Best Android emulator in 2022 | TechRadar

Best Android emulator in 2022 ; 1. BlueStacks. A superb emulator that brings Android games to your desktop · Good quality ; 2. NoxPlayer. A free ... Skiptomaincontent TechRadar TechRadarITInsightsforBusiness Search Subscribe RSS AsiaIndiaSingaporeMiddleEastAfricaSouthAfricaEuropeDanmarkSuomiNorgeSverigeUKItaliaNederlandBelgië(Nederlands)FranceDeutschlandEspañaNorthAmericaUS(English)CanadaUS(Español)AustralasiaAustraliaNewZealand TechnologyMagazinesWhysubscribe?Thebesttechtutorialsandin-depthreviewsTryasingleissueorsaveonasubscriptionIssuesdeliveredstraighttoyourdoorordeviceFrom$12.99View News Reviews Features Business Webhosting Websitebuilders Perimeter81 TrendingWindows11forbusinessBesthybridworkingtechMicrosoftTeamsupdatesLatestMobilenewsOffice2021 TechRadarissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Learnmore PRICE VERDICT REASONSTOBUY REASONSTOAVOID VERDICT REASONSTOBUY REASONSTOAVOID (Imagecredit:Pixabay) ThebestAndroidemulatorsmakeitsimpleandeasytorunAndroidappsandgamesonyourdesktopPCorMac.Maybeyou’reworkingonanappforAndroidandwanttotestitonacomputerinsteadofamobiledevice.YoucannotonlydothatwithoneoftheseAndroidemulatorsbutyoucansimulatevariousscreensizesandphonemodelsaswell,lettingyouseehowitdoesindifferentcircumstances.Or,maybeyouwanttorunanappthat’sonlyavailableonAndroid.TakeInstagram,forexample.Unlessyou’reonthemobileapp,you’relimitedinwhatyoucandowiththesocialmediaplatform.But,withanemulator,youcaneditanduploadphotosfromyourPCorMacdesktop–somethingyoujustcan'tdootherwise.SincemanyAndroidbusinessappsarealreadySaaS-basedcloudapps,youmightfindusingabrowseronyourdesktopPCtobejustaseasyforthose.But,ifyou’rehopingtodosomegaming,you’llwanttotakeadvantageofoneoftheseemulators.WhileWindows11introducestheabilitytosetupavirtualinstallofAndroid,thereareplentyofpeoplestillusingWindows10,plusofcoursealloftheMacusers.So,ifyou’reinterestedinrunningsomemobileappsonyourcomputer,considerourtopchoicesforthebestAndroidemulators.Or,useAndroidappsonthebestbusinesssmartphonesandbestbusinesstablets.1.BitdefenderMobileSecurity|$14.99 BitdefenderMobilesecurityprovidesexcellentprotectionforyourAndroiddevicethankstoitsanti-theftfeatureandtop-notchantiviruscapabilities.Theappalsogivesyoureal-timeprotectionforGoogle'sChromebrowseranditallowsyoutoremotelylocateandlockyourdeviceaswellascompletelywipeitiffallsintothewronghands.There'salsoaVPNbuiltinthatgivesyou200MBofdailyusage.ViewDeal2.XodoPDFReader|Free XodoPDFReadersetsitselfapartfromotherPDFreadersbytherangeanddepthofitsfeatureset.InadditiontoPDFreading,thisappalsoletsyoucreatenewPDFsusingyourcamera,imagegalleryorOfficedocumentsXodoPDFReaderisalsointegratedwithDropbox,GoogleDriveandOneDrive. ViewDeal3.ExpressVPN|$12.95permonth ExpressVPNisausefulapptohaveonanyAndroidphoneasitgivesyoutheabilitytohideyourIPaddressfromthesitesandappsthatyouuse.Italsohelpsprotectyourprivacyandletsyoupretendtobeinadifferentlocationwhichiskeyforunblockinggeo-restrictedcontent.ExpressVPNisalsoatthetopofourbestAndroidVPNandbestVPNlists.Youcanalsoget3monthsfreewithanannualplanonwhenyousignuphere.ViewDeal(Imagecredit:BlueStacks)1.BlueStacksAsuperbemulatorthatbringsAndroidgamestoyourdesktopToday'sBestDealsVISITSITEReasonstobuy+Goodquality+Reliable+Freeandpaid-forversionsReasonstoavoid-GamesplatformonlyBlueStacksAppPlayerisperhapsthebest-knownAndroidemulator,andit'shardlysurprisinggivenitsqualityandreliability.BlueStackshasbeendesignedwitheaseofuseinmind,andlooksandfeelsjustlikeAndroidonatabletorsmartphone.Therearefreeandpaid-forversionsavailable.Thefreeoneincludessomeadsandtheoccasionalsponsoredapp,buttheseareprettydiscreet. BlueStacksisprimarilyaboutgamesandtheinterfaceisessentiallyafrontendfordownloadingandinstallingthem,butit'salsopossibletovisittheGooglePlayStoreandsearchforotherappsandifyouwanttoaddappsandgamesfromothersources,youhavetheoptionofusingstandaloneAPKfiles.Inourexperiencesetupwassimpleandeasy,andwecouldinstallSummonersWarfine,butwecouldn'tuseanexistingaccountloginsowatchoutforthat.Overall,though,performanceisdecentassumingyourhardwareisreasonablypowerful,makingthisagreatwaytobringAndroidtothebigscreen.