BlueStacks beta for Mac brings 750,000+ Android apps to OS X

Android app player BlueStacks has launched for Mac, with a new beta allowing OS X users to run software intended for Android phones and tablets on their iMac, MacBook Pro, or other Apple kit. The freshly released beta – which follows a similar Windows version released earlier this year - means more than 750,000 Android titles can now be run on OS X, a huge increase from the sparse number of compatible titles from June's alpha release for Mac.

BlueStacks' software basically works as a virtualization engine for Android titles, allowing them to be run as if native code. So far, adoption of that has primarily been from the PC side, with BlueStacks inking deals with ASUS, with Qualcomm, and with AMD.

Those agreements will see BlueStacks' technology used to expand the number of titles available for Windows users, though potentially rebranded in the process. ASUS, for instance, calls the system ASUS@Vibe, while AMD's version is the AMD AppZone Player.

Apple is far less likely to adopt BlueStacks with equal enthusiasm, but Mac owners keen to try out alternative titles (as well as developers looking to code for Android, Windows, and OS X users) may well make up the difference. You can download the BlueStacks AppPlayer beta for Mac here.

[via TechCrunch]