There are many ways to bring the apps of a smartphone to a PC, and already in another article we made the list of programs to install Android apps on the PC by discovering things like Blustacks, an excellent emulator for Windows and Mac. In this case, we see two similar programs which, however, have a very interesting particularity compared to the others: they are optimized to play and have a better graphic fluidity for applications.
Unlike other Android emulators, Nox App Player and Remix OS Player focus more on running Android games on PC rather than providing an environment for using Android on PC.
In addition to the traditional settings, the programs include a driver to operate any controllers, options for recording games, the possibility to customize the keys to play on the keyboard.
Nox App Player can be downloaded for free from the official website and the installation is completely automatic and without sponsors or advertisements.
This emulator program for Android is based on Android 4.2.2 (Jellybean) and is very stable.
You can even open two or more instances of the program to use multiple apps simultaneously on the PC.
At the first start you can immediately see the classic screen of Android 4.2.2, with the Play Store already present to download apps and games, the file manager, Facebook Lite.
On the side, on the right side, you will see many buttons in a vertical column that allow you to:
- Shake the phone, which is required by some games
- Simulate finger touch using the keyboard
- Capture the screen and photograph it
- Zoom in full screen
- Check the volume
- Add an APK file (to install apps downloaded from your PC without using the Play Store)
- Record Script (record Macros to automate some operations)
- Record screen video
- Restart Android.
- Multiplayer, to play with another person in a new session of the program.
- Program settings
The buttons at the bottom right instead are the three standards of each Android smartphone or tablet, the one to go back, the one for the list of recent apps and the one to return to the home screen.
The ability to add an APK file allows you to install games quickly, without going through the Google Play Store (although it is better to log in with your Google account for better compatibility and to download all the apps you need).
We have already seen how to download APK on PC, using sites like APKPure or, even better, APKMirror.
To play you need to install Google Play Services via the Play Store or by downloading Play Services as an apk file from apkmirror and loading it using the side button.
After putting the Play Services and after downloading a game, you can finally play.
Depending on the type of game you need to configure your finger touch mode with the simulated touch settings .
In fact, mobile games are not all playable from PC using the mouse and keyboard, unless you configure a particular software that is already included in the Nox App Player.
Press the simulated touch button from the column on the right and configure the touch by pressing Save when finished.
For example, the direction pad allows you to control movements in the games in which the pad appears, using the PC keyboard.
The gravity sensor allows you to configure specific keys to simulate forward or backward movement with your smartphone.
The single letter A allows you to configure touch on a specific part of the screen.
The two sights are instead to be used in shooting games.
With these configurations, not all games can be played well (for example I tried Piano Tiles and it is impossible the same), but many will work as it was impossible with other emulators.
The macro recorder, on the other hand, allows you to automate some commands in series, to make them repeat themselves.
This can help when you need to repeatedly execute a defined set of touch commands / movements.
Macros can be recorded from the navigation panel by pressing the Script record button.
Ultimately, if the goal is to play mobile games on the computer (such as Clash Royale, Clash of Clans, FIFA 16, Need for Speed), Nox App Player is, at the moment, the best emulator program that you can can find, with excellent performance and response times, free and free to use .
Nox Player is also optimized for playing Pokemon GO on PC
In addition to this program, another Android emulator has been released to play the games of the Play Store on Windows PC .
It's called Phoenix OS Player, already optimized for games, based on Android 5 Marshmellow, which already also includes the Google Play Store .
The program is only to be installed and run on Windows, with no need to configure anything.
