Android Studio Emulator On Mac

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Note: After we released the Visual Studio Emulator for Android, Google updated their Android emulator to use hardware acceleration. We recommend you use Google’s emulator when you can, as it offers access to the latest Android OS images and Google Play services. If you have enabled Hyper-V, try out our Hyper-V Android emulator compatibility preview to run Google’s emulator.

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This article explains how to use the Android Device Manager to createand configure Android Virtual Devices (AVDs) that emulate physical Androiddevices. You can use these virtual devices to run and test your appwithout having to rely on a physical device.

  • Best Android Emulators for PC. Run Android Apps and Games on Windows 7,8,8.1,10 and Mac Computer with the top-performing emulator listed below.
  • In this video we will see How to Install Android Studio on macOS. Installing Android Studio on Mac is very easy. How to Install Java on Mac https://youtu.be/.

After you have verified that hardware acceleration is enabled (asdescribed inHardware Acceleration for Emulator Performance),the next step is to use the Android Device Manager (also referred toas the Xamarin Android Device Manager) to create virtual devices thatyou can use to test and debug your app.

Android Device Manager on Windows

This article explains how to use the Android Device Manager to create,duplicate, customize, and launch Android virtual devices.

You use the Android Device Manager to create and configure AndroidVirtual Devices (AVDs) that run in theAndroid Emulator.Each AVD is an emulator configuration that simulates a physical Androiddevice. This makes it possible to run and test your app in a variety ofconfigurations that simulate different physical Android devices.

Requirements

To use the Android Device Manager, you will need the following items:

  • Visual Studio 2019 Community, Professional, or Enterprise.

  • OR Visual Studio 2017 version 15.8 or later is required. Visual StudioCommunity, Professional, and Enterprise editions are supported.

  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin version 4.9 or later.

  • The Android SDK must be installed (seeSetting up the Android SDK for Xamarin.Android).Be sure to install the Android SDK at its default location if itis not already installed: C:Program Files (x86)Androidandroid-sdk.

  • The following packages must be installed (via theAndroid SDK Manager):

    • Android SDK Tools version 26.1.1 or later
    • Android SDK Platform-Tools 27.0.1 or later
    • Android SDK Build-Tools 27.0.3 or later
    • Android Emulator 27.2.7 or later.

    These packages should be displayed with Installed status as seen inthe following screenshot:

Launching the Device Manager

Launch the Android Device Manager from the Tools menu byclicking Tools > Android > Android Device Manager:

If the following error dialog is presented on launch, see theTroubleshooting section for workaroundinstructions:

Main Screen

When you first launch the Android Device Manager, it presents a screenthat displays all currently-configured virtual devices. For eachvirtual device, the Name, OS (Android Version), Processor,Memory size, and screen Resolution are displayed:

When you select a device in the list, the Start button appears onthe right. You can click the Start button to launch the emulatorwith this virtual device:

After the emulator starts with the selected virtual device, theStart button changes to a Stop button that you can use to haltthe emulator:

New Device

To create a new device, click the New button (located in the upperright-hand area of the screen):

Clicking New launches the New Device screen:

To configure a new device in the New Device screen, use thefollowing steps:

  1. Give the device a new name. In the following example, the new deviceis named Pixel_API_27:

  2. Select a physical device to emulate by clicking the Base Devicepull-down menu:

  3. Select a processor type for this virtual device by clicking theProcessor pull-down menu. Selecting x86 will provide thebest performance because it enables the emulator to take advantageof hardware acceleration.The x86_64 option will also make use of hardware acceleration,but it runs slightly slower than x86 (x86_64 is normallyused for testing 64-bit apps):

  4. Select the Android version (API level) by clicking the OSpull-down menu. For example, select Oreo 8.1 - API 27 to createa virtual device for API level 27:

    If you select an Android API level that has not yet been installed, theDevice Manager will display A new device will be downloadedmessage at the bottom of the screen – it will download andinstall the necessary files as it creates the new virtual device:

  5. If you want to include Google Play Services APIs in your virtualdevice, enable the Google APIs option. To include the GooglePlay Store app, enable the Google Play Store option:

    Note that Google Play Store images are available only for some basedevice types such as Pixel, Pixel 2, Nexus 5, and Nexus 5X.

