult to set up, but it's also among some of the unique Android emulators.
#4 Genymotion
Genymotion is a great alternative to Android Studio's default emulator. It is primarily used by developers, but of course, you can use it for personal use, too. You can configure the emulator for a variety of devices with various versions of Android to help suit your needs. For instance, you can run a Nexus One with Android 4.2 or a Nexus 6 with Android 6.0. You can easily switch between 'devices' at will. It's not great for consumer usage, but Genymotion does offer its services for free for personal use.
Genymotion also provides a cloud-based online emulator which you can try right within your browser, though you'd have to contact them and request private access.
Overall, Genymotion is the perfect Android tool for developers. You can still use it for casual gaming, although you'd be better off with other options on this list for that purpose.
Before downloading it, make sure that you've enabled the 'virtualization technology' in your BIOS and you have the latest version of VirtualBox installed. Also, you'll need to sign up & create an account before you can start using it.
- I had the same issue on a Mac. I was able to fix it be updating Android Emulator to 30.6.5 from Android Studio - Sdk Manager - Android Sdk - SDK Tools. Also I had to install Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator (HAXM Installer).
- The power of Android is undiscussable these days, anyone who has an android device is delightful because they can use lots of app with the rapid operation so.
- Extension for Visual Studio Code - Run Android emulator and iOS simulator easily from VScode!
The Android studio comes with a variety of tools that help developers to design and build games applications and games, solely for Android. Similarly, it even comes with a built-in emulator which aids in testing out your game or an application. However, the setup is rather complex and can be time-consuming.
extremely slow and do not support the same feature set as real devices.We do not recommend that you attempt to use an Android emulator:
- If you have an Android device, use your Android device instead.
- You can also use Mobile Preview to do initial debugging of an Android app.
Minimum Requirements for an Android Emulator
To create an Android emulator (made available by Google as part of the Android SDK), we recommend using at least the following:
- Intel Core i5 CPU
- 4GB of RAM
- GPU emulation must be listed in the hardware list of the emulator image, as explained in Running Your Android Application on an Android Emulator.
We do not recommend using an Android emulator on a virtual machine (VM), because GPU support for the emulator is generally not available on VMs. However, if you are running Delphi on a VM on a Mac OS X computer, you can consider using a remote emulator on the Mac, given that the emulator does not work on VMs. For more information, see http://delphi.org/2013/09/debugging-against-a-remote-android-emulator/.
RAD Studio supports the emulator for Android versions 4.x.
We do not support emulators for the 2.x version (Gingerbread) because emulators for Android versions 2.x target an ARMv6 CPU, which Delphi does not support.
Android Studio Emulator Mac Download
Android Emulators Require a Separate GPU
Android emulators are heavily hardware-dependent, and this includes the hardware being emulated as well as the hardware on which the emulator runs.
For this reason, we recommend that you verify the presence of a suitable graphics card on your development system.
- Open Control PanelAppearance and PersonalizationDisplayScreen Resolution.
- Click Advanced Settings.
- Take a look at the displayed properties of your graphics card.
- If you do not have a suitable GPU, it is probably not worth your time to create and attempt to run an Android emulator. Find another development system that does have a suitable GPU.
- We do not recommend Intel GPUs.
- If you receive error messages about OpenGL ES when you try to run your Android emulator, this means that your GPU is probably not suitable.
Creating an Android Emulator Is Optional
If you decide to create your own Android emulator, consider creating an emulator for each Android device you want to support. Keep in mind that Android emulators often run so slow that some people consider them unusable.
RAD Studio supports the following targets:
- Android emulators that are version 4.0 or newer
- Android devices that are ARM version 7 or newer
Android emulators cannot be run on a Virtual Machine (VM). Although an emulator might run on a VM, the emulator will not actually run an application.
- Note: It is a well-known performance issue that Android emulators are extremely slow.
Installing an Android System Image (Required)
Before you create an Android emulator, you need to install an Android system image that your emulators can use.
- Note: If you installed the Android SDK and NDK during RAD Studio installation, a valid Android system image (such as Android 4.2.2 API 17) should already be shown as Installed in the Android SDK Manager. In this case, you do not need to install another Android system image.
Follow these steps:
- Start the Android Virtual Device Manager (select Start > All Programs > Embarcadero RAD Studio XE6 > Android SDKs > Android AVD Manager).
