How to run Android apps on Mac

You can now use Android Apps on your Mac for the first time thanks to BlueStacks App Player for Mac. I took it for a quick test run to see if it can reproduce an authentic Android app experience on OS X.

BlueStacks App Player for Mac works similarly to a virtual machine. It sits in your dock and when clicked, allows you to choose which Android app you want to use – just as if you were browsing apps on your phone.

When you click on an app, it will open in exactly the same interface that you’re used to on your Android phone. If you use apps like Twitter or Facebook regularly on your Android device, this immediately brings a comforting feeling of familiarity.

There are several apps already bundled with BlueStacks App Player for Mac, including Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp and several games.

Annoyingly, however, you can’t search for or install new Android apps from the Google Play Store yet although the developers say this will be introduced in the beta version.

BlueStacks App Player for Mac does a good job of making you feel like you’re using apps on your Android device, although it does feel a bit weird trying to navigate Android apps using a touchpad or mouse.

However, this alpha release is a bit frustrating. It doesn’t make it obvious that you can’t search for or download Android apps in this version and how to sign out of apps such as Twitter isn’t made clear either. Of course, the lack of apps available (such as the hugely popular WordFeud) is also an issue but should cease to be when the beta version is integrated with the Google Play market.

Overall, BlueStacks App Player for Mac looks very promising but until you can search for and download Android apps, it’s extremely limited. Roll on the beta release!

Download and try BlueStacks App Player for yourself.