As a general rule, most Android apps should work on Mac when using an emulator.

Typically, it takes several months for emulators to make the necessary changes to support new major OS releases.

If you google this question, you’ll see many users complain that BlueStacks doesn’t work on macOS Big Sur, but BlueStacks has added support since then. Plus, Android and Mac are two drastically different operating systems, meaning the coding for an Android app wouldn’t be compatible with Mac and vice versa. Android apps are developed specifically for Android devices. Can I install Android apps directly on Mac? If you just want to play your favorite Android games on Mac, this one isn’t right for you. It’s not a free emulator, and it charges by the hour or year for desktop use. Genymotion is ideal if you’re a developer and want to test your apps. However, for older versions, it could be a great BlueStacks alternative. It may not be compatible with newer versions of macOS. Currently, OS X Mountain Lion is the most current macOS version, and there’s no support for Windows. While it does offer the ability to use your phone as a controller, it’s not the most up-to-date emulator. It’s designed to offer a seamless experience between Android and Windows or macOS. Keep checking to see when the newest version will be available.Īndy is another option. However, BlueStacks 5 has been released and should be compatible soon. If you don’t have a Google account, you’ll need to set one up before you can run apps with BlueStacks.Ĭurrently, BlueStacks 4 is the most current version available for macOS. You can view the full requirements to ensure you’re all set.Īlso, BlueStacks downloads Android app files by pulling them from the Google Play store.

If your Mac is particularly old (2014 or earlier), your graphics card may not be powerful enough to run Android apps. You’ll also need 4 gigabytes of RAM and 4 gigabytes of free disk space. While macOS Big Sur wasn’t originally supported, BlueStacks has now added support for it. To run BlueStacks, you will need macOS Sierra or above. Installing and Running Apps with BlueStacks BlueStacks is also very well-documented, so if you run into any troubles with setup or a specific app, someone out there has probably tackled the problem you’re dealing with.

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