Maher's Digital World

Google has released a new emulator which allows Android apps to run in any Chrome Browser, whether running on Windows, IOS, or Linux machines. Dubbed the Arc Welder, the tool requires users download the .APK files used for Android apps before running them through the web browser.

The new development opens up the entire Android library of apps, games, and more to PC users. In the development documentation included with Arc Welder’s release, Google claims the apps will run almost as fast through the browser as they would on a dedicated Android phone or tablet.

While the current release of Arc Welder is still an early version, Google has already included Google Play support so apps running through the browser still include all the payment systems you’d expect from a normal app.

If you want to give it a go then all you need to is download the Arc Welder app and grab the APKs from Google’s Play Store, or alternative sources. To download the APKs you’re going to need a separate Chrome extension such as APK Download.

At the moment Arc Welder is limited to just a single app running at any time, but you get the full gamut of choices for landscape and portrait layouts, as well as running it as a phone or tablet app.

A promising start from Google at unifying its two technologies, will you be giving this a download? What games do you think will benefit the most from PC compatibility?

Let's see if this thing actually works. Every attempt I've made to get Bluestacks to work has ended in failure. Maybe someday somebody will write a working Android emulator that doesn't depend of the hated Google Chrome browser, or any other Chromium browser for that matter.

Bluestacks was painstakingly slow & bloated, it brought my pc to its knees. If you want true android emulation try downloading android iso and try it on VMware.

I have tested it before post it.. Here the screenshot.

(https://i.ibb.co/Tc3SV75/Capture2.jpg)

Quote from: Vasudev on April 08, 2015, 04:42 PM
Bluestacks was painstakingly slow & bloated, it brought my pc to its knees. If you want true android emulation try downloading android iso and try it on VMware.

Is this thing an OS unto itself? Could you install it on an old PC with no OS on it?

Has anybody tested this thing?

Half related. I use Genymotion, it works together with Virtualbox, you can decide which phonemodel you want to emulate, it's super smooth, but a few glitches are to be expected.

Also, works on ubuntu.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 09, 2015, 04:03 AM
Half related. I use Genymotion, it works together with Virtualbox, you can decide which phonemodel you want to emulate, it's super smooth, but a few glitches are to be expected.
Also, works on ubuntu.

Is this an OS unto itself, or a program that works under Ubuntu or your favorite Linux distro?

Quote from: humbert on April 09, 2015, 04:18 AM

Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 09, 2015, 04:03 AM
Half related. I use Genymotion, it works together with Virtualbox, you can decide which phonemodel you want to emulate, it's super smooth, but a few glitches are to be expected.
Also, works on ubuntu.

Is this an OS unto itself, or a program that works under Ubuntu or your favorite Linux distro?

You chose from a list of available roms, i think you can use your own too. Genymotion is a plugin into another program, or a standalone program.

I installed bluestacks into XP on VM. It'll ask you to connect to internet and downloads around 230MB. Yes Humbert its an OS onto itself. All unwanted apps & ads will be present in free version of bluestacks.
As an alternative go for Andy or download android iso and try ur apps by downloading apps manually & installing the same.

I tried to do exactly the same thing with Bluestacks and I couldn't get the thing to work. Who knows, maybe I did something wrong.

Of course all these programs are nothing more than ROMs what interact with Android apps. Where I'm confused concerning the others apps that have been mentioned is how to make them work. When you say to run it under VMWare or Virtual Box, then are we talking about a totally independent OS that could be put on another PC the same way you do with Windows or Linux?

Check this link (http://www.android-x86.org/download) out.

Quote from: Vasudev on April 10, 2015, 12:09 PM
Check this link (http://www.android-x86.org/download) out.

This link gives android x86. I have recently installed it and I am using it now. This thing is DUMB. Only a few game can be installed in it. MOD Apk cannot be installed in it,, Better use an android tablet or phone, you'll get no problem.

I'm seeing that basically this thing is a distro of Linux modified to be installed on a PC and run APK files. I'm not surprised, Android is, after all one more version of Linux, only modified to be used on portable devices.

Have any of you actually gotten this thing to work?

IMO, all apps cannot run natively in x86 as it is dependent on arm architecture which is different. So, codes are architecture dependent.

Quote from: Vasudev on April 11, 2015, 08:03 PM
IMO, all apps cannot run natively in x86 as it is dependent on arm architecture which is different. So, codes are architecture dependent.

Emulators are just that -- emulators. The real thing is always better. :)

Quote from: humbert on April 13, 2015, 04:59 AM

Quote from: Vasudev on April 11, 2015, 08:03 PM
IMO, all apps cannot run natively in x86 as it is dependent on arm architecture which is different. So, codes are architecture dependent.

Emulators are just that -- emulators. The real thing is always better. :)

I disagree.. Because, look at game emulators, they can increase the graphic, and they can run it a lot smoother. (According to my experiences)

Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 13, 2015, 03:35 PM
I disagree.. Because, look at game emulators, they can increase the graphic, and they can run it a lot smoother. (According to my experiences)

That's an interesting point. Please give me an example of where, in your experience, the emulator does a better job than the real thing.

Quote from: humbert on April 14, 2015, 03:32 AM

Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 13, 2015, 03:35 PM
I disagree.. Because, look at game emulators, they can increase the graphic, and they can run it a lot smoother. (According to my experiences)

That's an interesting point. Please give me an example of where, in your experience, the emulator does a better job than the real thing.

Playstation 1 emulator, gameboy advance SP emulator (antialiasing), nintendo 8bit. Those are the ones I personally prefer on pc than the real deal.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 14, 2015, 01:44 PM
Playstation 1 emulator, gameboy advance SP emulator (antialiasing), nintendo 8bit. Those are the ones I personally prefer on pc than the real deal.

This makes perfect sense. You can't compare the processing power of these devices you mentioned with that of a more modern machine.