It makes more sense than ever to put some Android apps on you laptop. As well as giving you access to apps that have no desktop or web equivalent (like Snapchat), it’s great for playing games on the big screen—we got Alto’s Adventure up and running on the Pixelbook with no problems, and plenty of other games would benefit from the extra screen space too.
It’s also a boon for apps that can make proper use of a keyboard, like Word or Evernote, dramatically improving your typing rate. Or forapps that benefit from the extra precision of a mouse and trackpad—think SketchBook or Adobe Photoshop Sketch. Any app that’s ever frustrated you on a smaller screen can work well on a laptop or desktop.
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Most of these apps are perfectly happy running on multiple Android devices too, so all your stuff gets synced over fairly effortlessly once you’ve signed in with your Google account. There are exceptions, like WhatsApp—which really needs a phone attached to work—but most apps will be fine with having your laptop registered as another device.
Whatever app you choose, there are a growing number of ways to get them on your laptop.
On Windows and macOS
Bluestacks for Windows has long been one of the best Android emulators out there for desktops and laptops, and is still one of the top choices. It’s focused primarily on gaming, but you can use it to run any kind of Android app you like. A macOS version does exist, but it seems to have been discontinued, so your experience with it will vary.
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With the software downloaded and installed, you can browse through games on the Google Play Store straight from the opening splash screen or via the System app folder under the My apps heading on the left. For anything you can’t find, you need to click Home then Install APK and point Bluestacks towards a file you’ve downloaded from a repository like APK Mirror.
Screenshot: Gizmodo
The application emulates a Galaxy Note 3 tablet running Android Lollipop, which is now four years old, so anything that won’t work on that device is going to struggle here too: We got Spotify running, for example, but couldn’t get Instagram to function. You certainly can’t fault the app in terms of ease-of-use and layout, with all your apps neatly laid out and new ones just a click away.
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Bluestacks comes with a bunch of useful features too, like a full-screen mode, keyboard control support (where available), an integrated screenshot tool, and the ability to set your location manually (just so Android doesn’t get confused about where you are). It’s the slickest emulator experience on Windows, certainly as far as games go.
Screenshot: Gizmodo
NoxPlayer for both Windows and macOS matches Bluestacks pretty much feature for feature, but is even faster and more intuitive to use. Again, you get full access to the Google Play Store so you’re not reliant on loading in APKs from third-party sources. The interface is slick and easy on the eye, and we had no problems getting the emulator up and running.