Genymotion is a popular Android emulator based on VirtualBox. If you are playing robust 3D graphics games, such as PUBG Mobile, which require 2 GB or more of space, Genymotion lets you experiment with them on a larger laptop or desktop without performance issues. In this tutorial, you will learn how to run Android apps on Windows 10 with Genymotion and play your favorite Android games on the desktop.
Note: Genymotion is proprietary software for serious Android developers. However, personal edition for games is absolutely free, and that should be enough to run all of your favorite apps.
1. Download and install Genymotion
Download Genymotion Desktop for Windows with VirtualBox from its official link. The minimum system requirements are listed here. Although it indicates 4 GB of RAM, at least 8 GB of RAM is preferable so that you do not experience any performance delay. The more RAM you have, the better your experience will be.
During installation, select the desired installation language in English or any other language. To create a folder path in Windows 10, at least 315 MB of space is required. You have the choice not to create a folder in the Start menu so that the application does not interfere with the rest of the functions of your PC.
Wait a moment for Genymotion to install on your Windows 10.
Once finished, it will automatically start installing VirtualBox on your Windows 10.
2. Install VirtualBox
Click “Next” to accept the configuration of the Oracle VM VirtualBox wizard.
VirtualBox will install a number of internal components. Click on “Next” to continue. You will get an option not to create the Start menu entries, shortcuts and Quick Launch bars in VirtualBox.
You may receive a warning from network interfaces that temporarily disconnect your network. You can safely ignore this message. Click “Yes” and continue.
VirtualBox is now ready to install. Click on “Install” to continue.
It takes a little while for the VirtualBox application to install on your system.
Click “Finish” once the installation is complete. This will automatically take you to the next step in launching Genymotion.
3. Launch and activate Genymotion
Select the “Launch Genymotion” option and click “Finish” to continue.
The Genymotion app will launch on your Windows 10 screen.
In the next step, you will need to create a Genymotion account to run the Android apps. This will automatically redirect you to a browser window with a Genymotion form. When filling in your information, be sure to select “Genymotion for personal use / games”.
When the license window appears on the Genymotion dashboard, select “personal use” if you do not have a paid license.
In the last step, there will be an end user license agreement that you must accept before the Genymotion dashboard opens on your screen.
4. Install a virtual device in Genymotion
Working with Genymotion is quite easy. Click “+” to install virtual mobile devices to run your emulators. You can run multiple virtual devices on your Windows 10 depending on how much RAM you can save.
Select your target virtual device according to its configuration. First, opt for the simplest “personalized telephone” as a test; you can easily delete these virtual devices.
You can configure various settings related to your virtual device, including Android version 4.4 and higher and RAM (a minimum of 2 GB is recommended).
It just takes a little while for the virtual device to be installed on your Windows 10.
A virtual device slowly settles above it. As shown below, it was successfully created.
You can now easily start this virtual device.
Again, it doesn’t take a long time for the virtual device to get started with Genymotion before moving on to the application execution stage.
5. Launch the virtual device and run Android apps on Windows 10
The virtual device emulator opens as a separate option on your Windows 10.
You can play with apps in the Windows 10 home screen just like you would on a regular phone or tablet.
Go to the browser window to download your game, such as PUBG Mobile. However, for serious work on the emulator, you need the Play Store downloaded from GApps, accessible from the right system tray.
You need to double check the Google Play account to download the apps. GApps is only 70 MB in space, so you can download it to access the Play Store.
Once the Play Store is installed, it will ask you to restart the device. It will not restart your computer, just the virtual device. It will start automatically in a few minutes.
You can now download any game or application you want directly from the Play Store. If some apps like PUBG Mobile are not supported, you need a larger virtual machine with a higher Android version and more RAM. Refer to the previous section to create the right machine for your needs.
The downloaded application has been installed on the Genymotion emulator as shown here.
Genymotion is a very useful application to run your favorite Android games and other applications on your desktop and laptop computers. It has many advanced options, such as joystick, accelerometer and remote controls to support advanced features.
Other than Genymotion, you can also check out Android x86, Bliss OS and Phoenix OS to run Android apps on Windows.
