How to run Android apps on the Mac

Taking advantage of the ” engine ” for App Runtime for Chrome (ARC), you can perform various Android applications on Mac, by invoking a window dock called ” start Chrome App “. Here’s how.

Would you like to use app for Android on Mac without having to go through a smartphone? It can be done simply enough, as we explained a few days ago by App Runtime for Chrome (ARC).

This platform, previously reserved for the few developers, is now available to all, and thanks to a packager, makes applications and launchable clickable directly from the desktop. The engine in question allows you to run Android apps on Chrome OS, but can also be used by Mac and PC. Some applications still do not work (depends on various factors, including their relationship with the Google Play), other work in hand, others still work perfectly (including for example, the popular WhatsApp).

We explain how to use it :

• ARC downloaded from this address using the browser Chrome.
• Click on ” Add ” and again click on the button ” Add ” to the request to add ” ARC Welder “.
• At this point the app Arc Welder is added to the instrument ” Starting Applications of Chrome, ” a window (called up from the dock) from which you can access the various app directly from the desktop.
• Wait for the download to complete and at the end click on ” Arc Welder “, click ” Choose ” to specify a destination folder for the Android app and click ” Select “.
• By clicking on ” Add your APK ” you can add applications that will appear from the ” Application start Chrome ” that can be called from the Dock, a tool that allows you to start your favorite apps directly from the desktop.
• At this point, you need to locate and download the .apk file with the executable program of our interest. There are several ways to find Android apps in .apk format, but the simplest is to use this site, a service that allows downloading of the app-pack from any browser. Simply paste the URL obtained from Google Play to get a link to the downloadable file.
• After specifying the APK, ARC Welder ask if we want to run the app in portrait or landscape, the form factor of the device to ” virtualize ” (tablet or phone), whether or not access to the clipboard. We choose the various parameters, we click on ” Launch App ” to open the app of our interest.

In the case of apps like Whatsapp requiring verification of the phone number, you can send the verification code to the phone itself. Note that you can only run one app at a time Android (the last one is opened, close the previous year). In the case of WhatsApp remember that the app runs on the Mac is considered as an app run on the phone and you cannot use both at the same time WhatsApp on your computer, or on a smartphone itself (or used on your computer, or use it on the phone).

The app listed in the tool ” Chrome App Launcher ” can be organized in various ways (by dragging them with the mouse); to uninstall a program, just click with the right mouse button / trackpad and choose ” uninstall ” .