Many readers are already familiar with the ability to run Android – applications on a personal computer (Windows and Mac) using the BlueStacks emulator. The emulator was so flawless that some of the major PC manufacturers were planning to install it in their products. What does the new BlueStacks 2 offer?
After downloading and installing the emulator opens in a window. And we immediately see what was not in the previous version and forced experienced users to read specialized forums, and inexperienced to delete the application. In the left part of the window there are tools that simulate actions with a real smartphone (tablet)
Top down:
- Change screen orientation. A very useful feature, some applications for smartphones with vertical screen orientation did not work correctly with the previous version, or even simply “hung” it.
- Shaking. Although not many people use applications where this function is in demand, it will definitely not be superfluous, it will come in handy.
- Take a screenshot of the screen. Unfortunately, you won't be able to save a screenshot on a PC right away, online services are available, such as Google Photos, Picassa, Twitter (post a screenshot or send in a message). However, nothing prevents you from installing the application with your cloud storage and dropping everything there.
- Set location. One of the most important functions for the correct display of the weather, for buying tickets, choosing a language, etc. etc.
- Install APK. Clicking to open the explorer window and we have the ability to install the APK from anywhere on our computer.
- 'Copy files from windows' is the name of the function that opens the internal storage of the emulator. We just drag folders and files into the window that opens and Android – applications begin to see them in the internal memory.
- The next two icons allow you to copy and paste data from the clipboard Windows. May be useful for those who have a non-standard USB keyboard (like mine) when entering passwords, authentication, etc.
- Volume. What it is and what it has to do with sound, I could not understand, maybe you can tell me. Pressing 'volume' turns on or off.
- Help. When clicked, the PC browser opens and we are taken to the Bluestacks support page.
Getting started
Speaking about working with Android – applications on a PC, it is important to know that in Bluestacks, when you first start, the view that opens does not look much like a tablet screen. left side of the screen. After registering or entering a Google account, we get access to absolutely all applications, including launchers. The choice fell on ZenUI Launcher from Asus and here the 'change screen orientation' button came in handy, by default the shell opened vertically, like on a smartphone.
The launched application opens in a new emulator tab, in this it looks like a typical browser. At the same time, the processes in the already open tabs do not stop. You can read an article and listen to music (or a movie) from another tab at the same time. All messengers, email clients and the vast majority of gaming applications are supported. For the latter, the developers have implemented a convenient system for setting up control using the keyboard. The game joystick image on the top bar allows you to assign individual buttons to typical touchscreen actions such as slide and tap. And the most important thing is to choose the area of the screen where this will happen. The system is very similar to that used in game tablets with physical controls.
Technical information and performance test
Bluestacks emulator is defined as Android 4.4.2, but is devoid of the sores of the real OS. The memory is divided into internal and external, to which third-party applications have full access. The type of phone that the emulator pretends to be is determined based on the hardware of the computer and the resolution of the monitor. In this case, this is a pseudo Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (GT-7100). Earlier I already talked about the first version of the emulator (link), a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. And it was all the more interesting to test the changes in terms of performance on the same hardware as last time:
- AMD Phenom II X4 970 processor (overclocked to 4.6Ghz)
- Nvidia GTX 760 2GB GDDR5 Graphics Card
- 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 RAM (1600 Mhz)
- 128 GB SSD Plextor PX-128 M5M
- An old Samsung Sync Master monitor with a screen resolution of 1280×1024 pixels
Unfortunately, the latest version of Antutu Benchmark from Google Play refused to work, I had to use one of the previous versions.
The Antutu result of 48542 points against 32651 on the old version is impressive, the performance jump averaged 30%. The approximate performance of the emulator is comparable to a specific device:
This image suggests that the AMD processor installed in the PC should be burned at the stake for its poor performance, but let's not forget that it is simultaneously loaded with work Windows. Be that as it may, the performance of an average PC (laptop) and the BlueStacks 2 emulator is more than enough for any game on Android. Of course, there is a fly in the ointment, World of Tanks Blitz crashes after launch and entry, which means that schoolchildren will continue to plow the battlefields with impunity.
Impressions
All in all, BlueStacks 2 is easier to work with than the previous version. Significant work has been done, new features have been added, performance has increased. I especially liked that after closing the emulator, you continue to receive notifications from messengers (it is configured when you first close it) and you can quickly go to them. I would like to ask the owners of tablets at Windows 8. 1-10 to test the emulator with the touch screen and check the performance. The emulator itself can be downloaded here.
