4 Free Ways to Run Android Apps on Your PC

Want to use Android apps on a PC? There are plenty of good, free ways to emulate Android right on your computer, including the Your Phone app, BlueStacks, Genymotion, and Android-x86. Let’s take a look.

Ever wish you could run an Android app or game on your PC so you weren’t relegated to a tiny phone screen? Or maybe you need to test a feature on Android, but don’t have an Android device handy. Here are four free ways to run Android (and its apps) on your computer.

Mirror Your Phone With Windows

For apps installed on your phone, you don’t need anything fancy to get Android on your PC. The Windows Your Phone app provides the ability to mirror the screen of many Samsung phones to your PC, with access to most of your apps through a simple desktop window. Just follow our instructions on connecting your phone to Windows, then choose the Phone Screen option in the sidebar to mirror your device.

Microsoft is working on expanding this feature even further, with the ability to pin Android apps on your taskbar and launch them individually, as long as your phone and computer are connected. At the time of writing, this feature is available in Windows 10’s Insider Previews and is slowly rolling out to the general public.

This isn’t always the ideal solution. If you’re looking to play games, this may come with some delay and graphical blurriness, and you won’t be able to easily share files from your PC directly to an app in Android. But for quick access to Android apps you already have installed, it definitely works in a pinch.

Run Your Favorite Apps With BlueStacks

If you’re just looking to run a couple apps and don’t need the emulator to look like Android, you should try BlueStacks. Over the years, it’s become the best Android app emulator around, and it’s packed with features that ensure your apps and games run smoothly. Since it uses virtualization to emulate Android, you’ll want to jump into your computer’s BIOS and enable Intel VT-x or AMD-V, if your computer supports it, for best performance.

Download and install BlueStacks as you would any other Windows or Mac application. It’ll take up about 2GB of space on your computer (plus any apps you download), and when it launches, you’ll be greeted with its customized home screen. It doesn’t mimic a traditional Android launcher, but you do get access to the Play Store to download any apps you want—they’ll appear on BlueStacks’ home screen and on your Windows desktop as their own shortcuts. Just double-click an icon to run the app in question.

BlueStacks is great for apps that don’t have corresponding desktop apps, but the emulator really shines when it comes to games. BlueStacks comes with built-in mappings for your mouse and keyboard, which you can customize to the touch controls you find on different Android games.

You can also adjust the resolution, DPI, FPS, and amount of CPU or RAM allocated to the emulator, ensuring you get the best balance between speed and graphical fidelity. (This is particularly useful given that BlueStacks is fairly resource-intensive, as many virtual machines are.)

BlueStacks does, unfortunately, come with some ads and clutter, but it’s not as intrusive as it once was, and it’s a small price to pay for the functionality you get—especially considering it uses Android 7.1 as its base, which is higher than most alternatives on the market.

Emulate Full Android Experience With Genymotion

If you’re looking to explore the Android operating system itself—rather than individual apps—Genymotion is a decent emulator. Its main product is designed for developers and costs money to use, but there is a free version of the software you can download for personal use; you just need to create an account on the website first.

Genymotion uses VirtualBox to emulate Android, so you’ll either need to have VirtualBox installed on your PC or download the version with VirtualBox bundled. Install it like you would any other Windows program, ensuring you select the version for «Personal Use» during the wizard. (And like BlueStacks, you’ll want to enable Intel VT-x or AMD-V from your computer’s BIOS if you have it.)

When you start Genymotion, it’ll present you with a list of device templates you can install—this determines the screen resolution, Android version, and resources allotted to the emulator. Install the template you want and double-click it to enter Android. You’ll be able to navigate around the home screen, launch apps, and emulate certain events like GPS location.

Note that you’ll start with a very barebones version of Android that doesn’t even come with many of Google’s apps or modern features, though you can add the Play Store by clicking the «Open Gapps» icon in the sidebar to install it. Also, no matter which template you choose, you won’t get any custom versions of Android—picking the Samsung Galaxy S10 template, for example, won’t get you Samsung’s One UI. It just determines the resolution and specs of the virtual machine. (Genymotion does support Android versions from 4.4 all the way up to 10.0, though.)

