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I'm new to creating Android apps so this is a pain for me as I'm constantly playing with the code. I'm using the eclipse ADT bundle to create a simple app but checking it takes forever as I have to wait for the emulator to load up every time, just to find out a button doesn't work...

Surely there is a quicker way to test my app instead of running that slow emulator every time?

Is there some sort of live view so I can test as I code on the go?

Tom
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SaturnsEye
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  • try GenyMotion emulator, it's free for personal use and pretty damn good. – EpicPandaForce Jun 24 '14 at 11:35
  • yet another question about: [Why is the Android emulator so slow?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1554099/why-is-the-android-emulator-so-slow) – Selvin Jun 24 '14 at 11:37

5 Answers5

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You can keep the emulator open, so the app gets updated when you debug it.

The recommended way is to use an android smartphone to debug on.

Mark Hähnel
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    using an actual devices is the way to go, since simulator is really slow, even while running the app. And it doesnt support some features at all. – Daniel Bo Jun 24 '14 at 11:36
  • I thought you had to close and reopen the emulator to update your code? Also @DanielBo I do have an actual device I'm testing, I'm sending and updated APK everytime to test it. Can I live test straight to my device? – SaturnsEye Jun 24 '14 at 11:46
  • @SaturnsEye I think 'more live' than the automatic updating of the apk on your phone when start debugging via eclipse isn't possible. – Mark Hähnel Jun 24 '14 at 13:06
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    yes, there is nothing else you can do, since the code you edit has to make its way to the devices before you can work with it. But you can however run the app in debug mode, to evaluate code at runtime. – Daniel Bo Jun 25 '14 at 11:44
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You should plugin android devices to your computer. Once ADT finds them, it's easy to test your apps on the go =)

Luciano Rodríguez
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Real device is the quickest, but GenyMotion http://www.genymotion.com/ is really really good. Much quicker than the in-built emulator. I don't know what these guys do, but it's working really well. And it's free for personal use.

EpicPandaForce
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Try using Genymotion. You can download a version for Windows/Mac OS X/Linux after registering. A plugin for Eclipse is also avaliable:

The installation of the plugin can be done by launching Eclipse and going to "Help / Install New Software" menu, then just add a new Update Site with the following URL: http://plugins.genymotion.com/eclipse. Follow the steps indicated by Eclipse.

This emulator is fast and responsive.

GenyMotion allow you to control various sensors of your device including the battery level, signal strength and GPS.

UPDATE: The latest version now also contains camera tools.

Mahdi-bagvand
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use Intel x86 system image and make sure you installed HAXM accelerator in sdk manager (it's on bottom of the extras). This is rellay fast way to test android apps. HAX can install through Intel developer site.

Harsha
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