Open arc welder, attach your apk, and select options. How to run apk android apps with arc welder on mac or pc google's app helps developers bring their is affected by today's announcement that. The App Runtime for Chrome (ARC) tool was initially brought out for Chrome OS, but Google has expanded the development tool's availability to the Chrome browser, allowing the Android apps to run on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, all from within the browser itself.
Android apps are going cross-platform - at least on your nearest PC. Following a test run on Chrome OS in September, Google is bringing its (ARC) project to Linux, Mac OS X and Linux.
Although the project is primarily aimed at developers, it enables just about anyone to run an Android app on her desktop. To do so, users can download from the Google Play store as well as the respective Android APK (Android application package) file they want to run. But there are some limitations. Similar to how you would use a smartphone, only one app can run through the ARC Welder program at a time. Users also have to choose what orientation (landscape or portrait) and form factor (tablet, phone) they want to test the app in. To get around the former, users can hit “download zip,” enable extension developer mode in Chrome, and load the app directly through the browser to run multiple apps at once.
How the apps perform will depend on several factors, including your computer’s specs and graphics card. Non-3D games such as King's “Candy Crush Saga” ran flawlessly on our own tests. However, 3D games such as “Temple Run” suffered lag and other performance issues on computers with older graphics cards. ARC is based on Google Android 4.4. KitKat, so most Android apps with that version should work on the desktop software as well, according to the Verge.
ARC Welder is a that’s designed to be a developer tool, but it comes with a nice bonus: You can use it to install and run dozens upon dozens of Android apps within your browser. Running Android apps in Chrome isn’t exactly a new concept, as Duolingo, Evernote, Vine, and more were previously installable specifically on Chrome OS. But now Google’s App Runtime for Chrome can run most Android apps to some capacity via ARC Welder anywhere a Chrome browser can be installed (including Chrome OS), and developers can also use the extension to test their apps. It’s actually pretty easy to get running, and we’ve put together this quick guide to walk you through the process of using your favorite Android apps on the desktop.
Download an app Next, you need to find an app that you’d like to run in your Chrome browser. You can obtain a.apk app file a variety of ways, but the most common would probably be through a third-party APK file host such as or a service like.
Once you have your.apk app file downloaded to your computer, click the button shown above, navigate to the file on your computer, and click “Open.” For this guide, we’re going to try out Instagram. Once you’ve done this, you should see this screen, labeled “Test your App”: Configure how you want the app to run The next step is to configure how you’d like your app to run. As you can see above, you can choose between “Portrait” and “Landscape” modes, and you can choose whether you’d like the app to run as if it were running in “Tablet” mode or “Phone” mode (and there’s another option to maximize the window, as well). Finally, you can either grant or deny clipboard access. This is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s definitely useful if you’re a developer testing your app and you need to make sure it looks great no matter how it runs.
Launch the app Developers: If you’re a developer, it’s worth noting that this is also where you’ll have the opportunity to download a ZIP file of your app. You can upload your ZIP file to the Chrome Web Store, and Google has laid out some for those that wish to do so. If you’re not a developer, carry on.
The last step in this process is actually launching the app. Once you’ve configured your settings to your liking, click the “Launch App” button. You should now see the app open in a new window and that window should actually use the app icon as its own icon (in the dock if you’re on a Mac, or the Taskbar in Windows).
Amazingly, I found that almost every function of the Instagram app worked perfectly. The app pulls from my computer’s internet connection, I can scroll through the app using two fingers on the trackpad, I can type in any fields I need to, and I can click anywhere that needs to be tapped. Furthermore, the Instagram app even let me pull from my computer’s filesystem to upload photos and could use my computer’s camera for taking photos.
I was genuinely impressed all around. Pick your favorite app and give it a shot. Fair warning: While Instagram seems to be functional all around, a lot of apps are completely broken. If you think that you can just load up ARC Welder and run any Android app in existence, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. For one thing, Google Play Services is completely missing—so most Google apps are going to be rendered useless.
Arc Welder For Chrome
This is only because ARC Welder is in beta, though, so we should expect to see support come at sometime in the future. Also, some apps just don’t work. The perfect example is Netflix, which simply didn’t load at all.