How to Run Android Apps in Windows 10 [Updated]

Update 8/24/202o: After a few weeks in beta, the new Your App update is rolling out publicly for Windows 10, and it looks like Microsoft is extending the feature to include non-Samsung devices as well . This article has been updated to reflect those changes.

One of the coolest announcements Samsung displayed at its Unpacked 2020 event was new functionality coming to the Your Phone app on Windows 10 that will give you full control of your Android device on PC.

The Your Phone app already lets Android users view notifications, texts and files on their Windows 10 PC , but many Android devices can now run apps and mirror the device’s screen directly to your PC’s desktop. The list of compatible phones only includes Samsung devices at the moment , but Microsoft says further device support is rolling out and will continue expanding over time.

Android apps will behave like a native Windows application; they run in their own app windows and can be pinned to your Windows taskbar and Start menu. And since everything runs off your phone, you won’t need to install the apps on your PC. You can even mirror your device’s main screen in a separate window on your desktop while other apps are running.

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Only select phones—like the Samsung Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra —will be able to run multiple apps simultaneously on desktop, but the other features will work on supported devices running Android 9 pie or higher and can be linked to Windows 10 via the Your Phone app.

How to connect your Android phone to Windows 10

The new Your App features entered beta in early August, but should now be available to users who have installed Windows 10 version 1809 or later. The exact availability of the feature will vary for all users, but here’s how to connect your Android phone to Windows 10 once you receive the update:

1. Make sure your phone and PC are on and connected to the same wifi network.
2. Install the Your Phone app on your Windows 10 PC ( Microsoft Store ).
3. Run the app and sign in with your Microsoft account when prompted.

From here, things will work slightly differently based on your device’s OEM.

• For Samsung users: Swipe down on the screen to open the quick-access menu and tap the “Link to Windows” icon. Sign in with your Microsoft account again, then follow the on-screen instructions.
• For other Android devices: refer to this guide for connecting your Android phone to Windows 10 .

How to open and control Android apps in Windows:

Once your phone and PC are connected, the Your Phone app window should appear on your desktop. Here’s how to open your apps on desktop:

1. Click the “Apps” shortcut from the left-hand menu to see a list of all applications installed on your device.
2. Click an app from the list to run it on your PC (note: some apps may not have full keyboard/mouse support, and may have visual/audio display errors).
3. You can also click “Open Phone’s Screen” to mirror the device’s screen in a separate window.

Once the app is open on your desktop, you can drag it around or swap to other programs, as with any other Windows 10 application window. To control the apps on desktop:

How to run Android apps in Windows

When it comes to app selection, few platforms rival Android. Unfortunately, getting apps from your phone or tablet to your Windows PC isn’t as straightforward as simply installing desktop software. To help make the process easier, however, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on what software and utilities you need to install Android apps on almost any Windows machine. This way, you can enjoy the best Android apps and best Android games on the big screen.

If you’re running a Chromebook, we’ve also put together a dedicated guide on how to install Android apps on Chrome OS.

Bluestacks emulator

The Bluestacks App Player is one of the most popular and robust Android emulators around, allowing you to run 32-bit and 64-bit games and apps for Android 7.1.2 (Nougat) on your Windows desktop.

It’s free to use, and you can easily toggle emulation settings and launch apps using the custom-designed interface. “Layercake” technology uses hardware accelerators to improve the performance of Android games running on Windows-based machines.

If you have a Twitch or similar account and a PC with more than 8GB of RAM, you can even broadcast Android apps and games using the Bluestacks “stream mode” and OBS Studio. However, users may want to enable AMD-V or Intel VT-x within the BIOS for optimal performance, if available.

Bluestacks offers an optional subscription ($4 per month or $40 per year) that enables premium support, disables advertisements, includes wallpapers, and more. It’s also now compatible with the Galaxy Store, allowing you to use and play apps purchased through Samsung’s app store.

Here’s how to install Bluestacks to your computer:

Step 1: Download the installer from the official Bluestacks website.

Step 2: Launch the install application and choose the storage location for the app and data files. Unfortunately, you can’t change the Bluestacks directory — it will install on your boot drive by default.

Step 3: Once Bluestacks installs, launch it and enter your Google and/or Samsung account credentials. You’ll need this info to log in to the Google Play Store and Galaxy Store and access your Android app library.

Dual booting

There’s an alternative to emulation that gives you newer versions of Android, but the setup is a bit more involved. It’s called “dual booting,” and it effectively transforms your Windows computer into an Android device. You’ll gain the option to boot into Android when you switch on your computer, and Android will work just like it does on your smartphone or tablet.

However, getting started is not as simple as installing native Android. Because computer hardware — processors, graphics cards, and hard drives — must be added to Android by a third-party developer, you’ll need to find a custom distribution that supports your machine.

Android-x86

Android-x86 brings Android to x86-based PCs with AMD and Intel processors. What’s interesting about this project is that users can install any flavor of Android, whether it’s the now-stale Donut (v1.6) or the more recent Pie (v9). The project even offers builds of LineageOS (cm-x86) that can run on x86-based processors.

