Andy Android Emulator (aka Andyroid) is another free Android emulator, which use WMware technology, developed for those who want to live a virtual Android experience on their PCs or laptops for fulfilling various purposes such as big screen game-playing with keyboard or mouse, testing applications before release, being able to use communication and entertainment apps such as WhatsApp or Snapchat, Viber etc.
on their PCs. Andy’s open OS would allow developers and users to have fun with more robust apps, to experience them in different device environments, and to stop being constrained by device storage, screen size or separate OS limitations.
In this article we are going to try to basically review Andy Android Emulator.
With its easy installation and use, Andy runs on all Windows/Mac OSX versions, and brings almost all Android apps and games to your desktop. Its latest version is 46,2,207 which was released at the beginning of the last year, and can be downloaded from the link at the top of http://www.andyroid.net.
Andy offers “seamless sync between mobile and desktop devices”, it connects Win or Mac with mobile devices to get push notifications and lets you use the storage of the desktop unless you have sufficient storage. Moreover, Andy Emulator allows you to download apps from any desktop browser (like Chrome, or IE) directly to Andy OS.
Andy provides the latest Android OS and removes the barriers between mobile and desktop. Another great feature of Andyroid is that it enables you to use your mobile phone as a remote controller, (as a joystick) so you are able to use multi-touch, gyro accelerometer, location and other various features of your phone or tablet thanks to its successful connection between operating systems while you are enjoying your game on your desktop screen. There’s also an Andy app you can run on your smart phone or tablet that lets you control the emulator from that device as long as you’re at the same network.
Full-screen and windowed use are both supported so you can adjust the screen size depending on the usage scenario. You don’t have to choose either full-screen or a specific size window as opposed to some other emulators; Andy adjusts itself very well to any size you may choose. There is an Andy icon in the Windows status bar; here, you can also set the resolution and DPI you prefer.
Andy Android emulator has support for 40 languages. Besides, it has on X86 / x64 and Arm, OpenGL Hardware and cloud supports, either.
The emulator is free except for developer support / enterprise use. Developers need to buy an Enterprise License in order to use it for Android developing purposes.
Installation is not difficult. For guidance and against any problems you may encounter during the installation, you may refer to the file here for support: http://andysupport.s3.amazonaws.com/AndyOSFAQ44v1.pdf
Minimum system requirements are as follows: Dual core AMD or Intel CPU with Virutalization support – 3Gb of RAM; Andy uses less than 1Gb while running apps – At least 10Gb of free disk space – GPU with OpenGL 2.1 support – Windows 7 SP1 / Windows 8.1 / Ubuntu 14.04+ / OSX 10.8+
As in other emulators, after the installation you need to sign in or sign up a Google account to find your apps and download new ones.
To name a few disadvantages of using Andy, it is claimed to be in relation with and adware distributor so you may see some adware or ads loaded in to the Andy’s virtual Android OS or get alerts from your anti-virus programs on your PC.
In terms of look and feel of the UI, Andy does a good job. It has a lock screen similar to that of Android. It has a customized ADW launcher so apps are grouped into folders on home screen. By hovering the mouse over the bottom of the screen, you can also see some useful tools which enable you to switch between vertical or horizontal mode, and full screen or window, and choose the microphone and camera hardware if you need to use them. Although Andy works best with a touch-screen device, it is easily usable with mouse and keyboard, too. You can create shortcuts to your favorite Android apps on your windows desktop and launch from there. You can install 3rd party launchers, customize it like any Android device with custom, wallpapers, launchers, icon packs, widgets, icon packs etc., and make it more likeable to your taste.
In terms of performance Andy is not superior or may even be said to be inferior to its competition and requires stronger hardware for better results. On the other hand, in network-based games Andy has better loading times. Since Andy use more up to date Android versions, it is better than the majority of other emulators in terms of app compatibility and some other features.
For optimization tricks that may enable you to get a better performance, you can benefit from the file here http://andysupport.s3.amazonaws.com/OptimizeAndy.pdf Andy provides. Andy also has a nice support staff on Facebook. They are quite knowledgeable about any issues about which you may have questions.
Andy has a pro version for developers and enterprises with a price of 99 dollars a year or 12 dollars a month. If you buy a pro license, you can run your mobile app(s) on multiple in-house PCs, deploy your mobile app(s) to partner PCs, run on Windows, Mac & Linux and have early access to new releases. Lastly as a Bonus: Play Store access for 3rd party mobile apps.
In short Andy has some good features that distinguish it from its competition, and it is worth trying if you are in need of an Android emulator for any reason.
