When comparing Visual Studio Emulator for Android vs ARC Welder, the Slant community recommends ARC Welder for most people. In the question“What are the best ways to run/emulate Android on a PC?” ARC Welder is ranked 5th while Visual Studio Emulator for Android is ranked 14th. The most important reason people chose ARC Welder is:
Even though it's a developer preview, it's likely to evolve quickly as Google is developing it. Since Google is also behind Android, it makes sense to use a more official way of running APK. If they don't work, you may check with the developer so it may eventually work.
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Pros
Pro Easy to set up and use
Install devices in two clicks, very intuitive interface for simulations.
Pro Simulates many scenarios
Location/GPS (including live journeying), Camera (using webcam or image file from PC), Accelerometer, Networking (bandwidth and signal strength), etc.
Pro Free
All features are free.
Pro Fast
Runs using Hyper-V, the built-in virtualization technology in Windows, so it's very fast (like a real device).
Pro Developed by Google
Even though it's a developer preview, it's likely to evolve quickly as Google is developing it. Since Google is also behind Android, it makes sense to use a more official way of running APK. If they don't work, you may check with the developer so it may eventually work.
Pro Cross-platform
Works on Chrome 41+ on Windows, Mac, Chrome OS and Linux.
Pro Allows running apps in a Chrome web browser
It installs as a Chrome App and runs on most operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS), even thought x86 support will be put in maintenance mode soon.
Cons
Con Only runs on Hyper-V capable machines
Has to be Win8+ pro edition or higher. No Mac or Linux support yet.
Con Discontinued
Discontinued after December 2020.
Con Not all Google Play services are yet supported
ARC Welder supports OAuth2, Google Cloud Messaging , Google+ sign-in, Maps, Location, and Ads APIs from Google Play services.
Con Only supports "arm" apk files
"x86" apk files don't work as of 20150422.