Hacker News AI · 10/20/2026, 00:45:30

Mac.apk Alpha Launches Native Android Runtime for Apple Silicon

78AI Score
Executive Summary

Open-source project Mac.apk has released its Alpha version, enabling native execution of Android apps on Apple Silicon Macs. By implementing the Android application environment directly atop macOS without emulators or VMs, it leverages the Mac's GPU and CPU for native-speed rendering and execution, offering a seamless windowed experience.

SOURCE COVERAGEFull Original Report

Contents10 sections

Mac.apk

Run Android apps natively on Apple Silicon Macs. No emulator, no virtual machine, no Linux underneath.

📱 Which apps work? See the compatibility list →


Alpha. Mac.apk is early software under active development. Some apps run beautifully, some run partially, and some do not run yet. It is stable enough to use and interesting enough to explore, and it improves with every build.

What it is

Mac.apk runs Android apps directly on Apple Silicon. Apps launch as ordinary macOS processes, draw through the Mac's GPU, and execute on the CPU at native speed. They appear in your Dock, get their own windows with a back button next to the traffic lights, resize and rotate like any Mac window, and switch between light and dark along with your Mac.

There is no emulator here, and no virtual machine. Nothing boots Android in the background, there is no Linux kernel running underneath, and nothing is interpreted instruction-by-instruction. Mac.apk implements the Android application environment on top of macOS directly. How it works →

How an Android app runs on your Mac: the app code, native code and resources in an APK go through Mac.apk and come out as a real Mac app

📖 Read the wiki →

System requirements

macOS 26.4 (Tahoe) or newerRequired. macOS 27 works from v1.0.1702
Apple SiliconAny Apple Silicon Mac, including MacBook Neo. Intel Macs are not supported
Disk~280 MB for Mac.apk. Each installed app takes roughly 1.5 to 3 times its APK size

Quick start

  1. Download the disk image from the Releases page and drag Mac.apk into Applications. It is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens normally.
  2. Open Mac.apk and click Install next to Runtime: in the top left.
  3. Open Settings (the gear), find File types, click Make Default, and approve the macOS prompt.
  4. Double-click any .apk (or .apkm, .xapk, .apks, .apkx), or drag it onto the Mac.apk window.

Installing an Android app in four steps: pick an app, confirm, it becomes a Mac app, first launch

The first launch of any app is slow (up to a minute for a large one) while Mac.apk prepares it. Later launches are fast. Full details, updating, and the app stores are in the Installation and App stores pages.

[!WARNING] An Android app's saved data lives inside its own .app. Dragging the app to the Trash deletes its saves; uninstall from the Mac.apk control panel instead. More →

Known issues in v1.0.2237

See Known issues for this release, and the compatibility list for every app tested by hand.

Reporting problems

Send the Mac.apk version, your macOS version, the app and where you got it, what happened, and the app's log from ~/Library/Logs/macapk/ to [email protected] or open an issue. Look the log over before posting it publicly. What to include →

Source code

Everything that makes Mac.apk work is in this repository: the Android framework reimplementation, the native runtime, the arm64 loader and Bionic shim, the ARM32 recompiler and the macOS app. BUILDING.md explains how to build it, and CONTRIBUTING.md how to send a fix. App reports are just as useful as code.

Developers and publishers

Mac.apk serves no ads and supports no in-app purchases, by design. If you publish an app that runs on Mac.apk and want to talk about a partnership, or would rather it not run here, email [email protected]. Details →

License

Mac.apk is open source under the GNU AGPL v3.0, and a commercial license is available for companies that want to ship or offer it without the AGPL's terms. Using the official app is free. Details: COMMERCIAL.md. The Mac.apk name and logo are covered separately in TRADEMARKS.md.

(注:更多技术实现细节与完整 API 文档请查阅原项目 README)