Android has been one of those much-hyped about open-source operating systems that have been around for years and has still not managed to find an easy port over to a Mac. Back in the day, it wasn’t a great idea to emulate any OS on a Mac other than what came out of the box. However, as is with the case of technology, times have changed and Android has now found the perfect platform to give Mac users a higher level of productivity. Here are my top 5 emulators that your Macs will love.
1. BlueStacks
When virtualization was first announced, no-one really wanted to get into the market except for large hosting and cloud-based enterprises. However, a small startup in silicon valley decided to bank on it and came up with a SAAS-like mode of Android emulation. What gave BlueStacks its much-deserved attention was the level of overhauling that team gave their app. Now with more than 90 million users, BlueStacks has given users a great way to install and run Android Games, Tweaks, and Applications on their Macs.
2. ConsoleOS
This was initially designed to be a Windows styled dual-boot fix that would serve as the perfect platform to bring adequate Android functionality to every user. However, with the way Mac optimized its CPU, ConsoleOS now becomes a great alternative to BlueStacks. Gamers will love this emulation/virtualization software as it takes complete advantage of the Mac’s OpenGL system and powers all of the Google Android Store’s games.
3. Andy
This free emulation tool comes just in time to help users find another way to work seamlessly on a Mac with Android apps. Although this 600MB file can cause lag to the core GPU, it’s a great team that is always on the lookout for bugs and are constantly revamping their core files to get stuff sorted out. The developers at Andy focus more on software usability and user behavior. What’s more notable is that Andy is probably the only emulator in the market that bridges the gap between a Mac and a smartphone.
4. YouWave
One of the earliest emulators around, YouWave is another alternative to BlueStacks and is probably on its way to become a great tool that every Mac user should have. Sadly, YouWave is based on a VirtualBox module and users may experience lag issues while installing and running advanced Android applications. With a price tag of $19.99 it may be a little pricey to get started with emulation but then again, YouWave is a developer-friendly virtual OS.
5. Android-x86
This is an Android Open Source Project that gained great traction back in 2013. This tool with its PC-based architecture achieved its success in being able to run a Linux-based distribution with developer-friendly accessibility. Now based on the Dalvik Virtual Machine and moving slowly towards ART (Android Runtime), it is the only emulation tool for Mac that works flawlessly with Android 5.0 Lollipop.