Native Mobile Emulator System

Question

Native Mobile Emulator System

2

Hello Folks,

I've been working for a company that recently started using the Mendix development tool. We are facing some challenges regarding the development of native applications. On this subject, I would like to ask the community for help by sharing experiences.

Which mobile device emulator do you use on your computers for native development?

In my situation, it has been a challenge to find an emulator. Most device emulators are built for mobile games. The IT security department of my company has not authorized the use of such emulators.

Posted 2024-08-20

Rafael Ponzoni

2 comments

Hello Rafael,

From my experience, the only emulator I recommend is the Android Studio Emulator. I ignore all the other emulators used for games, since they can also install bloatware.

Yes, it is a heavy software and require good machine, but it's worthy. You can emulate fingerprints logins, scan of qrcodes, GPS, test different versions of Android, ... which I believe is more difficult using android emulators such as bluestacks.

You need to install with Android Studio, via Device Manager, but you can start only the Android Emulator if you wish, using a command line:

// to list the virtual devices
C:\programs\Android\SDK\tools\emulator.exe -list-avds 
> Pixel_3a_API_34_extension_level_7_x86_64

// to run an available virtual device
C:\programs\Android\SDK\tools\emulator -avd Pixel_5_API_34

Better than this, you can avoid emulators at all, using your own Android device attached via USB and using a mirror software like scrcpy.

Created 2024-08-20

Vinicius Strugata Ambrosio

Hey Rafael,

You are definitely right, I used bluestacks for a while because the setup was quick but it is limited due to it being targeted at gaming. Nothing I have found beats the emulator in android studio.

You can customize any number of emulator configurations using different versions of android and device hardware. You also get a direct feed of the emulators log console, which is really helpful.

It is super capable but just takes some setup time and is a bit of a resource hog.

EDIT:

This mendix documentation is helpful if you plan to build your app locally. But you can also configure a play store enabled emulator(not all software versions of the emulator support play store) and download the make it native app that way

Created 2024-08-20

Danny Kumpf

Vinicius Strugata Ambrosio · Answer 1 · 2024-08-22

Hello Rafael, Glad I could help! In order to use Make it Native 10, ensure that the AVD you created has the Play Store, so that you can configure your Google account and download Make it Native 10 from the PlayStore. https://developer.android.com/studio/run/managing-avds#hardware-profile You can start your AVD inside Android Studio, or better via command line as in the previous response. Since the AVD is virtualized inside your computer, it shares also its network.

Rafael Ponzoni · Answer 2 · 2024-08-22

Vinicius, thank you!! You're awesome. One last question. I installed Android Studio and created an AVD for testing. How do I connect the AVD to the same network as the computer? Should the network appear automatically on the device, or do I need to configure it ? I'm trying to download Make it Native 10 from the Play Store and install on the AVD.

Vinicius Strugata Ambrosio · Answer 3 · 2024-08-21

Hello Rafael 1) Yes, it works exactly as a physical Android device. Since it runs on your windows machine, it also shares the network. There are a plenty of android images available, some with PlayStore, some without. Since I usually build my custom Make it Native, I almost never use images with playstore 2) Regarding the computer hardware, the more the better, but in your case these specs are enough. I was using a machine with similar specs until last year without major issues.

Rafael Ponzoni · Answer 4 · 2024-08-20

Thank for your help, Vinicius! About Android Studio (AVD): 1. Would it work the same way as a regular Android device ? I mean I need to connect to the same network as the computer, open the Play Store, download Make it Native, and enter the computer’s IP address? 2. Do you think that a computer with the setup (16GB RAM, 512gb SSD, i5 12ºgen) would be enough to emulate any android devices?

Danny Kumpf · Answer 5 · 2024-08-20

I updated my comment with a link to relevant documentation!

Rafael Ponzoni · Answer 6 · 2024-08-20

Thank for your help, Danny! I'll search more about Android Studio. Do you have any content to share on this subject? How can I setup android studio correctly?