Android emulator BlueStacks 5 is here, still on Android 7
- The popular Android emulator BlueStacks has just released the latest version of the software: BlueStacks 5.
- The company says this is a complete rewrite from the ground up, which makes it faster and more stable than previous versions.
- Unfortunately, the system is still emulating Android 7.1.2 Nougat from 2016.
If you want to emulate Android on your PC, few systems are as robust as BlueStacks. With the completely free emulation suite, you can access apps and games directly on your Windows 10 or macOS computer via the Google Play Store.
Connected: 15 best Android emulators for PC and Mac
Today the company is officially launching BlueStacks 5, the latest version of the software. This is a sequel to BlueStacks 4, which was first released in 2018.
According to the company, BS5 offers significantly shorter startup, installation and startup times compared to BS4. This is because the app is a “complete rewrite” of the previous system. Unfortunately, the operating system emulated by the game has not been updated. As with BS4, BS5 is based on Android 7.1.2 Nougat – the 2016 iteration of the Android operating system.
BlueStacks was kind enough to give us a beta version of BlueStacks 5. We gave it a try and have some thoughts on it below. If you want to try BS5 for yourself, you can download the software here. Please note that the US version of the app will not start until February 16, 2021. So you may have to wait to receive it.
BlueStacks 5: get the job done
The first time you open BlueStacks 5, it’s like starting a new Android phone for the first time. The software takes some time to “boot” the phone. You will then need to sign in to the Play Store with your Google account. Once logged in, you can start downloading Android apps which will then appear in your “App Drawer” in BlueStacks.
The way the company develops and promotes the software makes it clear that the main focus is on gaming. In fact, BlueStacks 5 comes pre-installed with custom keyboard / mouse mappings for many popular games. If you want to play a game that doesn’t already have custom mappings, you can always create your own.
However, you don’t have to be a gamer to use BlueStacks 5. Download productivity apps, email clients, and social media apps – whatever you want. Of course, these apps need to work well with Android 7.1.2 Nougat. If not, the user experience may be limited.
See also: The story of Android: the creation of the largest mobile operating system in the world
All in all, my time with the beta of this software has shown that it is slightly better than BlueStacks 4. I think the layout of BS5 is superior and I appreciate that tweaking settings, macros, graphics properties, etc. is much easier.
However, I didn’t feel like it was faster or more stable than BS4. Some of my apps were crashing and the emulated Play Store was trying to get me to buy back games that I had already paid for. Additionally, it is only a matter of time before serious incompatibility issues arise with Nougat as an emulated operating system. Eventually, BlueStacks will have to target a higher version of Android, overtaking BlueStacks 5.
However, if you want to play games or use Android apps on your PC, BlueStacks will do the job. It’s not perfect, but it’s free!
