macOS loaded Mac.

Why on Earth would someone what to run Android apps when they probably have an iPhone or iPad? Well, there are still a lot of people who haven’t embraced iOS, and Android just happens to be the most popular mobile operating system on the planet. Perhaps you’re interested in seeing what the other side has to offer, or maybe you’re a developer who wants to dabble in both iOS and Android. Some people may want to be able to play Android games on their Macs or PCs, just because they’re plugged in and have “infinite” battery life. Whatever the reason, you can run Android apps on your MacBook-turned-Chromebook or on the Mac itself. However, you may not want to for some very good reasons that I’ll divulge further on in this post.

Running Android Apps on a Chromebook or the Chrome Web Browser on Mac or PC

Oct 09, 2017  In this example, we look at how to install the Android version of Instagram on Mac. How To Run Android Apps On Mac. Make sure you’ve installed Google Chrome on your Mac. If you already have it, make sure it is updated to version 40.0 or higher. Open Chrome and click here to go the ARC Welder extension page. Download Nox for Mac. Download.DMG File (Minimum macOS Sierra 10.12) Open the app installer from Downloads Folder. Drag the Nox Player App icon to Apps Folder and begin the installation process. Sign in with your Gmail ID and the installation completes. Now download apps from play store on your Mac. How to run Android apps on Mac. Once the download is finished, launch the.dmg file and agree to the terms and conditions, then Nox will be installed on your system.

To run Android apps on your former-Mac-turned-Chromebook or in the Chrome Web Browser on Mac or PC, you need to turn to ARC Welder. No, this doesn’t mean that you’re going to be putting on a welding mask and firing up a generator to power your arc welder. The acronym ARC stands for App Runtime for Chrome, and it provides a way for developers or Android-curious folks to run one Android app at a time in either the Chrome OS or Chrome Web Browser.

With Chrome Browser or Chrome OS installed, click this link to view ARC Welder in the Chrome Web Store. Click the Add to Chrome button, at which time a dialog appears asking whether you wish to Add Arc Welder. Click Add App, and ARC Welder is downloaded and installed as part of the Chrome environment on your Mac. Finally, click Launch App to fire up ARC Welder.

ARC Welder in the Chrome Web Store

In Chrome OS, you’re now free to take APK files (Android apps) and ARC Welder converts them into Chrome apps for “testing”. Did I mention that ARC Welder is a developer tool? It is…

ARC Welder, attempting (unsuccessfully) to convert and run the Geocaching app.

For Macs or PCs running Chrome Browser, ARC Welder displays a dialog helpfully reminding you that you’re using ARC Welder on a non-Chrome OS device. It will also ask you to select a directory (folder) on your Mac or PC where it can write files to the computer’s filesystem. Once you’ve selected that folder, ARC Welder asks you to “Add your APK” — in other words, give it the Android app file so it can be converted to a Chrome app and run on your computer. You’ll be asked to provide a device orientation (portrait or landscape) and type (phone or tablet).

So, where do you get those APK files? Well, normally you’d get them from Google Play or another Android app store. However, at least with Chrome Web Browser, you can’t download those files directly to the Mac — instead, they want to be installed on an Android device. What you’ll need to do — and I don’t recommend it — is to get APK-Downloader. Why do I not recommend this? You need to have a Device ID for your Android device…and what if you don’t have an Android device? It’s a no-go situation. In order to get the device ID for my “Android” device in order to try this, I actually had to run a Device ID app in an emulator (see below) then paste that ID into APK-Downloader. Even after that, it wouldn’t run on Chrome Browser, only on actual Chrome OS on my “Frankentosh”.

Alternatively, and much more dangerous from a security standpoint, there are sites of questionable background that have APK files available for download. We don’t accept any responsibility for any issues that may occur if you use one of these sites to download free apps. I also suggest that you do your own searches for APK files as we will not recommend any of these sites.

Running Android Apps on a Mac in an Emulator

In addition to running Android apps on a Mac-turned-Chromebook or in the Chrome Web Browser, there’s actually a way to run a pseudo-Android device on your Mac. BlueStacks 2 is a free Android emulator that runs on macOS and Windows, so no matter what kind of personal computer you have, you can try out Android apps. To run Android apps (.apk files) on your Mac:

• Download the BlueStacks 2 app
• Find the BlueStacks 2 .dmg (disk image) file and double-click it to begin the install. Follow the instructions to install and start the app

Pretty simple, right? Well, maybe not. While testing BlueStacks 2 for this article, my fast 4 GHz i7 27-inch 5K Retina iMac encountered no less than three kernel panics. In case you’re not familiar with a kernel panic, it’s not the type of thing you want to see on a regular basis. Your Mac locks up completely and you’re usually greeted with a screen that looks something like this:

To recover, I had to do the first thing listed on this message; press and hold the power button until the iMac shut down, then press it again to power back up.

What did I finally have to do to get BlueStacks 2 running properly? Shut down every other app on my Mac. So take that as a big caveat; you may have to devote your Mac strictly to running the emulator and nothing else.

