BlueStacks App Player for Mac in beta: run Android apps on Mac

Want to run over 750,000 Android apps on your favorite Mac? [Hey, it takes all kinds. --Ed.] BlueStacks is a startup that figured out a way to run Android apps on Windows machines through its App Player. The company released an alpha version of App Player for Mac in June, and today announced that it is releasing the Mac software into beta. A free download of the beta is available on the BlueStacks website.

During the alpha release, it was only possible to run a few apps -- Fruit Ninja and Pulse, for example -- but the new release should allow any Android application to run on a Mac. BlueStacks is getting a huge following in the PC world, with over 5.3 million installations and partnerships with some chipmakers and manufacturers to pre-install App Player on machines.

BlueStacks VP of Business Development John Gargiulo discussed the Mac beta release with blogger Sarah Perez at our sister site TechCrunch, and told her that the App Player for Mac release means that the popular news app Flipboard can now be run on the Mac for the first time.

BlueStacks App Player might make development for Android more attractive to mobile developers, as their apps will also run without modification on all Macs and PCs. Developers can also offer in-app purchases without having to share a percentage with Apple.

Gargiulo says that the company is working hard to add a new App Discovery system to the Mac App Player to make it easier for users to find their favorite apps. The beta currently has no end date and will "run as long as it takes."