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Editor's take: BlueStacks is a controversial company that carried out some questionable business moves in the past, like force-installing a crypto wallet application and other components no one was asking for. But BlueStacks is also a great way to run Android apps on a PC, and it has improved further with a native version for newer Mac systems.
Bluestacks Systems recently announced the first beta release of BlueStacks Air, a new version of the BlueStacks App Player emulator that was specifically built for Apple Silicon-powered Mac platforms. BlueStacks Air wants to bring improved performance levels to Android emulation on Mac, with the company promising a lot of bells and whistles compared to the program's previous release.
Mac users have been waiting for a natural and intuitive Android emulation platform for years, writes BlueStacks. BlueStacks Air is the first step in that direction, as it can provide a "native" Android gaming experience on Mac systems based on Apple's M1, M2, M3, and M4 chips. The new emulator is fully optimized to run on those new platforms, with fast performance and responsive gameplay.
Apple Silicon systems and most Android phones share the same processor architecture (Arm), so BlueStacks' promises should check out in the end. You can think about BlueStacks Air as a powerful virtual machine that doesn't need dynamic recompilation to run apps, though the program will still need to emulate traditional Android "peripherals" on a Mac's big screen.
As personally experienced after switching from VirtualBox to VMWare Workstation on PC, virtual machines can indeed be effectively used as gaming environments if you don't try to run the likes of Cyberpunk 2077. BlueStacks said that its new "Air" emulator can provide a smooth, functional, and seamless experience even in the most demanding game titles for Android.
BlueStacks Air can also take full advantage of the Mac's Retina display, with a "breathtaking" visual experience, sharp details, and vibrant colors. Controls are preconfigured and tailored to the Mac trackpad and keyboard, with yet another seamless integration between mobile games and Apple's native peripherals.
BlueStacks boasts that it can support over 2 million mobile games, going from immersive RPGs to casual puzzle games. All these titles should be playable natively on Mac with the newly released BlueStacks Air tool. The company also provides its own BlueStacks Store, where users can access both trending games and "hidden gems."
Despite being advertised as a gaming-focused platform, BlueStacks can run any kind of Android app on compatible platforms. Sideloading personal .apk files you don't usually find on the Google Play Store is possible, too.
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