Overview
Reviewing your apps on iOS and Android is key to delivering an incredible experience to your guests. Not everyone has access to two different types of phones, so using an emulator can be useful for getting full visibility. For Android testing, we recommend using Bluestacks for Windows and Mac (Intel Chip) and Android Studio for those running Mac (M1 Chip).
What's an emulator?
An emulator is a hardware or software that enables one computer system to behave like another. Emulators are commonly used to test software on different operating systems or simulate hardware for development purposes, replicating the behavior of the original hardware. Let's see an example:
Toast POS (Point of Sale) is a popular restaurant management system and POS software. It is primarily designed for Android devices, including Toast Go handheld devices and Toast Flex terminals. The software is not available as a native iOS app, so you can download a Toast POS emulator on an Apple device to test your ordering system on your MAC computer or iOS phone.
Android Emulator: Android Studio (Mac M1 Chip)
To install Android Studio,
Select Download Android Studio
Select Agree to the Terms and Conditions
Select Mac with Apple M1 Chip
Find and open the downloaded Android Studio file
Drag the Android Studio logo over to the Applications folder to install
When accepting the terms, be sure to select and accept both licenses: android-sdk-license and android-sdk-arm-db1-license
Select the Finish button
Select Android Studio Application
Next, select the More Actions dropdown
Select Virtual Device Manager
Select the Create Device button
Select Phone
Choose a Device Type. We recommend selecting one with the Play Store logo for future app update downloads
Select the Next button
Next, use the recommended API level
Select the Next button. This will be pre-selected
If the recommended API has a download icon next to it, that image isn't currently installed on your development machine:
Select the Finish button
Select the Play Icon to boot your new device!
Connect with your delivery manager to receive your APK. For clients who are already live on the Google Play App Store, you can simply search for your app
Once you have received your APK file, simply drag and drop the APK of the app you are looking to test onto the opened Android Emulator. Grab from the bottom of the emulator screen to access the newly downloaded APK and click your new App.
Android Emulator - BlueStacks (Windows & Mac Intel Chip)
Go to https://www.bluestacks.com/download.html to download Bluestacks
Select Download BlueStacks to get the latest version of the app player
Launch the installer once it's done downloading
Select the Open button when installation is complete
Connect with your delivery manager to get the new APK. For clients who are already live on the Google Play App Store, you can simply search for your app
Once you have received your APK file let's add it to the emulator. Begin by opening the newly downloaded BlueStacks app on the desktop of your computer
When the screen opens, select the files icon at the bottom left-hand corner of the window
When a new window pops up, simply drag and drop the app APK you are looking to test onto BlueStacks. While the screen is loading, it will show ads. This is expected behavior
Once the device screen loads, drag and drop the APK to the home screen of the app. This will trigger the import. If you don't see the app appear, try closing and reopening the emulator
Once the apps are in place, they will appear on the home screen as shown below
You may need to adjust the screen resolution on BlueStacks to view certain areas of the Toast App properly. To do this, follow these articles:
Locating the Most Recent Android Build on Google Play Console
Once you have downloaded the Bluestacks emulator, follow the video below on how to get a live app into your emulator for testing.
Toast APK Installation
IMPORTANT NOTE: You must have either Bluestacks or Android Studio installed to run the Toast APK
To access the Toast Emulator, download this on your device http://toasttab.com/link/apk
Once the download is completed, drag and drop the file onto your Emulator Screen to access the Toast POS Ordering UI.
Limitations
Bluestacks is not supported on any Mac running the M1 Chip
As of 11/17/23 - Bluestacks X & Bluestacks 4 are not supported on MacOS Sonoma 14.0.