14 Alternative Bluestacks Emulators for Windows, macOS and Online

January 8, 2023

Whether it's LG, Samsung or Huawei, 90% of mobile phones run on Android. With such a huge growth in the mobile app development market, there is a lot of interoperability testing going on en masse, but developers, due to the already growing workload, don't have time to test interoperability issues with mobile app features.

In addition to time constraints, there are issues with having enough resources to run tests for every feature of a variety of applications. As a result, the use of emulators has gained popularity as a workaround to streamline and facilitate the testing process to make it easier and less tedious.

Before we move on, let's first get to grips with the "emulator". So what is it?

What is an emulator?

Well, to start with, an emulator, by definition, is a tool that mimics the Android operating system on a desktop computer. Developers create emulators to help users or developers who want to use Android without the hassle of installation.

It is a program that runs on a computer system, emulating the architecture of a guest device. For example, you can easily use most games like PUBG or Pokemon Go on your PC without having to install them. Cool, isn't it?

Moving on, now that we know exactly what this tool is for, let's see how it helps with application testing.

We have witnessed a significant surge in the development of mobile applications. Gradually, these mobile apps have arguably become the basis of our existence and will continue to grow as mobile phone use becomes even more ubiquitous. Whether it's doing something at home like grocery shopping or entertaining activities like playing games, everything is now just a click away.

Speaking of which, for something to run smoothly, it needs to be up to par.

As such, every application must go through a rigorous testing phase to identify any anomalies before it is released to users. Therefore, for all developers, this is a real boon, given how it reveals unexpected or unusual behaviors during the testing phase of a mobile application.

Before we start discussing different emulators, let's take a little look at how they work and what motivates users to choose such a tool.

An Android or iOS app or browser is emulated by an emulator on an operating system that is considered specific, such as Mac and Windows. What it does is set the virtual hardware conditions of an Android or iOS device. After that, we use it for testing besides debugging. Like everything in this world, the emulator also has its limitations.

We can't deny how expensive it is to set up and maintain a true Android device lab because it's not easy to keep up with regular maintenance costs other than frequent device updates. Therefore, Android and iOS online emulators are popular among users, and rightly so!

Bluestacks

Bluestax , it is appropriate to mention how popular and popular it is among android emulators. Why is it so?

Well, for starters, Bluestacks is a desktop emulator that plays well with both Windows and Mac. Although they are designed in such a way that they can run any android application, its features are best suited to enhance the Android video game gaming experience on Windows.

So, if you are into high graphics games then this game is for you because it is all about android games on pc! The most significant advantage it provides is that there is absolutely no loss in graphical quality, as well as its remarkable compatibility with most major Android games.

Now let's take a look at some Bluestacks alternatives.

Alternatives to Bluestacks

appetite

Appetite is a browser-based emulator that is highly compatible with HTML5 and JavaScript.

Given that there are no or limited options available for iOS emulators for PC and Mac, Appetize serves as the best solution as the most you need is to upload the app to a website and you are good to go from there. It effectively serves both Android and iOS.

Head around

Head spinning offers a real device infrastructure in the cloud. You can choose from thousands of real Android and iOS devices to test.

HeadSpin is the industry-leading testing platform for Android and iOS devices. Users can get real world information that creates emulator-like environments by testing on real devices. The best part is that it doesn't require any SDK.

Functions

Manual and automated testing. Remotely test and debug your applications with secure, scalable API-based manual and automated testing.
Functional testing. Get the real-life insights you need while testing your app's functionality to achieve your app's expected behavior.
Performance testing. Dig into performance issues and troubleshoot crashes and bugs.

The mechanism of artificial intelligence. Get performance and QoE insights and make recommendations based on our state-of-the-art AI engine.

lambda test

With over 2,000 different browser and OS combinations to choose from, Lambda Test ensures that websites and all applications get rid of all bugs and run smoothly. Built-in developer tools are the gateway to debugging, and in real time.

This facilitates cross-browser testing on multiple mobile browsers such as Safari, Mozilla and Google Chrome. The Lambda tunnel feature provides an added benefit when testing both local and private pages.