(Imagecredit:BigNox)2.NoxPlayerAfreeemulatorthatletsyousideloadappsfromoutsideGooglePlayToday'sBestDealsvisitsiteReasonstobuy+Gamepadcompatibility+Notjustforgames+RecordingoptionsLikeBlueStacksAppPlayer,NoxPlayerisafast,slickAndroidemulatorforPCandMac.Ifyou'replanningtouseNoxPlayerforgaming,you'llbepleasedtolearnthatyoucanuseyourfavoritegamepad,andyouhavetheoptionofmappingkeysorbuttonstoperformvariousAndroidgestures. NoxPlayergivesyouastockversionofAndroid,andwhileit'sdesignedwithgamersinmind,youcaninstallotherappsfromtheGooglePlayStoretoo.NoxPlayeriscompletelyfree,butitincludesanumberofgreatextrasaccessiblefromaverticaltoolbarontheright-handsideofthewindow.Hereyou'llfindscreenshotandvideorecordingshortcut,alinktoamacrorecord,andtheoptiontoinstallsoftwarefromAPKsobtainedfromoutsideofGooglePlay.(Imagecredit:GameLoop)3.GameLoopOfficialCallofDutyAndroidemulatorToday'sBestDealsvisitsiteReasonstobuy+CODreleases+WidechoiceofreleasesReasonstoavoid-GamingplatformonlyGameLoopisanotherAndroidemulatorthatisprimarilyforuseasagamingplatform.AmongitsmostpopulartitlesincludesCallofDuty:MobileandPUBGMobile,withTencentpreviouslydeclaringittobetheofficialemulatorfortheirCODgames.Thereareothertitles,ofcourse,withothermajortitlessuchasFortniteandGrandTheftAutoVavailabletoplaythroughtheemulator,alongwithahostofothergames.However,likeBlueStackthisisreallythepurposeofGameLoop-thetitlegivesitaway-soifyou'relookingtousemobileappsforbusinessandofficethenthisprobablyisn'ttheplatformforyou.However,ifyou'relookingforeasyaccesstomajorAndroidgamesonyourdesktopthenGameLoopservesasafineemulator.(Imagecredit:AndY)4.AndYEmulateAndroidonyourdesktop,androotittorunmoreappsToday'sBestDealsvisitsiteReasonstobuy+Rootingoption+MacandWindows+PhoneasacontrollerReasonstoavoid-LearningcurveBasedonVMWarePlayer,AndYisaninteresting–ifratherhuge–Androidemulator;theinstallationweighsinatacolossal3GB.Thereareacoupleofoptional–andprobablyunwanted–extrasbundledintheinstaller,sokeepaneyeoutanddeclinethem.Again,theprimaryideabehindAndYistobringAndroidgamingtothedesktop,andthere'ssupportfornotonlyXboxandPlayStationcontrollers,butalsotheoptionofusingyourAndroidphoneasagamepad.Gettingtheemulatorupandrunningisrathertrickierandlessintuitivethantheothertoolsfeaturedherethough,andmightbeenoughtoputsomepeopleoff.ThisisashamebecauseAndYisveryimpressiveanditwouldbegreattomakeitalittlemoreaccessible.AvailableforbothMacandWindows,italsogivesyoutheoptionofrootingyourvirtualAndroiddevicetorunmoresoftware.(Imagecredit:MEmu)5.MEmuPlayEasilyinstallAndroidappsfromoutsidetheGooglePlayStoreToday'sBestDealsvisitsiteReasonstobuy+Virtualizationoption+KeyboardsettingsReasonstoavoid-ForgamingonlyIt'soneofthenewerAndroidemulatorsontheblock,butMEmuhasmanagedtomakequiteanameforitself–andwithgoodreason.GiventhatitsfullnameisMEmuPlay,itshouldcomeasnosurprisethat–onceagain–thefocushereisongaming. Togetthebestperformance,itisrecommendedthatyouenablevirtualizationforyourCPU.WithsupportforIntelandAMDchips,aswellasintegratedanddedicatedgraphics,supportlevelsareverygoodhere.There'sawealthofkeyboardmappingoptionstoenhanceyourgaming,andyouhavetheoptionofinstallingsoftwarethroughtheGooglePlayStore,orbydragginganddroppingAPKsontotheprogramwindow.Additionally,youmayliketocheckoutourfeaturedbestAndroidphones. SofiaWyciślik-Wilson Staffwriter Sofiaisatechjournalistwho'sbeenwritingaboutsoftware,hardwareandthewebfornearly20years–butstilllooksasyouthfulasever!Afteryearswritingformagazines,herlifemovedonlineandremainsfuelledbytechnology,musicandnature. Havingwrittenforwebsitesandmagazinesince2000,producingawiderangeofreviews,guides,tutorials,brochures,newslettersandmore,shecontinuestowritefordiverseaudiences,fromcomputingnewbiestoadvancedusersandbusinessclients.Alwayswillingtotrysomethingnew,shelovessharingnewdiscoverieswithothers. SofialivesandbreathesWindows,Android,iOS,macOSandjustaboutanythingwithapowerbutton,butherparticularareasofinterestincludesecurity,tweakingandprivacy. Areyouapro?Subscribetoournewsletter SignuptotheTechRadarPronewslettertogetallthetopnews,opinion,featuresandguidanceyourbusinessneedstosucceed! ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoTechRadar.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. 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