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Mobile Technology

BlueStacks delivers 750,000 Android apps to Microsoft's Surface Pro

By Will Shanklin
February 12, 2013
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BlueStacks emulates thousands of Android apps on Windows 8 and the Surface Pro
BlueStacks emulates thousands of Android apps on Windows 8 and the Surface Pro

Microsoft’s Surface Pro runs millions of desktop Windows apps. Few of those apps, though, were designed for touch. Though Microsoft is pitching the device to professionals, sometimes even the pros like to get their Temple Run on. Enter Android emulator BlueStacks, which brings over 750,000 mobile apps to the Surface Pro.

BlueStacks’ app player has been available for Mac OS X and Windows for over a year. However, this is the first version that's optimized specifically for Windows 8 and the Surface Pro. It offers a Metro-like full-screen mode for apps, and a Charms menu that activates with an edge-swipe. Android apps will (almost) run like native Windows 8 apps.

With BlueStacks, many apps that are currently MIA on Windows 8 are now fair game. Think Flipboard, Pinterest, Instagram, Pocket, and Instapaper. BlueStacks can potentially fill a gaping hole in Surface’s software library, as the Windows Store gradually builds a collection of touch-friendly apps.

Limits

Emulated software, though, often delivers a compromised experience. On other platforms, the BlueStacks app player has been prone to lag and crashing (it’s labelled as beta software). Don't be surprised to see more of the same on the Surface-optimized version.

Additionally, most of the Android apps available in BlueStacks are blown-up phone apps: hardly ideal for Surface’s spacious 10.6-inch screen.

BlueStacks also doesn’t run on Surface Pro’s baby brother, Surface with Windows RT. Surface RT, whose software situation is much more dire than Surface Pro (it only runs Windows Store apps) is left out of the Android fun.

Owners of Surface Pro – and other Windows 8 devices – who want to try out the emulator can snag BlueStacks at the source link below.

Source: BlueStacks via Techcrunch, Paul Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows

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Mobile TechnologyAndroidWindows 8Microsoft Surface
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Will Shanklin
Will Shanklin is New Atlas' VR and Mobile Editor, and has been part of the team since 2012. He covers a broad range of consumer tech, including virtual reality hardware and software, smartphones, tablets, laptops and smartwatches.
6 comments
Michael Mantion
ORRRRR you could just get an android and save hundreds of dollars and not have to deal with MS software at all.
Rafael Kireyev
This is a very big deal, which is certainly useful for the users.
Ti Apps
Thanks for sharing this great news. It is really very helpful for me. I will share this with my friends also.
pmshah
Just wondering if this might allow running them on normal desktop PCs. Would be great boon to people like me who could than use viber to connect with family members spread across the globe.
Gregg Eshelman
BlueStacks has a version for all Windows versions back to XP.
However, there's one HIGHLY ANNOYING "feature", by default BlueStacks launches at Windows startup and the only way to make it not do that is to edit the Run data in the Registry because there's no configuration option I could find to disable it.
Rann Xeroxx
I test client hardware at work and I recently tested the Surface RT for a few weeks. I first missed a few apps that it did not have yet in the store but because the Windows 10 browser is so good on it (it comes with embedded flashplayer), the web version of those apps fully replaced the apps themselves. And it is a true multi-tasking device and the gestures became instinct once you learned them.
Can't say that I really missed many of the Android or Apple apps.
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