Genymotion

This emulator is easy to use and set up, besides being a feature rich emulator. It comes in free and paid versions.

Genymotion stands out from the crowd with its capable OpenGL graphics cards. This makes it one of the best and fastest Android emulators. It comes with plugins for Eclipse and Android Studio.

Other than that, it is available on several Windows, Linux, and OS X operating systems. It also allows you to use the webcam for an emulated device as a camera. ADB commands can also be executed using the ADB tunnel.

Sauce Laboratories

Southelab Simulators for Android and iOS is a cost-effective approach to mobile app testing. Their emulators allow cross-browser testing at an attractive speed and at a lower cost than real devices.

To sum it up, they are probably the best out there offering a good mix of emulators, simulators combined with real devices for the best results when it comes to mobile device test automation.

AWS Device Farm

The AWS Device Farm helps you run web and mobile applications through testing that extends to a wide range of desktop browsers such as Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Firefox, as well as real mobile devices. This is to ensure that the application works the same regardless of the browser environment.

In automated testing, problems are identified and grouped so that you can focus on the most important first. They are analyzed and corrected through heavy use of video, activity and console logs, and web driver logs.

MEmu

It is an Android emulator designed to enhance your video game experience. It's easy to use because it doesn't require you to change or adjust any of those complicated settings. All it takes is installation and you are ready to play. Subway Surfers, Geometry Dash and Minion rash are some of the games you can genuinely enjoy with this emulator.

Other than that, MEmu is an exception as it supports Lollipop, Android Jelly-bean and also Kitkat. MEmu is highly recommended due to its stellar performance and is also free to use.

Knox

This is another android emulator specializing in video games and supporting multiple versions of android. It is designed and manufactured by BigNox and serves games like PUBG and Clash of Clans. It comes with advanced features like keyboard mapping. This feature gives you an edge over other players as the keyboard response is faster.

Multiplayer mode allows you to run one game at the same time in different windows, which makes it possible to switch between several games at the same time. It is free to download and use on Windows 10 and Mac. Speaking of which, it's easy to download and install just like any other software.

android studio

Android Studio comes with a variety of tools that help developers develop and create gaming apps and games exclusively for Android. Likewise, it even comes with a built-in emulator that helps you test your game or app.

However, the setup is quite complex and can take a long time. This can be quite a hassle for a beginner, but can be an ideal choice for developers. It is an intelligent software that supports Kotlin, Java as well as C/C++ languages.

Redfinger

Redfinger is one of the most convenient and lightweight emulators. It has no hardware requirements and minimal memory consumption, so it is ideal for beginners and users who want to conserve computer resources.

It provides a 100% native Android experience. Not only that, but also a cross-platform emulator that allows you to run all Android apps from Windows or macOS.

BrowserStack

BrowserStack is a unique and innovative haven for Apple iOS and Google Android mobile emulators, and both are 99% like real devices.

BrowserStack is considered the most trusted web and mobile testing platform. This allows you to run tests across multiple devices and desktop browsers to make sure the software goes far beyond organizational and customer expectations. With a flexible, user-friendly and versatile interface combined with an amazing API, it makes your work much easier.

You can easily switch between mobile phone, PC or MAC.

iPadian

There are quite a few iPadian -like tools that provide an iPad or iPhone experience on both Mac and PC, but they don't let you download an app or code to run tests. So if you want to use an iOS emulator that mimics iOS hardware on your Windows desktop, then you should choose iPadian.

It is pertinent to note that this is not really an emulator, but rather mimics the iOS user interface using Windows 7 or higher operating system by opening a new window and using Windows apps and hardware. It comes with a highly customizable interface combined with many interesting applications.

Launch this application

Launch this app allows you to seamlessly run mobile apps on browsers, allowing users to test and promote apps. This reduces the cost to a greater extent, given that it uses device emulation. The platform it uses is so unique that it supports almost all devices and browsers.

Final word...

We hope that the lists we have curated will be helpful to you when you decide to pick one for yourself.