Genymotion works well for exploring Android’s settings and other built-in features, though I wouldn’t necessarily use it to run individual apps, as it just doesn’t integrate as well with your PC as something like BlueStacks. If Genymotion doesn’t suit your needs, Google’s official Android software development kit also comes with an Android emulator, though setup is a bit more complex, so I wouldn’t recommend it for most users.

Run Android Directly on Your PC With Android-x86

If you’re looking for something a bit more full-featured, the Android-x86 project gets you as close as you can get to true Android on your PC. Android-x86 is an open-source project that ports Android to the x86 platform, allowing you to run it on your computer instead of an ARM-based phone or tablet.

To run Android-x86, you have a couple of options. If you want to run Android on its own, as a desktop operating system for your PC, you can download it as an ISO disc image and burn it to a USB drive with a program like Rufus. Then, insert that USB drive into the PC in question, reboot, and enter the boot menu (usually by pressing a key like F12 during the boot process).

By booting from your Android-x86 USB drive, you’ll either be able to run Android in a live environment—without having any effect on your PC—or install it to your PC’s hard drive for permanent usage (and better performance).

Alternatively, if you want to run Android-x86 on top of your existing operating system, you can download the disc image and run it inside VirtualBox. This is, again, a bit more advanced if you aren’t familiar with VirtualBox, but our guide to running Windows on a Mac can get you acquainted with the process.

The official site has some tips for getting Android-x86 up and running in a virtual machine as well. It’s more work than using something like BlueStacks, but it’s also closer to pure Android, which is a nice perk.

Android vs Windows Tablet: Which one should you buy?

We use tablets for an array of things. We watch films, send emails, check out on Tinder, engage in Twitter wars, create SOP for an interview, do an entire academic dissertation, click candid photos… the possibilities are endless. Today, tablets have almost become synonymous with laptops for their amazing features that are upgraded after every version. With the onset of detachable keyboard, the lines between laptops and tablets have started becoming blur now. Even though that is the case, Laptops can never be beaten. You can only have a good or high-end tablet. Now what is a good tablet?

The definition of a good tablet depends upon your budget, orientation and style sense. How often do you use your tab for illustration? Were your tablets only meant for kids? A Game Aficionado. Functionality wise

There was a time when you had only two choices for a tablet. But now you have apple pads, Amazon tablets and others too. Microsoft could make up for what it lost in smartphones using amazing tablets like the Surface Pro. So did Dell, Acer and others.

Let’s delve into the origins of the history of android and windows. Both have features to outsmart each other. They’ve been waging wars against each other since their inception.

Android is arguably the first operating system for smartphones. Created by Andy Rubin in 2003, Android, as an operating system went on to be bought by Google. Cupcakes, Donuts, eclairs, gingerbread, honeycomb, jelly Bean, kitkat marshmallow, nougat, oreo and pie are various versions of the operating system.

However, Microsoft started earlier as an interface manager in 1981. From Windows 1.0 to Vista to Windows 10, it has been quite a journey for Windows too. Both Android and Windows have had their respective share of struggle to metamorphose from desktops/laptops to tablets.

Let us take a look at some of the advantages and features of Android:

Feasibility: One of the best attractions of Android tablets has to be its low-cost, economical feature. They are affordable. Lighter on the pockets with incredible quality. Android Tablets are time-tested and durable.

Integration with Google: Seamless integration with Google helps Android users take up online lessons. Google Play’s content is easily accessible. Content development, deployment, access, marketing and sales are easy with Android and Google play store.

Free Market: Android tablets let you buy and sell anything product, services or commodity.

Now let us take a look at some unique features of Windows:

For a very long period, Windows have been monarchs of and have ruled workplaces. There are several reasons why a Window Tablet has a better hand than an Android Tablet.

Options to choose from:

There is no dearth to sizes and shapes and types of windows tablets as compared to android and apple tablets. Windows continue to remain the hottest devices on the planet. Executives, IT geeks, corporate honchos continue to clank on windows. Devices range from a seven-inch screen to 15.6 inches. You rarely see android tabs crossing over the ten-inch mark.

Office friendly and dock worthy:

Windows seamlessly integrate with and let plugging in of monitors, keyboards, mice, and hard drives. Windows are pretty good when it comes to docking stations. These tabs could be used as standalone computers.

