| Special to USA TODAY
How to shop for a new computer
The choices can be overwhelming: PC vs laptop? Chromebook or Apple? Columnist Marc Saltzman guides shoppers through the computer-buying process.
USA TODAY
Typing away on a sales report for the boss, you decide to take a well-deserved break from work.
Will it be some laughs on TikTok? Sending friends a snap via Snapchat? Playing a game of “Clash of Clans” or “Crash Bandicoot: On the Run”?
The problem is, all of these are mobile apps, and your smartphone is lying on a charging mat. Oh, and the kids are watching videos on your iPad.
Why shouldn’t you be able to access these on the laptop or desktop you’re already on?
You can, in fact, run Android apps – designed for a smartphone – on your Windows PC or Mac.
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There are a couple of different ways to pull this off, in fact, and they’re free, too.
Here are two of the best solutions, to running millions of Android apps on your computer:
How to run Android apps on your computer with Bluestacks
The best solution is to install BlueStacks 5 for Windows PC (or Bluestacks 4 for Mac), which lets you run Android on your personal computer.
The San Jose, California-based company claims more than 2 million Android games and apps are supported on its emulator, thanks to the software’s complex virtualization technology developed by 10 engineers over the years.
Because Android is an open operating system, BlueStacks is completely free and legal for users to download and install. It only takes up 2GB of storage once installed, not including any apps you may download.
Other system specs are equally as modest, such as requiring at least 4GB of RAM (system memory), though 8GB or more is recommended. BlueStacks 5 might also require the download of a newer graphics card driver on an aging computer. But that’s about it.
To download apps and games from the Google Play Store within BlueStacks, simply log in with your Google ID (Gmail address and password) and have at it.
It may take a bit of experimentation to see how some games should be best played on a PC or Mac. For instance, if you’re used to controlling a racing game by tilting your Android phone, you might opt for a keyboard or gamepad instead.
Apps that leverage your smartphone’s camera, …….