Some apps are also designed not to work with emulators. However, apps that rely specifically on certain Android hardware or mobile carrier features may not work correctly. As a general rule, most Android apps should work on Mac when using an emulator. Typically, it takes several months for emulators to make the necessary changes to support new major OS releases. If you google this question, you’ll see many users complain that BlueStacks doesn’t work on macOS Big Sur, but BlueStacks has added support since then. Nevertheless, we have prepared a list of reliable emulators that can work pretty well on your Mac comp. Plus, Android and Mac are two drastically different operating systems, meaning the coding for an Android app wouldn’t be compatible with Mac and vice versa. Please, note that compared to the emulation options available for Windows computers, those for Mac are quite scarce. Android apps are developed specifically for Android devices. Can I install Android apps directly on Mac? If you just want to play your favorite Android games on Mac, this one isn’t right for you. It’s not a free emulator, and it charges by the hour or year for desktop use. Genymotion is ideal if you’re a developer and want to test your apps. However, for older versions, it could be a great BlueStacks alternative. It may not be compatible with newer versions of macOS. Currently, OS X Mountain Lion is the most current macOS version, and there’s no support for Windows. While it does offer the ability to use your phone as a controller, it’s not the most up-to-date emulator. It’s designed to offer a seamless experience between Android and Windows or macOS. It’s also easy to set up, which makes it great for just about anyone – regardless of their technical ability or familiarity with Mac or Android.Īndy is another option. BlueStacks is one of the oldest and easiest-to-use Android emulators for Mac that’s still being updated. We show you next how to set up our favorite general-purpose Android emulator, BlueStacks. If you’re using your Mac to develop Android apps, you may need better development functionality. If you’re particularly tech-savvy or just interested in the variety available, you may want an option that gives you more control over how it runs.

When it comes to emulators, you have a few different choices. We show you hear how to choose and install an emulator to run Android apps on Mac. This is a piece of software that effectively simulates the Android operating system on your Mac, allowing you to run the apps. When you deploy and test your app on the emulator, you select a pre-configured or custom virtual device that simulates a physical Android device such as a Nexus or Pixel phone. Each configuration is called a virtual device. Before you can start running them on your Mac, you’ll need to choose and install an Android emulator. The Android Emulator can be run in a variety of configurations to simulate different devices. Just downloading the apps won’t be enough. While Android apps are not natively supported in macOS, running Android apps on Mac is not a difficult task.

How to run an android emulator on mac