Technology Suite: Here we teach how to install and run Android apps on Windows and Mac operating systems. How Windows 11 and Mac OS Work Since 2021, with Windows 11, Microsoft has provided users with the ability to install Android apps so that they no longer need to use heavy and poorly made emulators to run these apps.
Now Windows 11 users can officially download Android apps and games from Amazon Store, install and play them on their operating system. Of course, the range of apps in the Amazon Store is not as wide as the Google Play Store; However, it offers several attractive Android apps for Windows users.
Windows users, of course, can access a wide range of Android apps in addition to the Amazon store by installing other app stores like F-Droid or Aurora Store, or installing each apk separately on Microsoft’s latest operating system. But installing Android apps on Mac OS is not an easy task at all; Because this OS is unable to support Android apps by default. For this reason, Mac users have to keep using different emulators to install Android apps.
Of course, if you use any of these emulators, macOS users will have access to Google Play and millions of apps from that store. Today, at Gadget News, we will teach you step by step how to install Android apps on Windows and Mac. So, if you intend to use any of the Android software on your computer, stay with us until the end of this text.
What do you need to install Android apps on Windows 11?
To run (sideload) Android apps on Windows 11, the following three items are required:
Windows Subsystem for Android
, and ADBTools ,
and apk file
The Windows Subsystem for Android is actually a compatibility layer that allows Android apps to run on Windows 11. Also, the ADBTools suite is a tool for simulating Android running on Windows, and the apk file of Android apps can be easily downloaded from the Internet. Of course, please note that not all apk files available on The internet is safe. So, make sure you download your file from trusted sources like F-droid or APKMirror. Microsoft also offers Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) as a bundle with the Amazon Store. However, before anything else, the first step is to make Android default on Windows.
The steps to do this would be as follows:
- Enter your device’s UEFI settings and enable virtualization.
- In Windows 11, activate the Virtual Machine Platform.
- Find Turn Windows features on or off in the start menu.
- Scroll down and find and check Virtual Machine Platform and Hyper-V options.
In the last step, restart the device, and note that the Amazon store is only available in certain regions of the world. So if your region is not among these, change your country or region so that everything is ready to install the Amazon store. So, open the Microsoft Store and search for the term Amazon Appstore in it. Then you can refer to the link of this tool. Also get ADBTools.
Install Android apps in apk format on Windows 11
After downloading all the required tools, it’s time to sideload Android apps on Windows 11. To do that, follow these steps:
- In the Start menu, find Windows Subsystem for Android or WSA.
- Open Windows Subsystem for Android.
- Go to developer mode and activate it.
- In the same tab, click on the Manage developer settings option to enter the virtual space.
- In this field, enter the IP address and port in the format 127.0.0.1:58526 in developer mode.
- In the next step, we will try to load the Android app using the ADB tool. For this job:
- Navigate to the folder where you extracted the platform-tools and select the platform-tools folder.
- In this section, hold down the Shift key and right-click to open a Powershell window.
On this page, type adb connect 127.0.0.1:58526. Of course, replace the numbers written in this section with the IP address and port shown in the Windows Subsystem window for Android. If all the above steps are done successfully, then it will be possible to install the apps.
- Move the apk you want to the platform-tools folder.
- Enter the command adb install appname.apk to install.
- The successful installation of the apk file will be shown to you with a notification. For convenience, you can change the apk file name to make it easier to write!
- Launch your new Android app from the start menu.
What do you need to install Android apps on your Mac?
As mentioned earlier, an emulator is required to install and run Android apps on a Mac. The job of an emulator is to emulate the various hardware and software components of your Android device on your Mac. Google has already released the Android Studio emulator, which, although it is used to develop and test various applications, can be used to install and implement software, this platform can also be used.
On the other hand, BlueStacks is another emulator that is more user-friendly and in addition to being able to run a wide range of Android apps, it also supports the Google Play Store. LDPlayer and NoxPlayer are two more examples of emulators that are made and optimized for the Mac OS: In this text, we use the BlueStacks emulator for training. However, the steps will be similar for other emulators as well.
- Go to the BlueStacks website and download the program’s installation file.
- Double-click the downloaded file on the system and then click the BlueStacks icon during the installation process.
- If you see any warnings, click Open and then select Install Now.
- In the last step, enter your administrative credentials and complete the installation process.
- If the operating system does not allow BleuStacks to access its extensions, provide it with the necessary access through the Security & Privacy section.
- Install Android APK files on your Mac
After opening the BlueStacks app, the first thing you will see is the Google Play page. So sign in with your Google account credentials and download one of the compatible apps in the list. BlueStacks also has a separate game store known as Game Center.
If you want to install the apk file on your Mac, you need to follow these steps:
- Put the apk file in the Downloads folder on your Mac.
- Open the media manager located next to the round menu button.
- Select the Import from Mac option and after the Finder page opens, find the downloaded APK file and click Open.
- After successfully downloading the apk file, double-click on it to proceed with the installation process. After the installation is complete, the program icon will be displayed on the main screen.
- If the media manager can’t import your apk file for any reason.
There is an easier way to do this:
Find the apk you want via Finder.
Double click on the apk file. After completing the installation process, the program icon will appear in My Apps.
