Android is one of the most versatile and popular operating systems for smartphones. That said, if you don’t have an Android phone, you can still enjoy the platform on your computer. And it can be done quickly using an Android emulator. In this article, we’ll be discussing it and its functioning.
What is an Android Emulator?
- Know about Emulator in general
- What is an Android Emulator?
- Advantages of Android Emulator
What is an Emulator?
An emulator is a computer program that enables one computer system (known as the host) to behave like another computer system (referred to as guest). Technically speaking, the guest OS runs within the host OS and offers most of the possible features that it usually provides.
There are various types of emulators present in the market including gaming console emulators, Linux emulators, Android emulators, etc.
What is an Android Emulator?
An Android emulator or an Android Virtual Device (AVD) is a software that emulates Android OS and its functionality on your computer. Notably, it creates a virtual representation of a phone or any other device. It then runs the Android operating system as if it was running on a physical implementation of that device.
There are tons of such emulators present in the market. Some would be light on resources while others will eat more than half your RAM. Therefore, it is imperative to choose an Android Emulator as per your requirements. Make sure to be clear on what purpose you’ll be using it for- to test and debug software designed for Android or enjoying Android games.
Emulators such as Bluestacks can run Android apps whereas, emulators like AVD and Genymotion are typically used to emulate an entire operating system.
Note: The reverse is also possible. You can choose to run EXE on Android. Read more in our detailed post.
Advantages of using Android Emulators
It has multiple uses and multiple advantages stuck to it. However, if we talk specifically about testing and debugging apps and games, Android emulators have the following benefits:
- You can run Google’s stock Android on your PC equipped with Windows, Mac or Linux OS. If you don’t have a smartphone with stock UI, they are a great way to tinker around with developer options, switching quick toggles, playing easter eggs or testing self-developed apps.
- An emulator is just software running on your system, and hence you can use any Android release for testing. You’re free to use any Android version, namely Pie, Oreo, Nougat or even the old KitKat for testing purposes.
- On the emulator, you can run and switch between many desktop apps and Android apps simultaneously. It results in efficient multi-tasking. Some Android emulators even support a drag-and-drop feature, allowing an easy and efficient sharing of text or data within your computer.
- Notably, computers are way more powerful than Android smartphones. Hence, if you don’t have a high-end Android smartphone, you can still play that big titles on your computer with the use of an emulator.
- Do you have old Windows machines and want to convert it into something useful? Well, running Android on it can give that old box a new lease of life. You can make it relatively more productive than it used to be before.
Let us know if you still have questions about it!
