When comparing Official Android SDK Emulator w/HAXM vs BlueStacks, the Slant community recommends Official Android SDK Emulator w/HAXM for most people. In the question“What are the best ways to run/emulate Android on a PC?” Official Android SDK Emulator w/HAXM is ranked 2nd while BlueStacks is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Official Android SDK Emulator w/HAXM is:
Each running instance of the emulator has a separate virtual router allowing complex simulations and setups. Network speed and delay can be simulated either by using presets for various network formats or manually entering desired values. It's even possible to interconnect one AVD to another AVD.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Can simulate complex network environments
Each running instance of the emulator has a separate virtual router allowing complex simulations and setups. Network speed and delay can be simulated either by using presets for various network formats or manually entering desired values. It's even possible to interconnect one AVD to another AVD.
Pro GPS emulation support
Longitute, latitude and altitude information can be supplied to the device once it's running. NMEA 1083 formatting is optional.
Pro Allows sending an SMS to the virtual device
You can send an SMS using the command
sms send <senderPhoneNumber> <textmessage>
Pro SD card emulation support
A disk image can be loaded into the emulator on startup to act as an SD card. This can be done via AVD Manager or mksdcard utility. While the SD card cannot be removed from a running emulator, files can still be moved, copied to and from, and removed from the card. The SD card can be of any size up to 128GB.
Pro GSM emulated modem allows telephony emulation
Telephony emulation allows simulating incoming calls as well as establishing and terminating data connections. Calls can be accepted, but there's no support for call audio.
Pro The virtual device is capable of recording and playing back audio
Pro Accelerometer support
Pro Flexible interface
Pro Works on Windows/Mac/Linux
Pro Libre/Open source
Pro Various power characteristics can be emulated
Via the power command, AC charging state as well as battery state, presence, health and capacity can be changed.
Pro LCD density can be abstracted
Pro Camera support
Pro Easy to use and set up
For end users who are not developers, Bluestacks is perfect for the simple reason that it is just one click install, one just need to download the package and install it on windows or Mac to start accessing games and apps. It is just simple!
Pro Designed with gaming in mind
Pro Creates shortcuts for Android apps
A folder on the desktop with shortcuts to apps will be created. Opening a shortcut will start up BlueStacks and run the selected app.
Pro Decent performance
Pro No need to register in order to download and install
Only a Google account is needed, which is the same as setting up an Android phone.
Pro Can install apps from Stores and from APK files
Installing apps from APK files is important for developing purposes.
Pro Can run multiple instances
Now, running multiple instances of BlueStacks is possible even with different Google Accounts.
Pro Can transfer files between BlueStacks and Windows host
There are shared folders for this purpose.
Pro Built-in search allows quickly looking up and installing apps
Pro You can use BlueStack tweaker (portable), then you can access root and easily transfer files
You can not only transfer from Windows to Android storage (from BlueStack tweaker), but you can also delete or rename a file from it and also access themes and other options.
Cons
Con Setting up the whole environment is a hassle
Con No Bluetooth support
Con Can't place actual phone calls
While simulated phone calls can be placed and received, there's no call audio support.
Con Bad OS X support
Con Clunky UI around things like GPS and such
Con Does not run on Linux
Only for Windows and Mac OSX.
Con Default home screen can not be customized and lags a lot
Con Default launcher hides almost all normal Android functionality
The default launcher acts like a portal to launch games and not much else. If you're looking for a stock setup without much tweaking, look elsewhere.
Con Has bloatware and popup ads on free plan
You have to pay to remove both bloatware and popup ads.
