6 ways to use Android apps on your Windows PC

6 ways to use Android apps on your Windows PC

6 ways to use Android apps on your Windows PC

If you want to be able to use Android apps on your Windows PC, discover the six ways we can use it and open them on your computer.


Surely it has happened to you on occasion: There is an Android application or game that you liked , and that you would like to use on your Windows PC. Unfortunately, this application does not have a native version for the Microsoft operating system. What should we do in this kind of situation? We can resort to several methods for this.

There are applications and tools that make it possible to use Android apps on a Windows PC . In this way, we can use those applications or games that we like, on our computer. There are several ways to get it, so surely there is one that fits what you were looking for.


Bluestacks

This emulator is possibly the best known among users, in addition to being seen as the best we can use in this field. It stands out for its good performance and its ease of use, which makes installing and using Android apps on your PC something quite simple. For this, first you have to install Bluestack in your computer.On its website you find its most recent version, where you can download it.

When you have installed it, you will see that you find a desktop like an Android phone . There is the Play Store, where we can enter and proceed to the installation of applications or games for Android, but that we will use on the Windows PC. The store works the same way as on the phone. In order to download applications, we will have to log in to our Google account.


We will only have to look for an application that we are interested in having, but that is not available for Windows and proceed to its installation. Then the icon will appear on that desk and we can start using it. We will repeat the process with all those applications we want. One of the advantages of BlueStacks is that we can have several tabs open , thus having several applications open at the same time.

Some time it is possible that there are Android apps that are not compatible, although it happens very rarely. When using the applications, we will have to use the computer mouse and keyboard. Although this emulator has functions that allow mapping the buttons , so that these controls can be customized, very convenient if used in games. The interface is very convenient to use and gives us great performance at all times.



MEmu

MEmu or MEmu Play is another Android emulator for PC. It is presented as a very fast, light option that gives us great performance, so it is a good option to consider, since it will give us the possibility to install the applications that have interested us, so that we can use them in Our Windows computer.

The operation is identical to other computer emulators. There is a desk, where we have access to the Play Store , where we sign up for our account. We can then start downloading applications to the computer from it. All of them will be placed on the home / desktop screen. This emulator allows to have several applications open at the same time in several tabs.


MEmu will allow us to map buttons , so that the controls are adjusted to our liking, although in general the use of applications with the mouse and keyboard does not present problems. It also has functions such as falsifying the location in the GPS, to have access to apps not available in our country , in addition to being able to play games like Pokémon GO, without leaving home.

It is a very complete emulator, easy to use, which also gives us great performance , since it is fast. It also works very well when you have several tabs open, so in terms of performance it is one of the best options we can find today to use Android apps on our Windows PC.

scrcpy


An open source application that we have talked about a few months ago , which we will be able to use with Windows PCs, in addition to a MacOS computer, is scrcpy. It is a great application with which to control the mobile from your computer , so that you can open Android applications on the PC, without installing them. This application stands out for its ease of use and speed of operation.

In addition, for its operation it makes use of the ADB connection , so on the PC you only have to install a small program, which we can download from Github . We will also have to have the ADB drivers installed on Android, in addition to activating the USB debugging mode. This is achieved as follows:

• Enter the mobile settings.
• Go to System.
• Enter the About phone section  and look for the  Build number .
• You must repeatedly press this quick photo button  seven times .
• We return to the previous section and we will see that the Developer Settings already appear . We click on it.
• We look for the ADB debug mode.
• We activate this option.
• When connected, you can type in the command line " adb devices"  to see the active ADB devices. If this is the first time, a window will appear on your mobile asking for permission.

In this way, we can control the phone from the computer. Thanks to this application we can open Android apps from a Windows PC , in addition to MacOS or Linux, if necessary. We can use these apps on a larger screen comfortably, but without having to install them on the computer itself.

Samsung DeX

DeX has sought in the past to give a Windows-like experience, but with the applications and files of our Android, on Samsung phones. This service of the firm was clearly renewed last year with the launch of the Galaxy Note 10, as we could already prove in addition . The idea is to use the phone as if it were a computer , since by connecting the phone to the PC and using the DeX app, we can run applications.

It doesn't give us as many options as an emulator , but it's another way to have an Android experience on a Windows PC. You can see more as a complement, which will allow a more complete experience. Above all, but we need it to play, the experience obtained is quite fluid and will allow many actions to be taken.

Samsung DeX will allow us to open applications or games on the computer , as if we were using them from the phone normally. The operation is simple, since it is an interface like the telephone itself, but adapted to the computer. The selection of compatible applications is not the largest, but we can use many, many of which interest us most.

It is a somewhat different and more limited bet , which will only serve some users in Samsung, but that can also allow an interesting user experience, being able to use Android apps on your Windows PC, which is precisely what is sought in this case .

Vysor

This is an application similar to scrcpy , which we have talked about before. It also works using the USB debugging of our phone and ADB drivers , and will give us the possibility to control the phone from the computer. We will see on the computer screen everything that happens on the phone, being in this way possible to open applications on the phone. It can be used by connecting the phone to the computer using the USB cable.

The first thing we have to do is install the app on Android , in addition to installing it on the computer. For the PC it is available as an extension for Chrome, which you can install from this link . The Android app is free, although there is a paid version available, but you can try this free version first, to see if it convinces you. Once the apps have been downloaded and USB debugging is activated, as we have shown above, it can be used.

When we have connected the phone to the computer, we will have to click on find the device, wait until they are and that the connection between the two is carried out. Then the phone will appear on the computer screen , so we will be able to control it. It will be possible to open applications from the computer, using the phone on the PC itself.

Airroid

AirDroid connected devices

Finally, we find another tool that allows us to control our Android phone from the computer , thus being able to open or use Android apps on a Windows PC. One of the advantages of this option is that it is a wireless alternative, which is based on WiFi connection. Both the phone and the PC have to be connected to the same WiFi network so we can use it.

AirDroid allows us to open applications , almost all, some may not. We can also install new applications on the phone from the computer. The interface is easy, as it is as if we had a desk or phone screen, but on the computer screen. When using this tool, we have several options, because we can download the app on both devices, but we also have its web version on the computer, which is used in the browser. 

We also have functions such as file transfer available in this case, among others , so it is presented as a very complete and easy to use tool. It will allow us to open Android applications on the computer at all times, thus being able to use them on a larger screen, which is what many were looking for. In addition, AirDroid is kept updated frequently, introducing new features.