BlueStacks Allows You to Run Android Apps on a Mac - Page 2

jlnr · Jun 28, 2012, 03:01 AM

Nobody spotted WhatsApp? That's something I might have used on the desktop...if most people hadn't jumped ship already. But hey, pretty close to a use case for BlueStacks.

adamantpradeep · Jun 28, 2012, 03:06 AM

isn't most of the android apps riddled with spyware?

this is going to run on a java runtime I presume? which as it has own security layer is poorly designed. I have completely uninstalled java on my MBP and have never felt a need to use them.

400,000 doesn't make it sound great... most of them would be junk of course

ChazUK · Jun 28, 2012, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adamantpradeep

isn't most of the android apps riddled with spyware?

No. Just no.

ghettochris · Jun 28, 2012, 03:16 AM

This I could care less about, but is there any reason apple can't make ios apps run in osx? there is the simulator for developers, and even if it's cpu intensive emulation, the computer should be able to handle it.

Not that I'd use it too often, but it just seems stupid you can't double click on an app in itunes and open it.

a0me · Jun 28, 2012, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faroZ06

Jailbreaking does not open any security or privacy holes,

Except for the worms targeting jailbroken iOS devices or the fact that the jaibroken apps haven't been reviewed by Apple for potential virus and privacy concerns.

Quote:

The only Google app I've been annoyed with has been their Maps app and its lack of voice navigation. Anyway, I'm not sure why I'm talking about this. All Google services are available fully on the PC anyway.

Google Maps for Android has many features not available for iOS such as Indoor Maps, 3D Maps, Offline Mode and turn-by-turn GPS.
Hopefully Apple's own Maps app won't take too long to catch up to Google Maps feature wise.

jlnr · Jun 28, 2012, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChazUK

No. Just no.

Have you worked with any mobile ad SDK? Compared to "classic" desktop apps, at least every ad-powered mobile app is spyware. The same would be true for iOS apps of course.

akbarali.ch · Jun 28, 2012, 03:34 AM

Its great to hear that now you can run Android apps on mac. I wont don't need it is a different thing.
Thanks for the development though.

Dr. McKay · Jun 28, 2012, 03:35 AM

Does this mean that eventually, we'll be able to run apps from google's play store ?

simon the diver · Jun 28, 2012, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a0me

Google apps for Android have many features that the iOS version don't have... which is perhaps to be expected.
As for jailbreaking, in my opinion the security/privacy concerns outweighs the added functionality.

yes that turn by turn GPS will come in real handy on my GPS-lacking Apple hardware - particularly so on the desktop machine

still, I'm sure some enterprising soul could always knock up a GPS dongle and special car seat belt for the 27inch iMac so you can take advantage of this

isoMorpheus · Jun 28, 2012, 03:40 AM

Pointless stupidity.

a0me · Jun 28, 2012, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simon the diver

yes that turn by turn GPS will come in real handy on my GPS-lacking Apple hardware - particularly so on the desktop machine

I was comparing the features of the respective mobile apps, not their value emulated on a desktop computer.
Indoor Maps and Offline Mode would still be pretty cool for iMac and particularly MacBook models.

KnightWRX · Jun 28, 2012, 03:59 AM

This would be as pointless if it were for iOS applications. A Mac already has about every application under the sun you could want, and with its full browser and decent screen, web apps make up the bulk of what isn't there (native facebook kinda crap...).

boomish · Jun 28, 2012, 04:00 AM

Great 400,000 inferior clones of what I have on my iPad! and I don't even want those on my Mac..
What is wrong with manufacturers, they sometimes seem so out to sea with what their customers want sometimes, having not long got a new Mac Pro with Lion, is a good example, I mean what were Apple thinking removing so many features, that we have manulaly to replace, I simply don't get it.

SBlue1 · Jun 28, 2012, 04:03 AM

Did they say why they are making this?

mac1984user · Jun 28, 2012, 04:13 AM

This seems pretty cool to me. There are a handful of Android Apps that simply do not exist on iOS that are actually pretty useful (a specific guitar chord app springs to mind, but there are others). Whether or not they will translate well to the MacBook Pro's trackpad is still left to be seen. Either way, it's kind of nice someone is working on this. I'd be quite happy to see the same done for iOS, but THAT will never happen.

