Mac Android SubsystemAndroid apps, at home on your Mac.
Run Android apps on your Mac as if they were made for it. Every Android app gets its own window, its own Dock icon and a place in Launchpad, while Android itself runs quietly in the background, ready the moment you need it.
Free and open source · Apple silicon · macOS 15 or later
Android, translated into Mac.
Android runs in a lightweight virtual machine you never see. What you see are your apps, behaving the way Mac apps do.
Not an emulator window. Your apps.
A window per app
Each app gets its own Android display streamed into its own Mac window. Resize it and the app re-lays itself out like on a tablet.
Install by double-click
Open an .apk, .apks or .xapk and it installs, appears in Launchpad and opens. Apps installed inside Android show up too.
Notifications
Android notifications land in Notification Centre. Click one and the app opens in its window.
Copy and paste
Copy in Android, paste on the Mac, and the other way around. Your Mac keyboard and layout just work.
Game controllers
Connect an Xbox, PlayStation or Switch controller to your Mac and Android games pick it up automatically.
Privacy controls
See which apps asked for your camera, microphone, location, contacts and more, and turn access on or off in Settings › Privacy, like on your Mac.
Open source
GPLv3, built on LineageOS, QEMU and scrcpy. No account, no Google services, nothing leaves your Mac.
As frugal or as fast as you need.
Choose how much of your Mac Android may use. Change it any time from the menu bar; it applies live, without restarting Android.
Smart
Stays ready in the background and adapts all the time.
- No app openSaving power, still ready to open apps instantly
- App in frontFull speed on power, Balanced on battery
- Mac needs itSaving power while other apps are busy, memory is tight, the battery is low, Low Power Mode is on or the Mac runs hot
Starts with your Mac. Opens apps instantly.
Turn on Always Ready and the Subsystem starts when you log in and keeps Android running in the background, so an Android app opens as fast as any Mac app. In Smart mode Android uses almost nothing while it waits, and gets out of the way whenever your Mac is busy.
- Lives in the menu bar: status, modes, your apps, settings and Quit.
- Prefer it lighter? As needed starts Android only when you open an app and turns it off when you're done. In Power Saver mode, Android never runs without an app open.
- Quitting turns Android off cleanly.
Plug in a controller. Play.
Any controller your Mac recognises (Xbox, PlayStation DualSense and DualShock, Switch Pro, MFi) shows up in Android as a standard gamepad that every Android game understands. No setup, no button mapping.
- Sticks, analog triggers, d-pad and every button.
- Up to eight controllers for local multiplayer.
- The controller drives whichever Android window is in front.
Four steps, about five minutes.
Install
Open the DMG and drag Mac Android Subsystem to Applications.
Set up Android
It downloads Android for you. Tick Always Ready if you want apps to open instantly.
Add apps
Double-click APKs, or get F-Droid and install from there.
Open them
From Launchpad, Spotlight or the Dock, like any other app.
What works today.
An early release. This table is kept up to date.
| Feature | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Apps in their own resizable windows | Works | Android virtual displays via scrcpy 5. |
| Launchpad, Spotlight, Dock, ⌘-Tab | Works | One small launcher per Android app. |
| APK, APKS, XAPK installs | Works | Double-click, drag and drop, or F-Droid. |
| Performance modes and Always Ready | Works | Core hotplug needs the project's own Android image. |
| Game controllers | Works | Any controller macOS supports, as a standard Android gamepad. |
| Automatic storage clean-up | Works | Downloads, leftovers, logs, Android's unused space. |
| Notifications, clipboard, sound | Works | Microphone off unless you allow it. |
| 3D graphics acceleration | Software | Android draws on the CPU for now; 3D games run slower than they could. |
| Multi-touch gestures (pinch, rotate) | Planned | Clicks, drags and scrolling work. |
| Google Play and Google services | No | Google doesn't license them for this. |
| Intel Macs, iPhone, iPad | No | Needs Apple silicon and macOS. |
Good to know.
Who makes it?
It's an independent, open-source project. It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Google, Apple or LineageOS.
Can I use Google Play?
Not out of the box. The Android image has no Google apps, so you install apps as APKs or from F-Droid. Apps that require Google Play services may not work.
Does it drain my battery?
In Power Saver mode Android only runs while an Android app is open, and turns off 30 seconds after you close the last one. Smart mode keeps Android ready, but on the efficiency cores with most of its memory handed back to macOS whenever no Android app is in front, and it drops to power saving whenever the battery is low or other apps need your Mac.
Will it fill up my disk?
It cleans up after itself: finished downloads, install leftovers, old images and logs go automatically, and space Android frees is given back to your Mac. When your Mac is low on space it also clears Android apps' caches and compacts Android's disks. Settings › Storage shows what it uses.
Which controllers work?
Anything macOS's Game Controller framework supports: Xbox Wireless, PlayStation DualSense and DualShock 4, Nintendo Switch Pro and MFi controllers. Pair them in System Settings › Bluetooth.
Will it run on my Intel Mac, iPhone or iPad?
No. It needs Apple silicon for the hypervisor, and iOS doesn't allow apps to run virtual machines like this.
Can developers use it?
Yes. Turn on Developer mode and connect with adb connect 127.0.0.1:58526. Android Studio sees it like a device.
Bring your Android apps to the Mac.
Free and open source. Apple silicon, macOS 15 or later.