One other tip: since BlueStacks 2 is an Android emulator and you’ll be pulling down your apps from Google Play (the Android equivalent to the iOS App Store), you will need to have a Google account. At one point during the login process, you’ll be asked to give permission to back up data to your Google account and get emails from the Google Play Store. I said no, since I personally don’t have as much trust in Google’s definition of “personal privacy” as I do in Apple’s, and I don’t need more junk email. You’ll also get an email from Google telling you that your account signed into a Samsung Galaxy S5. I take no responsibility for any embarrassment caused to you when your friends see that.

Google Play Store running in BlueStacks emulator

You’ll also notice that a lot of the apps that are in Google Play are also in the iOS App Store. Take that into advisement before treading into the world of Android.

Finally, BlueStacks 2 isn’t really all that great an emulator in my personal opinion. Considering that my iMac can run Windows 10 at top speed under either Boot Camp or another emulator like Parallels or VMWare Fusion, having an Android emulator that causes severe Mac crashes and runs at a sedate speed isn’t that much of an accomplishment.

An Android App running on BlueStacks 2 on a Mac

A Better Idea – Just Buy A Cheap Android Tablet

If you really want to run Android apps, ignore all of my advice and instruction here and just buy an Android tablet, many of which are inexpensive. You can try out those few apps that might not be available for iOS and get it out of your system. I leave finding a really cheap but functional Android tablet as an exercise for the reader. Me? I’m sticking with iOS.

Related Reading: See why OWC drives and docks are the perfect Chromebook companion

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In the present era, mobile apps have become the primary gateway for accessing a service. So plenty of applications are being made available on the Play Store every day. As thePlay Storeis a haven of apps with more than 2.6 million apps actively available in it, you will get apps for any of your requirement. If you have been a lover of any particular android app and wish to use that on a larger screen like your Mac PC, let us see how to do it. Play Store apps on Mac is a great way of entertainment if you combine them in the right way. There are plenty of ways to do it, and some of the popular android emulators are Bluestacks, Andy, Nox Player, Genymotion, etc. If you are movie buff or a gamer, let us see in this article how to perfectly run your favorite Android app on a Mac PC.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Before you install any Android emulator on your Mac, make sure your PC is ready to accept and run the third-party software.

Update your Mac OS to the latest available software version like Mac OS Sierra (10.12), High Sierra (10.13) and Mojave (10.14). Ensure you have a minimum of 4GB RAM and 4GB disk space left. Update the graphic drivers to the latest version.

Step 2: In case you wish to install android apps that aren’t available on Play Store, download the android apk from the third-party websites like Apkpure, Apkmirror, etc.

You may also like: HOW TO FIX GOOGLE PLAY STORE ERROR CODES (COMMON ERROR CODES & FIXES)

How to Download Android Apps from the Play Store

In this section let us see various methods by which you can install Android apps on Mac PC.

#1 Using Bluestacks

Download App On Android Phone

The Bluestacks is one of the popular and oldest android emulators out there in the market to use the Play Store apps on devices. Using Bluestacks you can install any android apps on Mac. So you can use the play store apps and the mac apps simultaneously on your PC. The emulator has a simple interface and you can sign in with the same Google account on Bluestacks to install apps from Play Store.

It is very easy to install Bluestacks on Mac. Just download Bluestacks installer from the official website or from any trusted website (filehippo.com) and install it on your Mac. Sign in with your Google Account. Install any apps easily from the Play Store like you do on your Android device and start using it.

#2 Using Andy

Andy is an android emulator which has a smoother UI and better Android experience compared to other emulators. Andy comes with few app built-in like Gmail, ES File Explorer, etc. Andy provides you instant Android updates so that you don’t miss any of those updates. Download Andy from the official website or from any trusted third party website (filehippo.com).

Andy has some interesting features and one such feature worth mentioning is that you can use your Andy in both vertical and horizontal landscapes. So you can play games at top notch level with Andy on Mac. When comparing the file sizes, Andy is bit heavier than the other emulators and marks the only downside of the app.

#3 Using Nox Player

Download Android Apps Onto Mac Pro

Nox Player is another powerful Android emulator for Mac with which provides the user with great customization ability. It lets you alter player settings, create custom skins and even assign CPU resources, screen capture, on-screen button mapping and more. One of the great and unique features of Nox Player is that you can sign in to multiple accounts simultaneously onto Nox.

Nox Player is available to download from its official website. You can also download it from third party websites. The installation process of Nox Player is the easiest of all other emulators as the process is straightforward and simple. The player has some advanced features like keyboard mapping and location manipulation. The app provides decent performance even with high-end Android games on it.

Download Free Apps For Android

Related: How to install Android apps on Windows PC?

Which one to choose?

Download Android Apps On Laptop

The above mentioned are some of the best android emulators to run android apps on Mac PC. Choose the one that best suits your requirement. Nox Player is suggested if you are a game enthusiast. Choose Andy for a smoother user experience. And Bluestacks scores in all the areas and comes as a complete package.