The following table compares the tasks you can perform using the emulator UI, AVD Manager, commonly used command-line startup options, and the Emulator Console. In the AVD Manager, you can set hardware profile and AVD properties.
The table compares features that are similar, but not necessarily with identical functionality, between different emulator tools.
Although not listed in the table, the adb utility also supports commands for interacting with virtual devices, as described in Android Debug Bridge. For example, you can install an app on a virtual device by using Android Studio, the emulator UI, or adb. You can copy a file to a virtual device using the emulator UI or adb, and copy a file from a virtual device using adb.
Remember that to use certain features of the emulator with your apps, you need
to enable them through various <uses-feature>
elements and manifest
permission constants, just as you would if you ran them on a hardware
device.
Table 4. Comparison of Android Emulator tools
| User interface control | Hardware profile property | AVD property | Command-line startup option | Console command |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Device hardware | ||||
| Device type: Phone/Tablet, Wear OS, Android TV | ||||
| Back, Home, Overview, Menu | Input: Has Hardware Buttons (Back/Home/Menu) | |||
| Settings: Send keyboard shortcuts to | Input: Has Hardware Keyboard | Keyboard Input | ||
Directional Pad |
Navigation Style: None, D-pad, Trackball, Wheel | |||
| Zoom Mode | ||||
| Battery | power command
|
|||
| Phone | gsm and sms send commands
|
|||
| Rotate | Supported Device States | Startup: Orientation | rotate command
|
|
| Camera | Camera
(can choose webcam) |
-camera-back-camera-front-webcam-list
|
||
Take Screenshot Settings: Screenshot save location |
||||
| Orientation
Location Virtual sensors |
Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, GPS, Proximity Sensor | geo command
|
||
| Fingerprint | finger command
|
|||
| Volume | -noaudio
|
|||
event command
|
||||
| Disk Images and Memory | ||||
| Memory and Storage: SD Card | -sdcard
|
|||
| Memory and Storage: Internal Storage | ||||
| RAM | Memory and Storage: RAM | -memory
|
||
| Memory and Storage: VM Heap | vm command
|
|||
| In the Your Virtual Devices page of the AVD Manager, right-click an AVD and select Wipe Data. | -wipe-data
|
|||
| Network | ||||
network status command
|
||||
-dns-server
|
||||
-http-proxy
|
||||
| Network: Latency | -netdelay
|
network delay command
|
||
-netfast
|
||||
| Cellular: Network Type | Network: Speed | -netspeed
|
network speed command
|
|
| Voice status Data status |
gsm command
|
|||
| Signal strength | ||||
| Settings: Use detected ADB location | -port
|
|||
redir command
|
||||
-tcpdump
|
network capture start and network capture stop
commands
|
|||
| System | ||||
| In the System Image page of the AVD Manager, select a system image capable of VM acceleration. | -accel-accel-check-no-accel
|
|||
| Multi-Core CPU | ||||
-engine
|
||||
| Emulated Performance: Graphics — hardware, software, or auto | -gpu
|
|||
-nojni
|
||||
-selinux {disabled|permissive}
|
||||
-timezone
|
||||
-version
|
||||
| UI | ||||
| Settings: Emulator window theme | ||||
| Resize | Screen Size and
Screen Resolution |
window command
|
||
| Round | ||||
-no-boot-anim
|
||||
| Default Skin | Device Frame and
Custom Skin Definition |
|||
-screen {touch|multi-touch|no-touch}
|
||||
| Debug | ||||
-debug
tags-debug-tag-debug-no-tag
|
||||
-logcat
|
||||
-show-kernel
|
||||
-verbose
|
||||