Nox App Player: Free, And One Of The Best Android Emulators Around

Nox App Player is a free Android operating system emulator that lets you run the Android operating system you use on your smartphone or tablet on your PC or Mac.

Of all the Android emulators we’ve tried over the years, (and there’s been quite a few) Nox is by far one of the fastest and the best. And just so you know, even though it’s free, Nox doesn’t bombard you with constant ads, and there’s no ‘premium’ version. What’s the catch you say? There isn’t one… It’s 100% free and it’s really good.

Ok, so we’ve established that Nox App Player is a) free and b) we think it’s good and we like it. So, let’s look at why we like it.

Someone playing their favorite Android game, but on a computer. The world has gone mad, mad, I tell you!

Why we like Nox App Player, and why you will

Essentially Nox App Player is everything you could want in an Android emulator. If you want something that is relatively straightforward to install and easy to use without any messing about, then the Nox App Player is the one for you. Setting up Nox for the first time, may take a little time, but the process is intuitive and there’s no requirement to know how to code to do it.

Out of the box

Despite being a second operating system running under Windows, Nox App Player will run pretty much every Android app going, including email and office apps. It’s compatible with the latest version of Windows 10. Nox also comes fully loaded with the Android Play store so you can install all your apps and games directly without mucking about with APK files etc, and all from the comfort of your desktop.

The control system can be a bit tricky if you want to customize the controls, but once mastered it’s a breeze to use. Otherwise, you can just use the mouse on your computer. 

Playing games is where Nox really shines, and most, if not all, will run perfectly after installation. That said, to get the most out of them you will want to map out the buttons to those on your keyboard, so, for instance, swipe right on the screen can be easily mapped to an arrow key.

Users can modify player settings, including creating custom skins and even assigning CPU resources.

So, a chromebook without having to buy a chromebook?

Yes. Or a very large smartphone or tablet, depending on what resolution you want it to run at, and what you want Nox to double up as.

The interface is clean and minimalistic, much like a freshly bought phone or tablet, but just like your phone, you can quickly add lots of junk and unused apps from the Play Store you never use. The choice is yours.

You can also log in with your Google account, and several others at the same time, if you want.

The basic Nox screen – a smartphone on your desktop

Nox also shouldn’t cause too much of a problem for any modern PC or laptop, and won’t use a lot of RAM. Should you wish to enhance the performance of apps and games, you can play around with RAM allocation levels, and also the likes of OpenGL and Direct X, if you want to.

Overall, while Nox App Player might not have some of the more advanced developer like features its competitors may have, it does exactly what it says it does, and is the perfect Android-on-your-desktop solution, for those that want it.

It’s also completely free! (Did we say that already?). And Windows users can download it here. 

Mac users can get the Nox App Player here.