  6. Edit any properties that you need to modify. To make changes toproperties, seeEditing Android Virtual Device Properties.

  7. Add any additional properties that you need to explicitly set. TheNew Device screen lists only the most commonly-modifiedproperties, but you can click the Add Property pull-down menu(at the bottom) to add additional properties:

    You can also define a custom property by selecting Custom... atthe top of the property list.

  8. Click the Create button (lower right-hand corner) to create thenew device:

  9. You might get a License Acceptance screen. Click Accept ifyou agree to the license terms:

  10. The Android Device Manager adds the new device to the list ofinstalled virtual devices while displaying a Creating progressindicator during device creation:

  11. When the creation process is complete, the new device is shown inthe list of installed virtual devices with a Start button,ready to launch:

Edit Device

To edit an existing virtual device, select the device and click theEdit button (located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen):

Clicking Edit launches the Device Editor for the selected virtual device:

The Device Editor screen lists the properties of the virtual deviceunder the Property column, with the corresponding values of each property inthe Value column. When you select a property, a detailed descriptionof that property is displayed on the right.

To change a property, edit its value in the Value column.For example, in the following screenshot the hw.lcd.density propertyis being changed from 480 to 240:

After you have made the necessary configuration changes, click the Save button.For more information about changing virtual device properties, seeEditing Android Virtual Device Properties.

Additional Options

Additional options for working with devices are available from theAdditional Options (…) pull-down menu in the upperright-hand corner:

The additional options menu contains the following items:

  • Duplicate and Edit – Duplicates the currently-selecteddevice and opens it in the New Device screen with a differentunique name. For example, selecting Pixel_API_27 and clickingDuplicate and Edit appends a counter to the name:

  • Reveal in Explorer – Opens a Windows Explorer window in thefolder that holds the files for the virtual device. For example,selecting Pixel_API_27 and clicking Reveal in Explorer opensa window like the following example:

  • Factory Reset – Resets the selected device to its defaultsettings, erasing any user changes made to the internal state of thedevice while it was running (this also erases the currentQuick Bootsnapshot, if any). This change does not alter modifications that youmake to the virtual device during creation and editing. A dialog boxwill appear with the reminder that this reset cannot be undone. ClickFactory Reset to confirm the reset:

  • Delete – Permanently deletes the selected virtual device. Adialog box will appear with the reminder that deleting a devicecannot be undone. Click Delete if you are certain that you wantto delete the device.

Note

If you are using a Mac with an Apple chip, such as the M1, you will need to install the Android Emulator for M1 preview from GitHub.

Android Device Manager on macOS

This article explains how to use the Android Device Manager to create,duplicate, customize, and launch Android virtual devices.

You use the Android Device Manager to create and configure AndroidVirtual Devices (AVDs) that run in theAndroid Emulator.Each AVD is an emulator configuration that simulates a physical Androiddevice. This makes it possible to run and test your app in a variety ofconfigurations that simulate different physical Android devices.

Requirements

To use the Android Device Manager, you will need the following items:

  • Visual Studio for Mac 7.6 or later.

  • The Android SDK must be installed (seeSetting up the Android SDK for Xamarin.Android).

