What Are Android Emulators? To emulate means to imitate or to match. If you apply this definition to operating systems, you’ll get the conce...
What Are Android Emulators?
To emulate means to imitate or to match. If you apply this definition to operating systems, you’ll get the concept behind emulators right away. In the tech world, an emulator’s sole purpose is to house a pocket version of a specific system inside a program so that you could open it on another system.
This idea forever changed the gaming industry because it enabled old gaming consoles to be immortalized. Case in point, nowadays, you could simply load a PS1 emulator in order to play the classics that you grew up with. Not only that, but emulators are now also being used to load mobile operating systems onto PCs.
Android’s diversity and flexibility as a mobile operating system have made it a perfect target for emulator developers. Numerous Android emulators are racing to the top to be recognized as the best of their kind. However, leading the charge are two programs: BlueStacks and Nox.
BlueStacks
System Requirements
The latest version of BlueStacks can run on both Windows and Mac. For Windows PCs, anything from Windows 7 to the latest OS would be able to support the software. For the processor requirement, any Intel or AMD processor would do. Of course, the better the processor, the better the performance of the game would be. For the memory, 2 GB of RAM and 5 GB of free disk space are the minima. For the best results, you should have 8 GB of RAM and an SSD. Lastly, all graphic drivers must be up to date.
On the other hand, the minimum OS required of Macs is OS Sierra. Once again, any Intel or AMD Dual-Core Processor would do the job just fine. 4 GB of RAM and 8 GB of disk space are the minimum memory requirements. Anything better than the requirements mentioned would result in better performance.
Gaming Performance
BlueStacks’ latest version is said to be six times faster than any mobile device on the market. Although this is a bold claim, everybody has a reason to believe that this legendary Android emulator is in it again for their 4th installment.
Games can be downloaded to your BlueStacks dashboard from the Play Store, but APKs can also be used. As long as the game can be played on an Android device, it could be played on BlueStacks. Although the overall gaming performance will depend on your device’s specifications, BlueStacks still has a comparable edge against other emulators because of its patented LayerCake technology.
Nox
System Requirements
Nox is known for being more robust than BlueStacks. In fact, it is so light that even a Windows XP PC could run it. It is also supported by Windows Vista and every version that comes after that. For the CPU requirement, any Intel or AMD dual-core processor should be enough. Again, the better the CPU, the better the performance.
This is a very light application. In fact, one of the biggest reasons why it’s standing above other emulators is because of its memory requirement. In order to run the program, your PC must have a minimum of 1.5 GB RAM and at least 3 GB of storage. Just imagine what you could do with Nox using an 8 GB RAM and an SSD.
Nox’s Mac version is a totally different build from its Windows version. That’s because Nox was primarily made from and for Windows. The Mac version was released a year after Nox’s first Windows launch. To run it, you should have Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or higher.
Gaming Performance
Don’t let Nox’s small memory requirement discourage you from running high FPS games because it sure can handle it. In fact, you can even play up to four games simultaneously with multi-instances – a feature that will be discussed more in detail later.
Games come in preloaded with Nox, and if you want to check out what mobile games the program will come with, you can check out their official website. It is also possible to load more games via APK files. Nox also supports keypad and gamepad mapping. Customizing graphics and frame rates can also be done in the settings.
Comparison: BlueStacks vs. Nox
Here are a head-to-head comparison and discussion of BlueStacks vs. Nox in four categories: performance, user-interface, security, and legality.
Performance
The only best way to go about performance comparisons is to check out the latest benchmark scores of the device or program. Benchmarking scores for Android emulators like BlueStacks and Nox are computed by adding the scores of each program’s performances in CPU/RAM usage, FPS, loading time, and app compatibility.
As per the latest benchmarking results, BlueStacks 4 outperforms Nox in every category. However, this isn’t the end for Nox since it is a young program that has a good base. Don’t be surprised if the whole BlueStacks vs. Nox debate swings in the favor of the latter soon. According to users, Nox feels lighter and faster when you start using it.
User Interface
BlueStacks packs in more features and it has a more elaborate user interface. As mentioned earlier, BlueStacks is 100 MB larger and it would require you to have at least 2 GB of RAM instead of Nox’s minimum requirement of 1 GB. A discrepancy was imminent between them, and it just so happens that BlueStacks could do more with what it requires.
However, the fact is that NoxPlayer is lighter and simpler. Compared to BlueStacks, Nox is more minimalist and, naturally, more user-friendly. The verdict for the BlueStacks vs. Nox argument when it comes to the user interface would ultimately depend on the user.
Security
This one is a little tricky. Android emulators are not exactly fortresses when it comes to security. Everybody knows that the Android OS is loose when it comes to restrictions. People can easily give their permission and companies can easily take advantage of that. Apart from that, Android emulators use a bootleg version of Android so that may not be a good sign as well, security-wise.
Before you install BlueStacks, you would need to disable your firewall or defender first. This raises the question, is BlueStacks safe to use? On the other hand, Nox would not require you to disable any security feature prior to installing the app. With that, for the security department of the BlueStacks vs. Nox debate, Nox takes the win.
Legality
Again, this is another tricky thing to discuss. On one hand, Android emulators do not run the official version of Android and that’s because emulators are not officially under the jurisdiction of the said OS. Despite that, emulators are socially accepted and are made by gigantic teams of developers.
In that sense, Android emulators are both illegal and legal. BlueStacks and Nox are not exempted from this. Like any other emulator, these two do not have any form of special permission to operate legally. However, it is worth noting that BlueStacks is backed by companies such as Samsung and AMD, while Nox is backed by game developers such as Tencent.
BlueStacks vs. Nox: Final Verdict
Finally, the moment of truth.
Judging the whole BlueStacks vs. Nox is not easy at all. BlueStacks is a robust and reliable Android emulator that has been serving the people for almost ten years now. It has gained public trust for its performance despite the security cracks in it. On the other hand, Nox is a challenger to the throne that is quickly catching up to the success of BlueStacks. Nox is lighter and it is perfect for those who are not very meticulous about customization.
In the end, BlueStacks is still the logical option. It’s literally years ahead of Nox in terms of development and it would be hard to see its innovative nature to go away. Although Nox is catching up with its minimalistic approach to mobile gaming, BlueStacks is still the one to beat.
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