Today, we are going to discuss the fastest Android Emulator available for M1 MacBooks. In the past, Android emulators were known to be slow and buggy, making it frustrating to use them. However, there have been significant improvements, especially with the introduction of the Apple Silicon Android Emulator. It is remarkably fast, and in this article, we will explore its capabilities and compare it to the Xcode iOS simulator.
The Apple Silicon Android Emulator is a game-changer when it comes to Android emulation on M1 MacBooks. It offers lightning-fast performance that rivals the Xcode iOS simulator, which has always been renowned for its speed. If you have been following my videos on Apple Silicon development, you might recall my video testing the preview of the Android emulator. At the time, it was still being built up, but now it is finally available and ready for use.
To get started, you will need to have Android Studio for Apple Silicon installed on your M1 MacBook. Once you have it installed, open Android Studio and create a new project. For the purposes of this demonstration, we will create a simple basic activity project.
Next, go to “Tools” and select the “AVD Manager” (Android Virtual Device Manager) to create a new virtual device. Here, you will see that there are currently no devices installed. If you haven’t watched my previous video comparing Android Studio on Intel emulation mode and native Apple Silicon mode, I highly recommend checking it out for more insights.
In the AVD Manager, click on the “Create Virtual Device” button. Choose the device configuration you prefer, such as Pixel 4, and select the recommended API level 31 arm64 version. While the x86 images are also available, the arm64 version is the latest offering. Download and install the chosen image.
Once the installation is complete, you will see the newly created device in the AVD Manager. Launch the emulator, and you will be amazed at how quickly it starts up. Even on the first run, the emulator performs exceptionally well, achieving impressive speed.
Now, let’s compare the performance of the Apple Silicon Android Emulator to the Xcode iOS simulator. To do this, we will create a new project in Xcode, similar to the Android project we created earlier. Start by launching the iOS simulator and ensuring it is ready.
Once everything is set, we can begin the comparison. Click on the play button in both Android Studio and Xcode simultaneously and start the stopwatch to measure the time it takes for the apps to build and deploy.
During our test, we encountered an error specific to the upgrade to the Arctic Fox version of Android Studio. It required Java 11, while we were using Java 1.8. To resolve this, navigate to Preferences, select Build Execution Deployment, expand Build Tools, and choose a different Gradle JDK version.
With the error resolved, the Android app built successfully in just 22 seconds, with the emulator launching almost instantly. The total time, including installation and deployment, was 25 seconds. This showcases the remarkable speed of the Apple Silicon Android Emulator.
Next, we turned our attention to the Xcode iOS simulator. After erasing all content and settings, we attempted the test a few more times. On average, the Xcode iOS simulator took around 5.53 seconds to build and deploy the app. While this is impressive, it is notable that this is a native device optimized for Apple machines running on Apple Silicon.
In conclusion, the Apple Silicon Android Emulator offers an exceptional experience for Android developers on M1 MacBooks. Its speed and stability make it a reliable choice for emulator testing. It supports various popular apps like Chrome, Camera, Gmail, and Google Photos in their 64-bit ARM versions. If you are interested in learning more about the comparison between Android Studio on ARM versus Rosetta translation, be sure to watch my previous video.
Overall, the Apple Silicon Android Emulator has surpassed our expectations and is a groundbreaking development in the world of Android emulation. With the speed and performance it offers, developers can now enjoy a seamless workflow and efficient testing process on their M1 MacBooks. Emulation has never been this smooth, and we look forward to exploring the full potential of this emulator in future updates.
Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more exciting developments in the world of app development for Apple Silicon!