  • The following packages must be installed (via theAndroid SDK Manager):

    • SDK tools version 26.1.1 or later
    • Android SDK Platform-Tools 28.0.1 or later
    • Android SDK Build-Tools 26.0.3 or later

    These packages should be displayed with Installed status as seen inthe following screenshot:

Launching the Device Manager

Launch the Android Device Manager by clicking Tools > Device Manager:

If the following error dialog is presented on launch, see theTroubleshooting section for workaroundinstructions:

Main Screen

When you first launch the Android Device Manager, it presents a screenthat displays all currently-configured virtual devices. For eachvirtual device, the Name, OS (Android Version), Processor,Memory size, and screen Resolution are displayed:

When you select a device in the list, the Play button appears onthe right. You can click the Play button to launch the emulatorwith this virtual device:

After the emulator starts with the selected virtual device, thePlay button changes to a Stop button that you can use to haltthe emulator:

When you stop the emulator, you may get a prompt asking if you want to savethe current state for the next quick boot:

Saving the current state will make the emulator boot faster when this virtualdevice is launched again. For more information about Quick Boot, seeQuick Boot.

New Device

To create a new device, click the New Device button (located in the upperleft-hand area of the screen):

Clicking New Device launches the New Device screen:

Use the following steps to configure a new device in the New Devicescreen:

  1. Give the device a new name. In the following example, the new deviceis named Pixel_API_27:

  2. Select a physical device to emulate by clicking the Base Devicepull-down menu:

  3. Select a processor type for this virtual device by clicking theProcessor pull-down menu. Selecting x86 will provide thebest performance because it enables the emulator to take advantageof hardware acceleration.The x86_64 option will also make use of hardware acceleration,but it runs slightly slower than x86 (x86_64 is normallyused for testing 64-bit apps):

  4. Select the Android version (API level) by clicking the OSpull-down menu. For example, select Oreo 8.1 - API 27 to createa virtual device for API level 27:

    If you select an Android API level that has not yet been installed,the Device Manager will display A new device will be downloadedmessage at the bottom of the screen – it will download andinstall the necessary files as it creates the new virtual device:

  5. If you want to include Google Play Services APIs in your virtualdevice, enable the Google APIs option. To include the GooglePlay Store app, enable the Google Play Store option:

    Note that Google Play Store images are available only for some basedevice types such as Pixel, Pixel 2, Nexus 5, and Nexus 5X.

  6. Edit any properties that you need to modify. To make changes toproperties, seeEditing Android Virtual Device Properties.

  7. Add any additional properties that you need to explicitly set. TheNew Device screen lists only the most commonly-modifiedproperties, but you can click the Add Property pull-down menu(at the bottom) to add additional properties:

    You can also define a custom property by clicking Custom...at the top of this property list.

  8. Click the Create button (lower right-hand corner) to create thenew device:

  9. The Android Device Manager adds the new device to the list ofinstalled virtual devices while displaying a Creating progressindicator during device creation:

  10. When the creation process is complete, the new device is shown inthe list of installed virtual devices with a Start button,ready to launch:

Edit Device

To edit an existing virtual device, select the Additional Optionspull-down menu (gear icon) and select Edit:

Clicking Edit launches the Device Editor for the selected virtual device:

The Device Editor screen lists the properties of the virtual deviceunder the Property column, with the corresponding values of each property inthe Value column. When you select a property, a detailed descriptionof that property is displayed on the right.

To change a property, edit its value in the Value column.For example, in the following screenshot the hw.lcd.density propertyis being changed from 480 to 240:

After you have made the necessary configuration changes, click the Save button.For more information about changing virtual device properties, seeEditing Android Virtual Device Properties.

Additional Options

Additional options for working with a device are available from thepull-down menu located to the left of the Play button:

The additional options menu contains the following items:

  • Edit – Opens the currently-selected device in the deviceeditor as described earlier.

  • Duplicate and Edit – Duplicates the currently-selecteddevice and opens it in the New Device screen with a differentunique name. For example, selecting Pixel 2 API 28 and clickingDuplicate and Edit appends a counter to the name:

  • Reveal in Finder – Opens a macOS Finder window in thefolder that holds the files for the virtual device. For example,selecting Pixel 2 API 28 and clicking Reveal in Finder opensa window like the following example:

  • Factory Reset – Resets the selected device to its defaultsettings, erasing any user changes made to the internal state of thedevice while it was running (this also erases the currentQuick Bootsnapshot, if any). This change does not alter modifications that youmake to the virtual device during creation and editing. A dialog boxwill appear with the reminder that this reset cannot be undone. ClickFactory Reset to confirm the reset.

