Android is an operating system which is used by most of the smartphone brands such as Samsung, Oneplus, Lenovo, Motorola etc. We can also use Android for PC which would allow you to get the exact feel of an Android smartphone. As windows, iOS, Linux, Ubuntu and other various operating systems are used for PCs, tabs, smartphones, android is one such. You might be familiar with Android emulators which can be installed on any PC or laptop just like Windows. But the Android OS for PC which I am going to tell is some of the best one with the latest Android versions.
You can install Android OS for PC with the help of USB or DVD. If you wish you can also install Android with the current OS by dual booting the device. This can help you change the OS whenever you are in requirement of it. Once you install Android OS on PC there are a different set of apps, completely different from the ones you use now.
Android OS for PC
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A full fledged OS can process and support a lot more than a simulator. Android experience on a PC is a lot different from an Android smartphone. If you are interested in testing Android on your PC just for a while then you can choose Android Simulator. Android OS on PC would be similar to Windows OS but would be Android based with a desktop experience of Android apps and games.
Difference Between Android Emulator and Android Simulator
| Android Emulator | Android Simulator |
| Works with the help of both hardware architecture as well as software. | Works as a virtual program on the device which has a different OS. |
| Solely functional without the help of any system software. | Application Software which runs on a different system software. |
| Faster as RAM has just the OS. | RAM is accessed by both the parental OS as well as the simulator hence slow. |
| Easy usage with better performance. | Hard to use the cursor, keyboard and may lag. |
| Better Android which gives the exact feel of Android device. | Can’t provide the exact substitution of an Android device. |
1. Remix OS [Marshmallow]
This Android OS for PC was released in the year 2016. This is one of the best Android OS you can find on our list. This was not made compatible with PCs but was exclusively designed for the computer. In the case of a simulator, there are chances of some Apps not being functional as on an Android phone. But you would be able to use everything on Remix OS.
Remix OS can be installed on your computer no matter you have an x32 bit or x64 bit architecture. Remix OS is designed in such a way that it would support the task bar. It is similar to Windows 10 with similarities such as notification system, task manager. Apart from that it also has keyboard/mouse optimized, file manager, multiple window Multi-tasking. It is compatible on both UEFI and Legacy based computing device. Google Play Store is pre-installed from where you can get all the apps based on your requirements from the collection of millions of apps. It is similar to App Store, Windows Store etc.
You don’t need to make a partition on your Windows device in order to install Remix OS. You can create a bootable USB device which can be used to run Remix OS on your PC. To continue Remix OS on PC you can create a persistence USB. While you are using the Remix OS if the USB drive is removed by mistake the computer would not crash. The data cannot be stored in any location but emulator can be used. Or if you wish to use Android OS on PC without USB drive then you can download the OS on your hard drive and install the Remix on a bootable sector on the PC. This would be safe and secure.
Remix OS also has some of the preinstalled apps such as MX player (Video Player), Quick Pic (Image Viewer) which are one among the best. You can download Remix OS on your device from the links given down below. Some of the utility apps which I would recommend are- Word, Google Chrome, Black Player etc.
2. Phoenix OS [Android 7.1/ Android 5]
Pheonix OS is an Android Operating System which can be used as an Android OS for PC on your computers/laptops.
Phoenix is more recently released than Remix OS. This Android OS for PC is available with the latest Android Nougat Update. This is a lot more similar to Remix OS when you compare the functionalities. Remix OS was the earlier to release Android OS for PC while Phoenix was the first to release the x32 bit architecture. It gained popularity for the same reason but later the x32 bit version was available even on Remix OS. The Phoenix OS is based on x86 architecture. Phoenix OS also uses grub4dos which is a universal boot loader for major OS such as Dos, Linux etc.
When compared with Remix OS, Phoenix OS is easier to install on your computer as they provide an installer to install OS directly to the hard drive or USB. You can dual boot the Phoenix OS with the OS you are currently using. Which would provide you an option to choose the OS while you start the device. The best part of Phoenix is it has the latest Android Nougat interface which is not available in most of the Android devices too. Even on Phoenix OS, you get the Windows button options with the featured Android Apps.
Openthos
This a new open source Android OS for PC which is not much popular but is similar to Remix OS & Phoenix OS. The source code of this OS is available on GitHub. Currently, the official page of Openthos is written Chinese but while installation you could choose English.
An Android OS with UEFI boot manager which supports Openthos on Windows, Linux as well as Mac OS X devices. This is an Android OS for PC which is based on Android x86 architecture. The security and algorithms used on this OS are according to Chinese standards. Openthos consumes very less RAM memory providing you an efficient Android OS experience. It also provided features such as multi-windows manager, task manager, file explorer etc. If you have a laptop with the biometric sensor then Openthos would support it too.
Openthos provides a full step by step installation method, troubleshoot and FAQ in the manual available on their official website. After installation PCs can be synchronized with the Android phone to use the Openthos from smartphones. The data is very well is safe and secure with an end to end encryption.
Android-x86
This is an open source project which is an Android OS for PCs. This platform was known as patch hosting for Android x86 support which initiated to host different patches for android x86 support from open source community. Later started with their own Android OS for PC.
Android-x86 is an open source project licensed under Apache Public License 2.0 and GNU General Public License. This Android OS for PC is built on Kernel 4.4 which would provide various features such as WiFi support with GUI, Screen mirroring, G-sensor etc. Apart from this Android-x86 is working on improving and updating a lot more options on the Android OS.
Why to Install Android OS for PC?
Some people use Android OS on their PC because they don’t have an Android phone. While some use Android for PC because they want to play android games on their PC. There are many users who uses android on pc, they generally test their apps and other development work. There are many reasons for installing it, what is your reason?