For those seeking a more recent Android build, Android-x86 9.0-r2 was the latest release at the time of this publication. Based on Android-9.0.0_r54, it fixed an audio issue on the Surface 3 and another one regarding booting into UEFI mode. Contributors are currently working on a version based on Android 10, although the project hasn’t released anything new since May 2020.

Though customizations to the Android operating system are minimal, the Android-x86 team did add some meaningful tweaks to give your Android install a desktop-like interface. It comes with features like a new Taskbar launcher and the ability to launch apps in resizable windows rather than just full-screen.

Android-x86 also lets you customize Android to your liking. You can install third-party themes, home screens, and more without having to worry about whether or not they will play nicely together.

To use Android-x86, your PC must have:

• An AMD or Intel processor.
• 2GB or more RAM.
• 4GB or more disk space.
• An available USB port.

If your PC meets the requirements, you will need these three tools:

• A blank USB drive.
• Android-x86 downloaded to your PC
• UNetbootin downloaded to your PC.

Now let’s get started:

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Step 1: Find and open UNetbootin and click the Three Dots button to the far right of Diskimage.

Step 2: Locate and select the downloaded ISO file.

Step 3: At the bottom next to Type, select USB Drive from the list, and then click OK.

Wait for UNetbootin to copy and install Android-x86 to your flash drive.

Step 4: Reboot your computer. This may require you to hit a specific key to prevent Windows 10 from loading, like ESC or F12. A screen should appear allowing you to select Boot to the Boot Device Selection.

Step 5: Select your flash drive.

Step 6: From the UNetbootin menu, select Install Android-x86 to Hard Disk.

Step 7: Select the partition — or location — to which you want to install Android-x86. The program will ask if you plan to format the disk. If you’re unsure, don’t.

Step 8: Select Yes to install GRUB and then select Yes again.

Step 9: A prompt asks if you want to “make system r/w,” which enables Android-x86 to read and write data to your hard drive. Select Yes.

Step 10: Reboot your computer for the second time. Once installed, use the Google Play Store to install Android apps as you wish.

Samsung’s Link to Windows

Microsoft’s Your Phone app allows Android phone owners to send and receive texts from their Windows PC without using their mobile devices. Users can also access their phone’s photos from Windows 10 and see phone-related notifications in the Action Center.

Samsung takes this cool relationship one step further with Link to Windows. This technology now provides two services: Phone Screen and Apps. With the former, you’re essentially streaming a Samsung phone’s screen to an interactive window on your PC. With Apps, you’re streaming individual apps rather than mirroring the phone’s entire screen.

However, all Android apps remain on the Samsung phone. Moreover, this method requires the Windows 10 PC and Samsung Android phone to be on the same local network. Microsoft provides a list of compatible Samsung phones here — not all Samsung phones support Link to Windows.

Finally, this method requires the Windows 10 November 2019 Update (at the very least) to work properly. All Samsung phones must have Android 9 or newer.

Step 1: Open the Your Phone app or download it from the Microsoft Store if it’s not installed.

Step 2: Sign in to your Microsoft Account.

Step 3: Move to the Samsung phone. Swipe down on the Quick Panel and tap Link to Windows. If it doesn’t appear in the Quick Panel, download it from the Google Play Store — it’s typically integrated into newer Samsung phones.

Step 4: If other Microsoft apps are already signed in, you won’t need to do it again on your phone. If not, sign in manually.

Step 5: Allow permissions when prompted.

Step 6: The Samsung phone and Windows 10 should begin synchronizing. When complete, tap the blue Allow button on the Samsung phone’s screen to allow the pairing.

If successful, the Samsung phone will display a switch that’s toggled on — tap it to disconnect at any time. The screen also lists the connected PC’s name and the Microsoft Account login name.

Step 6: With the Your Phone app open in Windows 10, click the Gear (settings) icon in the bottom-left corner.

Step 7: Verify that the Display My Phone Screen option is on.

Step 8: Select the Phone Screen or Apps option on the left to begin.

Surface Duo and Microsoft’s Emulator

The Surface Duo is a high-tech piece of equipment that first came out on September 10, 2020. This dual-screen device is a folding Android smartphone that operates on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC.

Microsoft created the Duo SDK Preview, which developers and fans can download, to get ready for the incoming Surface Duo . The preview lets you install an Android emulator, which mimics the look of the dual-screen Duo layout integrated with Android Studio on your computer.

If you feel ready to try out this preview feature, it’s an excellent chance to use the Duo software to run and test Android apps on your Windows computer. If this sounds up your alley, you can download this emulator for free right here . Check it out and see how everything operates and what the layout would look like.

15 best Android emulators for PC and Mac of 2021

There are a lot of valid reasons why someone would want to run Android emulators on their PC. App developers may be trying to test their application before shipping it out. Gamers may want to use a mouse and keyboard on their games. Maybe you just want it there to have it. In any case, Android emulation on PC is possible and it’s a lot easier than it used to be. Some old favorites either left the space or became unusable at some point (Andy, AmiduOS, and Leapdroid), but everything else here should work okay for most people. Here are the best Android emulators for PC and Mac.