Winni · Jun 28, 2012, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faroZ06

I actually got Android for Intel processors running in VirtualBox. I think it was an outdated, illegit, Chinese edition though.

Can't be illegit. Android is Open Source, you know.

That being said, it's cool that somebody works on a product that allows me to run my Android software on my Mac. That's the beauty of open platforms: You CAN do something like this. People who use Android devices WILL find uses for this. And if Apple allowed you to run your iOS apps on OS X, the iOS users here would quickly shut up and instead try to find uses for that feature, too.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. McKay

Does this mean that eventually, we'll be able to run apps from google's play store ?

I would think so. They won't sell those 400,000 apps themselves.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by SBlue1

Did they say why they are making this?

Did Erik the red say why he wanted to discover America? And why did people decide to go to the moon?

colour · Jun 28, 2012, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devinher

I don't really get this. Why would you want to run Android apps on a Mac? Doesn't Mac already have a much better selection of quality apps than Android?

Whatsapp ! This was out before iMessage and a great app ! This is really good news imo, I think android has a lot to offer that apple doesn't, now you can run windows, apple and android on your mac talk about one stop shop !

CortoMaltese · Jun 28, 2012, 04:56 AM

I see this being useful for a developer, quickly checking compatibility of a cross platform app.
And for general users, well perhaps occasionally. There are bound to be at least a handful highly useful android apps without proper equivalent.

entropys · Jun 28, 2012, 05:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SBlue1

Did they say why they are making this?

Because they can.

Some people build lego versions of the death star...
Some people go to scifi conventions dressed as Spock...
Some people get excited about extreme sport....
Others get to have sex with random strangers on a frequent basis.

One or two people have to settle for making android emulators.

stephen1108 · Jun 28, 2012, 05:20 AM

Now when there's a jailbreak tweak for running Android apps, THEN I'll be interested.

rusty2192 · Jun 28, 2012, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. McKay

Does this mean that eventually, we'll be able to run apps from google's play store ?

I believe the PC version does have access to Google Play. This is the main reason I am interested in this. My wife has a Kindle Fire, which only has access to the Amazon App Store, not Google Play. There are definitely more apps available from Google than Amazon. You can side load any apps you want onto the Fire, but I just don't trust downloading apps from random sites around the web. Who knows what kind of malware has been added. If I can get access to Google Play with Bluestacks, then I can get the .APK legitimately and then side load it onto the Fire.

KieranDotW · Jun 28, 2012, 05:52 AM

A Netflix app might be nice once it's opened up to Google Play, but it still seems pretty inconvenient having to open the emulator just to open another app. What I need is a one-click solution right from the launchpad.

kiljoy616 · Jun 28, 2012, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apple Poptart

mmm k?

Why do I need to run Android apps on my Mac?

I feel like I'm missing something here.

Because you can't run iOS on them.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomtom2234

... What use is this? I have an iphone and an ipad...

Forgive us oh great God of Mac we did not know all things are about you and your big head.

Dave00 · Jun 28, 2012, 06:01 AM

Yeah, this is pretty much a file under "don't care."

Now, if an iOS emulator came to Android, that would be a real worry for Apple (though not necessarily for consumers) since that's the one thing that really preserves their market dominance. Even if there's an Android device that I like better, the lack of iOS apps makes it a non-starter.

Dave

Jessica Lares · Jun 28, 2012, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rusty2192

I believe the PC version does have access to Google Play. This is the main reason I am interested in this. My wife has a Kindle Fire, which only has access to the Amazon App Store, not Google Play. There are definitely more apps available from Google than Amazon. You can side load any apps you want onto the Fire, but I just don't trust downloading apps from random sites around the web. Who knows what kind of malware has been added. If I can get access to Google Play with Bluestacks, then I can get the .APK legitimately and then side load it onto the Fire.

No, the PC version doesn't have access to Google Play either. You can root it to install it though.

