Recently, we compiled a list of the best Android emulators for Linux systems, and we were disappointed to see that there is no suitable application that can emulate Android in a Linux distribution. That said, we found a great way to run Android on Linux using a virtual machine with Play Store support. In fact, it works better than emulators because of better binary translation and desktop-like features. In this article, we will show you how to run Android on Linux using a virtual machine. On that note, let’s go ahead and learn the steps without any delay.
Run Android on Linux Using Virtual Machine
Before continuing, let me briefly explain how to run Android on Linux. we will use one open source project named android-x86 Connecting ARM-based Android operating system to x86-based systems. Basically, with the ISO image of Android-x86, you can boot Android on any desktop platform, be it Windows or Linux.
You can also install and run the best Android games and apps on your Linux machine. Here are the instructions you need to follow to install Android as a virtual machine on Linux. You can click on the link below to seamlessly switch between the various sections.
Basic setup
1. First of all, Download ISO image of Android 9 from here. Choose a 64-bit or 32-bit ISO image depending on your computer’s architecture. By the way, currently Android 9 is the latest operating system ported for desktop computers.
2. After downloading the Android ISO image, go ahead and Download VirtualBox. You can find the installation file for all Linux distributions here: here. After the download is complete, install VirtualBox on your system.
3. Here, I am running VirtualBox on Ubuntu. Now click “New” in the menu bar and give your virtual machine a name. For example, I entered “Android”. Also, as “Type”Select “Linux” and “Other Linux (64-bit).” under Version. If you have a 32-bit machine, select “Other Linux (32-bit)”. Finally, click “Next”.
4. In the next window, the allocation at least 2GB of RAM. If you have extra RAM, upgrade to 4GB for better performance when using Android.
5. Then, “Create a virtual hard disk Click “Now” and “Create”.
6. Also, “VDI” and click “Next”.
7. “dynamically allocated” and click “Next”.
8. Enter here the amount of storage you want to allocate to Android. The default is 8GB, but You can increase the storage space 16GB or more depending on your usage. Finally, click “Create”.
Configure Android Virtual Machine on Linux
1. Now that you’ve created the virtual machine, it’s time to configure a few things to get the best performance when running Android on Linux. In VirtualBox “system“.
2. Go to the “Processor” tab and at least 2 CPU cores. You can also upgrade to 4 for better gaming performance.
3. Next, switch to the “Acceleration” tab and click “KVM” from the drop-down menu.
4. After doing this, go to the “Display” section and select “Graphics controller” to “VBoxSVGA“. This is the most important step otherwise you will be left with a blank screen. Besides that, increase the Video Memory to at least 64-128MB.
5. Finally, go to “Storage” and click “Null” submenu. Here, click on the disk icon and select “Choose a disk file”.
6. Now, Android ISO image You’re basically done with what you downloaded in the first step. Simply click the “OK” button.
Booting Android in Linux
1. After basic installation and configuration, you are now ready to boot Android on Linux. Simply select “Android” in the left pane and then “Beginning“.
2. Here, “Advanced options“.
3. Now, “Auto_Setup…” and press enter.
4. On the next screen, select “.Yes” and press enter.
5. Finally, “run android-x86” on your Linux machine. Press Enter and Android will start booting to and from your Linux machine.
6. initial setup screen just like Android smartphones.
7. Finally, here you go. Android 9. Running on Linux with performance close to native performance. How great is that? From now on, all you have to do is Press “Start” button in VirtualBox and Android will be ready for you.
9. Delete Android from Linux then right click on the Android VM you created and choose “Uninstall”.
10. Next, click on “Delete all files”. It will remove the virtual hard drive and any associated files that free up all the space on your computer. This much.
Install Android VM on Linux and Enjoy Android Games and Apps
So you can install and run Android on Linux without using an emulator. One of the added benefits of this setup is that it makes it possible to do things you can’t do on your Android smartphone, like taking screenshots on Snapchat, screen recording of protected content, playing games like PUBG, and much more without notifying the sender.
You can even use Android as a desktop with the Taskbar launcher that comes with the Android-x86 ISO image. Anyway, that’s it for us. If you run into any issues, comment below and let us know. We will definitely try to help you.