It’s also worth noting that Windows may allow for Android apps directly in Windows 10 starting in 2021. This could mean big things for the Android emulator market.

Read more:

The three main uses for Android emulators

There are three main uses for emulators. The first is the most common and it’s for gaming. Gamers can use emulators on their computers to make some games easier to play. They don’t have to rely on the battery life of their devices and the existence of macros and other tricks help the process. In most cases, these little tricks aren’t illegal (in most games) so nobody really has a problem with it. The best Android emulators for gaming include LDPlayer, Bluestacks, MeMu, KoPlayer, and Nox.

The second most common use case is development. Android app and game developers like to test apps and games on as many devices a possible before launch. Fortunately, Android Studio comes with the “Android Virtual Device” (AVD) which blows all other emulators out of the water in terms of performance and functionality. The only drawback for non-developers, is that it comes with an installation of the space-hungry Android Studio and Android Software Development Kit (SDK). Of course, this is no problem for developers that already have all the necessary software on their machines.

The final main type is productivity. This isn’t nearly as common because Chromebooks are cheaper and better for using Android apps on something other than a phone and most productivity tools are cross-platform. Any gaming emulator works as a productivity emulator to an extent. However, those with hyper specific use cases and a little knowledge can try ARChon and Bliss. Even so, in this day and age, we recommend going the Chromebook route if you want to run Android apps in a laptop or computer environment. It’s better that way.

Finally, a bit of a disclaimer. At this time, no emulators run the latest versions of Android except for ones made for developers. Luckily, most apps and games still function on older versions of Android so this shouldn’t be a big deal. However, most emulators right now run anywhere between Android 7.0 Nougat and Android 9.0 Pie.

LDPlayer

Price: Free

LDPlayer is an Android emulator focusing on gaming performance. Running Android Nougat 7.1, it features the usual array of gamer-oriented features, including good keyboard mapping controls, multi-instance, macros, high FPS, and graphical support. This is one of the few emulators on the list that gets active updates to improve compatibility. It supports a wide range of games, including Garena Free Fire, Among Us, Clash of Clans, and many others. In the latest versions, LDPlayer has optimized the accuracy of skill release and the overall control for Brawl Stars, which makes players more competitive in the game. Besides that, LDPlayer is also a well-rounded emulator for using TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.

Bluestacks

Price: Free / $2 per month

Bluestacks is the most mainstream of all Android emulators. There are several reasons for that. For starters, it’s compatible with Windows and Mac. It was also one of the first that worked really well that still gets regular updates. The emulator targets mobile gamers. There is a stigma with Bluestacks because it can feel a little bloated at times. The company released Bluestacks 5 in 2021, a total re-write to help get rid of that sluggishness. It also includes key-mapping and settings for many games installed. That should help make things much easier. It’s one of the heaviest emulators on the list. However, it also has the most features for better or for worse. Bluestacks also made the MSI App Player, another excellent emulator that some believe works better than vanilla Bluestacks. You can try either one, they are both by Bluestacks.

Android Studio/Virtual Device

Price: Free

Android Studio is the default development console (integrated development environment, or IDE) for Android. It comes with a bunch of tools to help developers make apps and games specifically for Android. As it turns out, there is also a built-in emulator that you can use to test out your app or game. The setup is rather complicated so it won’t appeal to everyone but it is by far the fastest and most feature-rich option on this list. You can run vanilla Android, download apps from the Google Play Store as you normally would, add custom launchers and keyboards, and emulate any size or form-factor device. You can even try out foldable devices!

ARChon

Price: Free

ARChon isn’t a traditional emulator. You install it as a Google Chrome extension. It then gives Chrome the ability to run Android apps and games (albeit with limited support). It’s not an easy emulator to get running. You’ll have to install the thing to Chrome. From there, you have to obtain APKs and load them in. As an added rub, you may need to use a tool to change the APK in order to make it compatible. There are a lot more steps to make this work than most other Android emulators for PC. On the plus side, though, it works with any operating system that can run an instance of Chrome (Mac OS, Linux, Windows, etc). We linked to the official GitHub where you can find detailed instructions for its use.

Bliss OS

Price: Free / Optional donations

Bliss is something a little bit different. It works as an Android emulator for PC via virtual machine. However, it can also just flat run on your computer through a USB stick. The boot-from-USB option is definitely a power user option and not recommended for less intense use cases. As a VM install, the process is easy, but tedious if you’ve never made your own virtual machine before. The USB installation method is even more complicated, but it lets your computer actually run Android natively from boot. We don’t recommend this one for the feint of heart. That makes Bliss a super unique emulator if you can make it through the steps to the end. Of course, it only really runs well if your system is compatible so be prepared with a backup of your current operating system. The system runs Android Oreo and that’s among the newer versions of Android offered on an emulator. You can also find more info about this on its XDA-Developers thread here.