Jun 28, 2012, 03:06 AM	#27
adamantpradeep macrumors newbie Join Date: Apr 2012	be careful isn't most of the android apps riddled with spyware? this is going to run on a java runtime I presume? which as it has own security layer is poorly designed. I have completely uninstalled java on my MBP and have never felt a need to use them. 400,000 doesn't make it sound great... most of them would be junk of course
	-5

Jun 28, 2012, 03:34 AM	#32
akbarali.ch macrumors regular Join Date: May 2011 Location: Mumbai (India)	Awesoeme! Its great to hear that now you can run Android apps on mac. I wont don't need it is a different thing. Thanks for the development though. __________________ iMac 21.5" i5 2.9GHz 2012; iphone 4S 16GB white; iPhone 3GS 16GB; iPhone 3GS 8GB
	1

Jun 28, 2012, 03:59 AM	#37
KnightWRX macrumors Pentium Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Quebec, Canada	This would be as pointless if it were for iOS applications. A Mac already has about every application under the sun you could want, and with its full browser and decent screen, web apps make up the bulk of what isn't there (native facebook kinda crap...). __________________ "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." -- Pericles
	1

Jun 28, 2012, 04:00 AM	#38
boomish Banned Join Date: Aug 2008	Great 400,000 inferior clones of what I have on my iPad! and I don't even want those on my Mac.. What is wrong with manufacturers, they sometimes seem so out to sea with what their customers want sometimes, having not long got a new Mac Pro with Lion, is a good example, I mean what were Apple thinking removing so many features, that we have manulaly to replace, I simply don't get it.
	-2

Jun 28, 2012, 04:03 AM	#39
SBlue1 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2008	Did they say why they are making this?
	-1

Jun 28, 2012, 03:01 AM	#26
jlnr macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2010	Nobody spotted WhatsApp? That's something I might have used on the desktop...if most people hadn't jumped ship already. But hey, pretty close to a use case for BlueStacks.
	2

Jun 28, 2012, 03:16 AM	#29
ghettochris macrumors 6502 Join Date: Feb 2008	This I could care less about, but is there any reason apple can't make ios apps run in osx? there is the simulator for developers, and even if it's cpu intensive emulation, the computer should be able to handle it. Not that I'd use it too often, but it just seems stupid you can't double click on an app in itunes and open it.
	1

Jun 28, 2012, 03:35 AM	#33
Dr. McKay macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Belgium, Europe	Does this mean that eventually, we'll be able to run apps from google's play store ?
	0

Jun 28, 2012, 03:40 AM	#35
isoMorpheus Guest Join Date: Jul 2007	Pointless stupidity.
	0

Jun 28, 2012, 04:13 AM	#40
mac1984user macrumors 6502 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: York, UK	This seems pretty cool to me. There are a handful of Android Apps that simply do not exist on iOS that are actually pretty useful (a specific guitar chord app springs to mind, but there are others). Whether or not they will translate well to the MacBook Pro's trackpad is still left to be seen. Either way, it's kind of nice someone is working on this. I'd be quite happy to see the same done for iOS, but THAT will never happen.
	1

Jun 28, 2012, 04:56 AM	#43
CortoMaltese macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2007	Could very occasionally be useful. I see this being useful for a developer, quickly checking compatibility of a cross platform app. And for general users, well perhaps occasionally. There are bound to be at least a handful highly useful android apps without proper equivalent.
	0

Jun 28, 2012, 05:20 AM	#45
stephen1108 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2007	Now when there's a jailbreak tweak for running Android apps, THEN I'll be interested.
	0

Jun 28, 2012, 05:52 AM	#47
KieranDotW macrumors regular Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Canada	A Netflix app might be nice once it's opened up to Google Play, but it still seems pretty inconvenient having to open the emulator just to open another app. What I need is a one-click solution right from the launchpad.
	-1

Jun 28, 2012, 06:01 AM	#49
Dave00 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Pittsburgh	Yeah, this is pretty much a file under "don't care." Now, if an iOS emulator came to Android, that would be a real worry for Apple (though not necessarily for consumers) since that's the one thing that really preserves their market dominance. Even if there's an Android device that I like better, the lack of iOS apps makes it a non-starter. Dave
	-1

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