Hey everybody,
Just moved over to a Mac and diving into the world of emulators.
I’ve recently switched to a Mac and I’m trying to figure out which emulators actually run smoothly on macOS—especially with Apple Silicon (M1/M2). Whether it’s for Android, Windows, iOS, or retro consoles, I’d love to hear what emulators you’ve used successfully.
Looking forward to your recommendations! 
Hii @Shielagaa!,
Welcome to the Mac side of things! Figuring out emulation on Apple Silicon can definitely be a puzzle, but there are some solutions depending on what you need.
Emulating Android on Apple Silicon is still a work in progress, but there are a few solid options:
Android Studio Emulator (ARM-based images) works natively and is suitable for app development and light testing.
PlayCover isn’t an emulator but lets you sideload iOS apps on M1 Macs. Great if the game has an iOS version.
UTM allows you to run full Android OS inside a VM but performance can vary.
From my experience, I’ve had good results testing mobile apps on Android Studio’s emulator, especially when paired with LambdaTest for testing across multiple Android versions without needing extra setup on my Mac. LambdaTest saved me when I needed to validate UI consistency on older Android versions without dealing with emulator lag.
Hope this rundown of Android options helps clarify things a bit! Good luck finding what works best for you. 
Helllooo @Shielagaa 
Adding to the helpful points raised by @madhurima_sil! While Android emulation has its nuances, running Windows is becoming much more capable on the newer Macs.
Running Windows on Mac is more feasible now with:
UTM (free, Apple Silicon compatible)
Parallels Desktop (paid, great performance on M1/M2)
Crossover (for running Windows apps directly without a full OS)
My own experience involves using UTM for casual Windows testing, and I can confirm it works well if configured properly. Parallels certainly offers a more polished user experience, but UTM is a valuable free alternative. If you’re primarily focused on testing Windows browsers or web applications, I’d echo the idea of using LambdaTest – it’s incredibly convenient to instantly spin up any Windows and browser combination without needing a full emulator setup.
Wishing you smooth sailing with your emulation journey! 
Kudos to each contributor including the initiator!!! @Shielagaa, @madhurima_sil , and @akanshasrivastava.1121 ,
Following this informative discussion on emulators for Apple Silicon Macs, I wanted to contribute specifically on the gaming and console emulation front.
Console and Game Emulators That Work on Mac
If you’re into retro gaming or app testing for controllers/UI, there are some excellent reliable options:
OpenEmu – Excellent multi-console emulator for macOS
Dolphin – Great for GameCube and Wii
PPSSPP – PSP emulator that works flawlessly on M1
RetroArch – Covers nearly every classic system
Based on my experience, I use OpenEmu regularly on my M1 Mac for testing controller input and button remapping. It works out of the box and supports a variety of systems. For testing UI behaviors under unusual resolutions, I’ve actually paired this with LambdaTest to ensure consistency across both mobile and web interfaces.
Hope this gives you some good starting points for the gaming side of things! Happy emulating!