Universal Hubs are available where you can plug in and morph into full desktop PC simulation. IPads have zero Docking Station facilities and can never be used as an enterprise system. Although several Android devices have USB ports and HDMI ports, they aren’t generally considered to be convenient.

P for Peripherals:

Considering the fact that, for a considerable number of users, docks may be redundant and an overkill; plugging in peripherals props up the immediate alternative. Almost all windows tablets have a couple of USB ports to support hard drives and peripherals. Even Android jumped into the bandwagon and started providing The iPad is even worse because it has limited options. The industry standards allow windows and android tabs to deploy cross-brand peripherals whereas it is lesser practised. Impossible in apple products.

Unlimited world of Apps:

Windows are way behind android tabs. Google Play store is a wonderful place to download and access unlimited apps. Windows are no match to Google Play store

Proprietary Software:

Windows tabs can run proprietary software on its devices, unlike android and apple products.

The game changer – Windows 10:

Microsoft launched its ultimate version Windows 10 which has been offered to the majority of the netizens free of cost. This version of Windows helps all tablets work smoothly.

Multi window efficiency:

The most appealing advantage of a Windows platform is that unlike Android, one could run multiple apps at the same given point of time without any lag. An Android tablet shall allow you to open a few apps together, but that will affect the overall performance of the tablet.

Working in sync with Team:

A Windows tablet comes equipped with all that you would need to collaborate smoothly with your co-workers. It comes loaded with the complete version of Office, and this helps you to keep all your work at the same place and easily accessible by others who might need to work on the same worksheet.

An Android tablet also has the feature of getting the various Office apps, but its sharing and collaborating abilities are much less than that of a Windows tablet.

Wider range of options:

Working on a tablet becomes much smoother when the screen space is more extensive. The Windows-based Surface tablet became a revolutionary one in this field as it works equal to a laptop. With more screen space and a smooth flowing pen as an aide. This tablet gives its user the advantage of doing all the work in a more seamless and faster manner.

Smoother Input:

Pen support is provided by Windows as an option in the majority of its tablets, unlike Android. The pen support is embedded into the core of the Operating System, and this enables its smooth functioning and free-flowing support. Some tablet versions being provided by Lenovo having Windows OS will allow you to use any pen or pencil to work on it. These features make a Windows tablet much more user-friendly in comparison to an Android tablet which has only a few select options for using pen support and those also do not provide effortless assistance and are much lower in performance.

Why not a Windows tablet?

Now that we have clogged our brains with all the pros of Windows, lets also look into the aspect of why not a Windows tablet:

While there are a lot of good reasons to choose a Windows 10 tablet, there are many reasons why you shouldn’t. Let’s check out the cons of using a Windows tablet, so you know what you will be giving up when you make the switch.

Windows tablets are more expensive:

The ones which are easily affordable are not at par with the other costly versions of Windows tablets. So the amount that you are ready to shell out decides the quality and features of the Windows tablet you want to own. In comparison to an Android tablet, any time a Windows tablet is more expensive for the same kind of features and overall package.

Protection and Security:

Just like your laptop or workstation, a Windows tablet would require you to acquire antivirus protection to secure all your data and work. A Windows tablet is a mini version of a laptop and gives all features of a full-fledged computer. Hence, proper security enabled network needs to be provided to protect all workers from viruses of malware.

Scope of Applications:

In comparison to Android, Windows looks pale and loses out on the variety of apps that are being provided. There might be some viral games being given but you will not be able to use any Windows mobile app on a tablet as it is not compatible. The Windows Store has a lot to develop compared to the Android App store as far as variety and user-friendliness goes.

Interface:

The Windows interface seems to suffer some lag when it switches to tablet mode. An Android tablet is much more sleek and agile as far as the touch experience goes. Every new version of Windows is improving on this aspect, but it still keeps losing out to its robust rival.

Accessory Crunch:

Windows 10 tabs offer phenomenal peripheral support but have limited accessories to adorn with like customised keyboards, individual cases etc. It contrasts with android tablets which have tons and tons of accessories available in the market for customisation. Even third-party support is limited from tablet to tablet.

The discussion never ends. Having distinct individual features, Android and Windows tablets fight it out to control the market. Windows takes credit for giving you a more polished and customized experience as far as technology goes, but Android gives you a wider range of options as now as apps and the user-friendliness quotient is concerned.