  • Delete – Permanently deletes the selected virtual device. Adialog box will appear with the reminder that deleting a devicecannot be undone. Click Delete if you are certain that you wantto delete the device.

Troubleshooting

The following sections explain how to diagnose and work around problemsthat may occur when using the Android Device Manager to configurevirtual devices.

Android SDK in Non-Standard Location

Typically, the Android SDK is installed at the following location:

C:Program Files (x86)Androidandroid-sdk

If the SDK is not installed at this location, you may get this error when you launchthe Android Device Manager:

To work around this problem, use the following steps:

  1. From the Windows desktop, navigate toC:UsersusernameAppDataRoamingXamarinDeviceManager:

  2. Double-click to open one of the log files and locate the Configfile path. For example:

  3. Navigate to this location and double-click user.config to open it.

  4. In user.config, locate the <UserSettings> element and add anAndroidSdkPath attribute to it. Set this attribute to the pathwhere the Android SDK is installed on your computer and save thefile. For example, <UserSettings> would look like the following ifthe Android SDK was installed at C:ProgramsAndroidSDK:

After making this change to user.config, you should be able tolaunch the Android Device Manager.

Wrong Version of Android SDK Tools

If Android SDK tools 26.1.1 or later is not installed, you may see thiserror dialog on launch:

If you see this error dialog, click Open SDK Manager to open theAndroid SDK Manager. In the Android SDK Manager, click the Toolstab and install the following packages:

  • Android SDK Tools 26.1.1 or later
  • Android SDK Platform-Tools 27.0.1 or later
  • Android SDK Build-Tools 27.0.3 or later

Snapshot disables WiFi on Android Oreo

If you have an AVD configured for Android Oreo with simulated Wi-Fi access,restarting the AVD after a snapshot may cause Wi-Fi access to become disabled.

To work around this problem,

  1. Select the AVD in the Android Device Manager.

  2. From the additional options menu, click Reveal in Explorer.

  3. Navigate to snapshots > default_boot.

  4. Delete the snapshot.pb file:

  5. Restart the AVD.

After these changes are made, the AVD will restart in a state thatallows Wi-Fi to work again.

Wrong Version of Android SDK Tools

If Android SDK tools 26.1.1 or later is not installed, you may see thiserror dialog on launch:

If you see this error dialog, click OK to open the Android SDKManager. In the Android SDK Manager, click the Tools tab andinstall the following packages:

  • Android SDK Tools 26.1.1 or later
  • Android SDK Platform-Tools 28.0.1 or later
  • Android SDK Build-Tools 26.0.3 or later

Snapshot disables WiFi on Android Oreo

If you have an AVD configured for Android Oreo with simulated Wi-Fi access,restarting the AVD after a snapshot may cause Wi-Fi access to become disabled.

To work around this problem,

  1. Select the AVD in the Android Device Manager.

  2. From the additional options menu, click Reveal in Finder.

  3. Navigate to snapshots > default_boot.

  4. Delete the snapshot.pb file:

  5. Restart the AVD.

After these changes are made, the AVD will restart in a state thatallows Wi-Fi to work again.

Generating a Bug Report

If you find a problem with the Android Device Manager thatcannot be resolved using the above troubleshooting tips, please file abug report by right-clicking the title bar and selecting Generate BugReport:

If you find a problem with the Android Device Manager thatcannot be resolved using the above troubleshooting tips, please file abug report by clicking Help > Report a Problem:

Summary

This guide introduced the Android Device Manager available in VisualStudio Tools for Xamarin and Visual Studio for Mac. It explainedessential features such as starting and stopping the Android emulator,selecting an Android virtual device (AVD) to run, creating new virtualdevices, and how to edit a virtual device. It explained how toedit profile hardware properties for further customization, and itprovided troubleshooting tips for common problems.

