Owning a Mac computer has one main downside: these devices are less competitive in terms of gaming. This is not necessarily because they can’t handle gaming, but because not as many developers support macOS. Things are getting better, though. More PC games are starting to come to macOS, and cloud gaming has definitely improved game availability.
If you’ve been hoping to play more mobile games on your Mac, now there’s a new option thanks to BlueStacks, the leading name in Android game emulators and cloud gaming platforms. BlueStacks Air brings the full BlueStacks for Mac experience to life, and unlike many other Mac-based emulators, it’s entirely free!
The newly released Android emulator for macOS is specifically optimized to work with Mac computers running Apple M series processors. This will enhance your gaming experience in multiple ways. Let’s go over them together.
A bit on Apple silicon optimization
BlueStacks Air is optimized to work natively with all Apple Silicon Mac systems. This includes Macs powered by the M1, M2, M3, and the new M4 processors, along with their variations. In practice, this will translate to improved performance compared to solutions that are not optimized for Arm-based chips. The gameplay will be more responsive, smooth, and seamless.
It takes full advantage of the Retina Display
One of Apple’s strengths is the Retina Display, at least when it comes to laptops. BlueStacks Air is optimized to take full advantage of the higher resolutions and provide maximum image quality. This is a really welcomed enhancement, as gaming is all about getting the best visuals.
Oliver Cragg / Android Authority
Apple-optimized controls
Where there is a will, there is a way. There are ways to play games on a Mac, even if not natively. The issue with this is that controls are often a bit wonky or need some tinkering to get them just right. This won’t be an issue with BlueStacks Air.
The team has pre-configured the controls to work best with Mac keyboards and trackpads. This will make for a seamless experience from the get-go.
So, how is the game library?
Now that you know how BlueStacks Air can benefit Apple computer users, it’s time to get gaming. You’ll be glad to learn BlueStacks has a vast library of over 2M+ million apps, thanks to access to the Google Play Store. Additionally, you can also use the BlueStacks store, and even earn rewards while you game. As if that wasn’t enough, you can even sideload apps to BlueStacks using APK files. In fact, BlueStacks isn’t exclusive to games, as you can also run other Android apps with it.
If you want to try BlueStacks Air, it’s technically in beta, so you might encounter some bugs or hiccups here and there. That said, I’ve been testing it for a few hours and have yet to encounter any issues. You can download BlueStacks Air by clicking on the button below!
