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Question
Friday, November 18, 2016 5:31 PM
Hi, I just upgraded from API 23 to API 24, installed all the JDK (1.8) requirements and am able to build my project when targeting the latest API.
The problem?
Well, I don't have any devices in my emulator that are API 24. Simple, I thought, I'll just go to the Visual Studio Emulator for Android and install a new device profile. Hmm, interesting, there's no option for API 24. I've got all the android SDK and build tools installed for that level...
So the question: How can I add API 24 to the drop down for filters, or in general get an API 24 on the list of devices?
Thanks
All replies (9)
Thursday, December 1, 2016 3:49 PM ✅Answered
Visual Studio's Emulators are managed and handled through updates. Unfortunately, they can't get around to those right away when the new API levels update. You can check regularly for them, or use another emulator provider like the default Android ones (You can use Intel accelerated devices through that too which makes it a little more bearable), or something like Genymotion who update their emulators more frequently.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016 8:05 PM
Any ideas on how to get new API levels fro Visual Studio Emulator?
Thursday, December 1, 2016 10:43 PM
Thanks @AlexDunn, that explains it! I was thinking it was something along the lines of how the 'Target Framework' options become available - by installing the SDKs and build tools. Appreciate it!
Tuesday, June 6, 2017 2:35 PM
From Microsoft:
Hello,
This is an automated message. Unfortunately, we have no plans to publish Android images past 4.4. We recommend that you try Google or GenyMotion’s emulator for future images of the Android operating system.
When we first released the Visual Studio Android emulator, the Google emulator was slow, out-of-date, and a significant source of pain for mobile developers. In addition to the great work performed by GenyMotion, the Visual Studio Android Emulator proved that emulators can be fast, productive tools for mobile development.
Since then, Google has responded to developer feedback by increasing their investment in their tools. The next generation Google Android Emulator has closed the feature gap that previously differentiated Visual Studio’s emulator. Google’s emulator has become much faster and more feature rich.
We also know that, for mobile developers, authenticity is key. We believe that Google, as the platform owner, is best positioned to provide ongoing support for new versions of the platform in a way that accurately and authentically reflects the real-world behavior on devices.
For developers like you who’ve come to love and depend on the VS Android Emulator, thank you! We will continue to support in-market platform images according to Visual Studio’s generous support policy. However, Microsoft will no longer produce new Android images for the VS Android Emulator. We consider this a successful project that has come to a natural conclusion.
Happy coding!
Tuesday, August 8, 2017 8:19 AM
This is an automated message. Unfortunately, we have no plans to publish Android images past 4.4. We recommend that you try Google or GenyMotion’s emulator for future images of the Android operating system.
Yeah. Thanks. That would be great if the VM platforms between these and UWP worked together but you cannot install both on the same box (without some crazy reboot scripts)
Wednesday, November 8, 2017 4:24 PM
"no plans to publish Android images past 4.4" - odd because I have VS Emulator for Android images up through 6.0.0. "We consider this a successful project that has come to a natural conclusion" - if this is the case why in the world don't they have a note to this effect at the Emulator home page? All that page indicates is that VS Emulator for Android is the best most awesome solution for developing Android apps.
Monday, January 15, 2018 2:24 PM
Suggest notifying us on the documentation page for the VS Emulator, this would have saved me a great deal of time buying a compatible Hyper-V, doing installs and subsequent research, only to find that the emulator is dead. docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/cross-platform/visual-studio-emulator-for-android
Tuesday, February 13, 2018 10:37 PM
The Android SDK Emulator is appalling. When it works (it's flaky, so that's not often), it's dog slow. This emulator is so much faster and, despite what the 'automated message' might think, API 23 is available but apparently nothing later, so no Nougat or Oreo, but there is Marshmallow.
C'mon Microsoft, surely it's not so hard to add some more API's!
Friday, March 30, 2018 7:05 PM
Why in the world is Microsoft shelving this emulator? They have a great product here! Don't they know it? It's fully Windows compatible, unlike the default glueware coming out of Google and various emulator projects.
What "feature gap" has Google closed? The default Android emulator that comes with the Android SDK does not support AMD-V. Several years later and it still only supports Intel VT-x. And it only does that after you install Intel HAXM! Which in turn disables Hyper-V on your system. And... you are back at square one, with the same customer complaints as 4 years ago! As long as you are not buying Intel chips.
https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Visual-Studio/Connect-event-2014/516
If anyone, it's Intel who have closed the gap, not Google. But of course they have, they support their own products.
As long as there is no AMD-V support in the Google Android emulator on Windows, and AMD does not offer a HAXM equivalent for their chips, Microsoft should continue to develop Visual Studio emulator for Android.
Before attempting to use acceleration, you should first determine if your CPU supports one of the following virtualization extensions technologies:
Intel Virtualization Technology (VT, VT-x, vmx) extensions AMD Virtualization (AMD-V, SVM) extensions (Linux only)
https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-acceleration.html#dependencies
As you can see, if you want to use acceleration and you have an AMD system, you need to develop on Linux, not Windows. The alternative is to use an emulator that supports Microsoft technology, which we know as Hyper-V, and that's what Visual Studio emulator for Android is, but apparently Microsoft has decided to abandon it. So good luck finding an emulator that can leverage AMD virtualization technology under Windows, and that does not cost you a pretty penny.
We told you, you listened... and then you ignored us! Thank you Microsoft! Great way to treat your user base and your customers.