Best Android Emulator for App Development, Testing ( Alternatives to Genymotion, Android Virtual Device- Change BlueStacks size — resolution)
If you are an app developer like me and does not have top of the line specifications like core i50, 10000000000¹⁰ gbs ram, GPU with 1petabyte memory on your pc/mac, then you would know how much pain it is to run android emulators for your app development and testing.
I am having a relatively old Macbook Pro (Core i3) with 8gb ram and 256 SSD with no dedicated graphics, just the integrated ones. While the iOS simulator runs really well in mid-range specs, real pain is running Android Virtual Device(AVD). It is really — really slow like turtle slow, like freaking snail slow. It seems like its refreshing screen @ 5–10fps on my system.
To solve some of AVD’s problems, Genymotion was the best replacement choice for many developers. It can Emulate all Android versions API’s and screen sizes (3000+ virtual Android device configurations). It simulates every imaginable scenario thanks to a full set of hardware sensors (GPS, network, multitouch, etc.). It ran very smoothly on my other windows rig which had i7 and dedicated GPU but it was very slow on my mac. Genymotion was an improvement but it still lagged while rendering animations and rendering a webpage inside a web view.
If your system is capable of running Genymotion smoothly, then go for it as it offers various features like selecting the Android API to work on, emulating networks (4g,3g,2g), recording video, and a bunch of other stuff that's really useful for development. If not then follow along the article !
There were many other android emulators out there like
1. BlueStacks
2. Nox
which targetted not the app developers but the gamers. These emulators allowed users to play Android games on the emulators. Games are all about animations and transitions, which required high frame rates and these emulators provided it. So why not use these for development and testing purposes.
How to use BlueStacks for App Development and Testing!
This is what BlueStacks looks like when launched
By default, it launches in Horizontal mode which is great for games, but less useful for app development. We will fix it first so it launches in Portrait mode. Also, we will need to turn ADB on for it in order to install our app on it.
- Download BlueStacks
2. Go to ~/Library/Preferences and look for a file named com.bluestacks.appplayer.plist and edit it via Xcode (any other editor is also fine)
3. Change Root > Guests > Android > FrameBuffer >
Height — 798,
Width —378,
WindowHeight- 798
WindowWidth- 798
save it.
4. Launch BlueStacks. Now it will launch in portrait mode.
But its DPI is not quite right. We will fix that.
5. Go to Go to BlueStacks > Preferences ( ⌘ , ) > Preferences Tab and set DPI to 160 DPI and restart.
6. There you have it. Now we will set ADB for installing apps in it.
7. Go to BlueStacks > Preferences ( ⌘ , ) > Preferences Tab
Enable Android Debug Bridge (ADB).
Once you turned it, you can see the emulator in adb devices
If you are not able to see it, then adb connect 127.0.0.1:5555
8. Done! Now you can run install your app via Android Studio, React Native, etc.
9. Finish !
10. If you are experiencing stress in your life and want to experience happiness and live a peaceful life, Aurum App is the way to go. The screenshot attached above is of Aurum App.
For Windows OS, you can change the height width of BlueStacks using REGEDIT.
- Close BlueStacks if running. Open Regedit — Start > Run > regedit
2. Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/BlueStacks/Guests/Android/FrameBuffer/0/
3. Open GuestHeight. Change Base to Decimal. Input Value Data: 798
4. Open GuestWidth. Change Base to Decimal. Input Value Data: 378
5. Open WindowHeight. Change Base to Decimal. Input Value Data: 798
6.Open WindowWidth. Change Base to Decimal. Input Value Data: 378
7. Start BlueStacks.
Conclusion: Android Virtual Device and Genymotion both are the better options if you have a system that can run them smoothly as they are developed targetting app developers in mind and not gamers. BlueStacks is an alternative that can be used for app development and testing as it runs smoothly on lower-end systems.