- In the packages tree, locate and check the ARM EABI v7a System Image node within the first Android node in the list.
- For example: Android 4.2.2 (API 17) or Android 4.3 (API 18)
- Click Install 1 package. (Clear any checkboxes that were auto-selected.)
- In the Choose Packages to Install page, click Accept License, and then click Install to install the system image.
Creating an Android Emulator Using the Android Virtual Device Manager
To create an Android emulator on your system, follow these steps:
- Start the Android SDK Manager (select Start > All Programs > Embarcadero RAD Studio XE6 > Android SDKs > Android AVD Manager).
- In the Android Virtual Device Manager, click the New button to create a new virtual device.
- In the Create new Android Virtual Device (AVD) dialog box, select an Android device to emulate, and enter the details describing the Android device you want to emulate. In order to run a FireMonkey mobile application, your Android emulator must meet the following requirements:
- In Target, select an Android SDK with an API level that is 17 or higher. The drop-down list contains your installed versions of the Android SDK.
- Under Emulation Options, check Use Host GPU.
- In Device, select the Android device to emulate.
- Tip: Emulating an older Android device like the Nexus S might be faster than emulating a newer, larger device like the Nexus 10.
- Click OK twice to create your new Android emulator.
- You can now view your emulator in the Android Virtual Device Manager.
RAD Studio lists your Android emulators in the Project Manager, within the Target node of the Android target platform node. See Using the Target Node.
Note: As reference, here are the default installed locations of the Android development tools as installed by the RAD Studio installer:- If you need to start the Android SDK Manager directly, here is its location:
C:UsersPublicDocumentsEmbarcaderoStudio14.0PlatformSDKsadt-bundle-windows-x86-20131030
- If SDK Manager.exe does not start, use Android.bat, which is located here:
C:UsersPublicDocumentsEmbarcaderoStudio14.0PlatformSDKsadt-bundle-windows-x86-20131030sdk
Creating an Android Emulator Using the Command Line
You can create an Android emulator in the command window by entering a command such as this:
For the skin, you might want to add this option:
For more information, see the Android documentation.
Starting an Android Emulator
When the emulator is the current target platform, you do not have to start the emulator before running your Android app on the emulator. However, we recommend that you start your Android emulator separately, perhaps before you start RAD Studio. Emulators are notoriously slow to start and to run, so starting the emulator beforehand means that your app can get to the emulator more quickly.
The recommended way to start an Android emulator is by using the Android Virtual Device Manager, which can be started from the Android SDK Manager.
To start an Android emulator such as the default emulator installed in RAD Studio:
- Start the Android Virtual Device Manager (select Start > All Programs > Embarcadero RAD Studio XE6 > Android SDKs > Android AVD Manager).
- Select the emulator and click Start.
- Then click Launch on the Launch Options dialog box.
- Your emulator should now start (this might take five or ten minutes):
- In the Project Manager, your emulator should appear in the Target node of the Android target platform, with its assigned port (such as (5554)):
- Tip: If the Project Manager does not show your running Android emulator as running, with the same icon as in the screenshot above, see Using the Target Node.
Your next step is to run an Android app on your emulator. In the Project Manager, ensure that the emulator's name is in boldface and the port number is indicated in parentheses (such as (5554)), indicating that the emulator is running and is the current selected target platform.
For more information, see http://developer.android.com/tools/devices/managing-avds.html.
See Also
Android Emulators are the perfect solution to access and run various Android apps directly on your Windows or Mac enabled computers. It has become popular among both developers as well as users in recent years.
Are you looking for Android emulators for your PC, but don't know which one to use? Well, you have arrived at the right place. With this article, we will guide you to select the best Android Emulator for your PCs and Laptops. But before we proceed to the list, we want to provide you with the basic knowledge of an Android emulator.
Android Studio Emulator On Mac Os
As the name suggests, Android Emulator is a software that can emulate or run the Android operating system on your desktop or laptop. There are many reasons associated with running an Android Emulator on your Windows or Mac system. For example, developers may run this to check their application before shipping it out whereas gamers may want to use a mouse and keyboard while playing their favorite games.
In any case, Android emulation on PC is possible and we are going to list some of the best free and paid Android Emulators software that you can run on Windows and Mac. For some of them, you might need to have technical knowledge but these are more or less made for tech-savvy people. All you need is to find a suitable one as per your requirement(s).
