Google play is the largest app
platform in the world. It's used mostly from people with Android devices. But is it possible to download it on
other operational systems or even computers? Well, it depends. In this
particular article we will discuss the ways to download Android apps on Windows
10.
Android emulators
The most common way for doing that is
to download an Android emulator. There are plenty of softwares but the best of
them at the moment are:
1. Bluestacks
2. Leapdroid
3. Memu App
4. Nox App Player
5. Andy OS emulator
But there are others too. Feel free to
try whatever you want if you feel okay with that. These programs are all free but if you
want more options, you could try with paid ones. Now let's jump out to the
second way of using Google Play on your Windows 10 PC.
Install a virtual machine
This practice is spread especially
among the people in the IT sector like programmers, developers, testers, etc.
But it's easy to do and could be the better solution for you. There are several
solutions too:
1. Genymotion
2. VMware Station
3. Parallels Desktop
4. Oracle VM Virtual Box
5. QEMU
You can check others too. Most of them
are really good but there are not quality free solutions.
However, when buying a virtual boz
software you will be able to install other virtual operational systems like
Linux, other versions of Windows, etc.
Install the desktop version of Android
This option is for certain group of
users. The software is named Android X-86. It can be run on Intel and AMD
processors. The installation process is the same as Windows and Linux. But you
can do it only if you have a X-86 based computer.
Android Live
This is also a OS but it's completely
for desktop computers and Laptops. It's used for testing Android apps but you
could use it only as a customer.
Google play music
Obviously, this is the music section
of Google Play. There is a desktop app for Windows so there is no need for
installing third party softwares or virtual operational systems.
How to run APK files
Usually, the desktop devices are not
recognizing APK files, because this extension is designed for smartphones. But
as always, there is a solution.
First install Android Software
Development Kit (SDK). It's not usual for people to install a small OS on a
powerfull device like desktop PC. So you will need the latest version of Java
in order to install SDK. You will need to do some technical things but believe
me, it's nothing much.
1. When you open the Android Studio,
scroll down to the bottom and click on "Command Line Tools". There's
not need of downloading the entire studio package, unless you want to create
Android apps in the future.
2. Then, download it and extract to
your C: drive.
3. Follow this path: Control Panel -
System - Advanced System Settings
4. Select Environment Variables and
choose a path
5. Finally, click "Edit" and
then paste into the variable value the following text:
C:\Android\sdk\tools;C:\Android\sdk\platform-tools
Now you can easily open APK files
without any errors (unless you did something wrong). You can run APK files
using emulators too. But we are covering all possible ways of achieving this.
APK welder Chrome extension
This method is the easiest and most
preferred at the moment. It has a big advantage compared to the other ways.
You only need a browser that runs
chrome extension (It's not only Chrome). You are only one click away from
installing the extension. It requires less than a minute.
But there is one disadvantage. Some
bugs may occur while opening the APK files. Even if you succeed in opening the
app, it's not guaranteed that it won't crash or lag.
Sadly, APK welder doesn't have access
to the Google Play Store, but it's still very useful tool. Lastly, unlike the
Android emulators, you can run only one app at a time.
There are also APK installer apps that
make the process a lot easier. You can install the app on a emulator. That's
another way of installing APK files on desktop.
Google Play Books
The third section of Google Play is
only for books. That doesn't require any complicated steps. Just visit this
link: play.Google.com/books. Then click on "shop" and choose the book
you want to read.
You also can read books with an
E-reader like Adobe Digital Editions. After purchasing a book from Google Play,
you have to choose the download option (EPUB or PDF).
After the downloading process ends,
you'll recieve a file with an .acsm extension. Unfortunately, the file can't be
read directly and you have to download the books from Adobe Digital Editions.
So, that's what you have to do:
1. Authorize your device through Adobe
ID.
2. After the authorization is done,
enter your ID and password (If you don't have an account, click on "create
and Adobe ID").
Now you can open .acsm files using
Adobe Digital Editions. Just find the file and open it.
There are many other E-readers out
there. You can choose the most comfortable option for you.
These are the ways of running Google
Play and Android Apps on Windows 10. At least the most popular ones. I suggest
you to choose wisely and to measure your needs.
Some of you may want just to use the
apps for fun. Others might test their apps on desktop and compare them with
others on the market.
If you are not so sure, give a try to
all of them but be careful what you do. Some APK files contain malware and
spyware files which you don't want to have in your computer.
If an app looks suspicious, just don't
download it. Remember, safety first!
I hope you enjoy your desktop Android
experience. Have an amazing day. And don't stay in front of the screen for too
long!
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