Related Links

Related Video

Find more Xamarin videos on Channel 9 and YouTube.

Setting up Android Studio takes just a few clicks.

First, be sure you download the latest version of Android Studio.

Windows

To install Android Studio on Windows, proceed as follows:

  1. If you downloaded an .exe file (recommended), double-click to launch it.

    If you downloaded a .zip file, unpack the ZIP, copy the android-studio folder into your Program Files folder, and then open the android-studio > bin folder and launch studio64.exe (for 64-bit machines) or studio.exe (for 32-bit machines).

  2. Follow the setup wizard in Android Studio and install any SDK packages that it recommends.

That's it.The following video shows each step of the setup procedure when using the recommended.exe download.

As new tools and other APIs become available, Android Studio tells youwith a pop-up, or you can check for updates by clicking Help >Check for Update.

Android Studio Emulator On Mac

Mac

To install Android Studio on your Mac, proceed as follows:

  1. Launch the Android Studio DMG file.
  2. Drag and drop Android Studio into the Applications folder, then launch Android Studio.
  3. Select whether you want to import previous Android Studio settings, then click OK.
  4. The Android Studio Setup Wizard guides you through the rest of the setup, which includes downloading Android SDK components that are required for development.

That's it.The following video shows each step of the recommended setup procedure.

As new tools and other APIs become available, Android Studio tells youwith a pop-up, or you can check for updates by clicking Android Studio> Check for Updates.

Android Studio Emulator On Mac Windows 10

Note: If you use Android Studio on macOS Mojave or later, you might see a prompt to allow the IDE to access your calendar, contacts, or photos. This prompt is caused by new privacy protection mechanisms for applications that access files under the home directory. So, if your project includes files and libraries in your home directory, and you see this prompt, you can select Don't Allow.

Emulator

Linux

To install Android Studio on Linux, proceed as follows:

  1. Unpack the .zip file you downloaded to an appropriate location for your applications, such as within /usr/local/ for your user profile, or /opt/ for shared users.

    If you're using a 64-bit version of Linux, make sure you first install the required libraries for 64-bit machines.

  2. To launch Android Studio, open a terminal, navigate to the android-studio/bin/ directory, and execute studio.sh.
  3. Select whether you want to import previous Android Studio settings or not, then click OK.
  4. The Android Studio Setup Wizard guides you through the rest of the setup, which includes downloading Android SDK components that are required for development.

Tip:To make Android Studio available in your list of applications, selectTools > Create Desktop Entry from the Android Studio menu bar.

Required libraries for 64-bit machines

If you are running a 64-bit version of Ubuntu, you need to install some 32-bitlibraries with the following command:

If you are running 64-bit Fedora, the command is:

That's it.The following video shows each step of the recommended setup procedure.

As new tools and other APIs become available, Android Studio tells youwith a pop-up, or you can check for updates by clicking Help >Check for Update.

Chrome OS

Follow these steps to install Android Studio on Chrome OS:

Android Studio Emulator Path Mac

  1. If you haven't already done so, install Linux for Chrome OS.
  2. Open the Files app and locate the DEB package you downloaded in theDownloads folder under My files.

  3. Right-click the DEB package and select Install with Linux (Beta).

    • If you have installed Android Studio before, select whether you want toimport previous Android Studio settings, then click OK.

  4. The Android Studio Setup Wizard guides you through the rest of thesetup, which includes downloading Android SDK components that arerequired for development.

  5. After installation is complete, launch Android Studio either from theLauncher, or from the Chrome OS Linux terminal by running studio.sh inthe default installation directory:

    /opt/android-studio/bin/studio.sh

Android Studio's Official Android Emulator

That's it. As new tools and other APIs become available, Android Studio tells youwith a pop-up, or you can check for updates by clicking Help >Check for Update.

Android Studio Emulator On Mac Download

Note:

Android Studio Emulator On Virtual Machine

Android Studio on Chrome OS currently supports deploying your app only toa connected hardware device. To learn more, read Run apps on a hardwaredevice.