Best Android Emulators for Windows and Mac in 2020
Android Studio Emulator Macro
#1Android Studio
Android Studio is Google's official developer toolkit which is specially made for creating Android apps. You can run this Android Emulators to simulate various Android phones, tablets, Wear OS, and Android TV devices on your computer. It comes with predefined configurations for popular device types and can transfer data faster than a device connected over USB.
This Android Emulators offers you almost all the capabilities of a real Android device such as incoming phone calls and text messages, specify the location of the device, simulate different network speeds, simulate rotation and other hardware sensors, access the Google Play Store, and much more. However, this Android Emulators doesn't have any gaming-specific features. Also, this is targeted towards Android developers so, it requires some technical knowledge for using it.
In our opinion, you shouldn't bother about it unless you are an android developer.
#2 Andy
Andy is an absolutely free Android Emulators that has emerged as one of the replacements for Bluestacks. It provides android experience for productivity apps, launchers, games, and you can even install root access if needed.
This Android Emulator breaks down the barrier between desktop and mobile computing while keeping a user up to date with the latest Android OS feature upgrades. It also provides users with unlimited storage capacity, and the freedom to play the most popular mobile games on a desktop. You can use your Android phone as a controller, but Andy also supports Xbox and PlayStation controllers.
In any case, it is free and it does work very well for both Windows and Mac OS. But, be cautious as some people have experienced some installation issues and other technical problems. However, you can get decent support via Facebook if you do get stuck. The current version is based on Android Nougat.
#3 Archon
Archon isn't a traditional android emulators. You can install it on Google Chrome to give your Chrome browser the ability to run Android apps. As soon as you have installed it in Chrome, you have to obtain APKs and load them in. As an added rub, you may need to use a tool to change the APK in order to make it compatible. We have the basic instructions linked up at the button above. This one is compatible with Mac, PC, and Linux. It's also one of the most difficult to set up, but it's also among some of the unique Android emulators.
#4 Genymotion
Genymotion is a great alternative to Android Studio's default emulator. It is primarily used by developers, but of course, you can use it for personal use, too. You can configure the emulator for a variety of devices with various versions of Android to help suit your needs. For instance, you can run a Nexus One with Android 4.2 or a Nexus 6 with Android 6.0. You can easily switch between 'devices' at will. It's not great for consumer usage, but Genymotion does offer its services for free for personal use.
Genymotion also provides a cloud-based online emulator which you can try right within your browser, though you'd have to contact them and request private access.
Overall, Genymotion is the perfect Android tool for developers. You can still use it for casual gaming, although you'd be better off with other options on this list for that purpose.
Before downloading it, make sure that you've enabled the 'virtualization technology' in your BIOS and you have the latest version of VirtualBox installed. Also, you'll need to sign up & create an account before you can start using it.
#5 MEmu
MEmu is one of the best high-performance multitasking Android emulators for Windows. The software serves as a special Android emulator that particularly specializes in video games that are typically played using an Android device. It runs on most android apps and games and interestingly supports both AMD and Intel chipsets. That's rarer than you'd think. Additionally, it supports Android Jelly Bean, Kit Kat, and Lollipop. That makes it one of the few emulators that go as high as Lollipop.
In terms of support for Windows versions, MEmu supports all the major versions of Windows such as Windows 7/8/8.1/10. Apart from that, MEmu Android Emulator supports almost all the Windows devices such as PC, Notebook, 2-in-1 Devices, Tablets etc.
Like many android emulators, you can use this for pretty much whatever you want and it's completely free to download. However, we recommend it mostly for productivity based tasks.
#6 BlueStacks
Our list wouldn't be complete unless we include BlueStacks. This was one of the first entrants but lately, things were not the same and the competition quickly caught up with it. However, it is still used by many users (who don't have technical knowledge) to run Android apps on their Personal Computer and Laptops.
It comes with Google Play Store pre-installed, so it's much simpler to download something and start playing compared to ‘proper' emulators which emulate the whole of the Android interface and system. A user can access over 2 million Android apps and games and even install the APKs file manually. Other than this, it supports multitasking, much like an actual Android phone. You can use the free version if you don't care about getting ads and sponsored app installation pop-ups. Otherwise, you should upgrade to the pro version which starts at $3.33/month.
We believe the above list was helpful to shortlist the best Android Emulator for you. You can further check our article about the latest Android phone trends of 2018. If you like our article then please do share it over social media channels.
