You have an Android smartphone and use useful apps for your work on it, but, of course, the smartphone screen is too small to allow you to work properly. The ideal would be to have the same smartphone app for computers, but this is not always possible. Have you ever wondered if it is possible to use the applications of your Android smartphone/tablet even on your computer? If you asked for it more than once, we start by telling you that not only this is possible, but you can also use various methods to do it.

1. Mac Or Pc Yahoo Answers
2. Google Chrome Download For Mac

In this article I will explain how, not only it is possible, but also easy to launch Android apps on Windows PC but also Mac simply thanks to a Chrome browser extension. You can really jump for joy, because with this method you will have solved a huge problem, that is, to be able to work on the smartphone app from the comfort of your computer. Surely productivity will be greater for the benefit of less time of use and less visual effort.

Mar 02, 2016  In this tutorial we will discuss about how to run Android Apps in Google chrome Or run android apps in pc, run android apps in mac. Android is one of the best and biggest used mobile operating system, which is why android developer make so many interesting and useful android apps.

How to launch Android apps on Pc and Mac

To use this simple method, you will need to use Chrome as a browser on your computer. If you have not yet installed it, you can do it now from this link. The Chrome extension I’m talking about, is called ARC Welder and you can download it from this link:

DOWNLOAD | ARC Welder

Install Android app with ARC Welder

Once you’ve installed this extension, you can immediately start using your favorite Android apps on your computer. It is important that you know that Android applications can be launched not from a sort of Play Store offered by the extension itself (ARC Welder), but you can start the Android apps on Pc from the relative .apk file.

An .apk file is basically an Android Package file, it is the preferred Google alternative to contain the files needed to start the applications, different from the format previously used to start them (.jar).

To download the .apk file of your favorite applications, just go to Google and type “application name .apk”, where obviously in place of “application name” you will put the name of the app you want to start on your PC with ARC Welder. Or there are special sites that allow you to download the .apk files of many applications, one of them is APKMirror accessible from here: link.

Once you have downloaded the .apk file, you are ready to use the respective application on your PC. To do this, simply start the ARC Welder extension from this linkor run this path: Settings menu> Other Tools> Extensions> ARC Welder.

Once the extension is launched, you can use any Android application from your PC. To do this, just click on Add your APK. Then look for the .apk file you just downloaded and click on Open. Wait for it to load and then set the settings as you like. I usually imposed Portrait, Phone, Yes, however, you see yourself as you find yourself better.

Then click on Launch App and enjoy your favorite applications on your PC (Windows, Linux or Mac).

The guide to launch Android app on PC with ARC Welder is finished, I hope you have been useful and clear.

Install Android apps with Bluestacks

Another way to install Android apps on PCs and Macs is to use the Bluestacks software, an emulator that allows you to open the Android screen in a window on your computer to run the various applications.

You can use Whatsapp on PC but above all your favorite games on your PC monitor, to play in a more engaging and exciting way.

To understand more about this emulator, let’s immediately say that BlueStacks is a free program that you can install on PC and Mac with the function of converting Android apps so you can use them on your computer. Now let’s see how to install the Android Apps on PC and Mac.

First you will have to download BlueStacks and install it on your PC or Mac. After starting the software, of course you will have to register, but you can also enter with Google credentials. When the request appears: “Log in with your Google account to start using BlueStacks“, enter your login information and continue accepting the terms of service and privacy. If you are asked to enter payment information for any app purchases on the Play Store, click Continue.

Unlike the previous method, at the first access, a section of the Play Store will appear from which you can select and install your favorite applications. So, you will not have to look for them elsewhere, just download them from the store through the BlueStacks integrated search.

It is all well integrated. From the Play Store in BlueStacks you just need to click on your favorite game or app and as you usually do in the mobile app, the game is downloaded to your computer. Now you just have to click on Start and the application starts.

Now, to use the game or work app, you can safely use the mouse and keyboard and you can regularly use the app as if you were on the Android smartphone.

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

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

Mac Or Pc Yahoo Answers

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

Be Sociable, Share This!

Google Chrome Download For Mac