In June 2018 we reviewed the notable progress of the Android-x86 project that is responsible for developing and compiling builds of Android compatible with conventional computers. The Release Candidate 1 of Android 8.1 looked very promising, and it was only a matter of time before the first stable ISO image arrived. Well... the wait stretched a bit longer than expected, but it's here. All you need to install Android Oreo 8.1 on your PC is a compatible computer and a little space, but don't forget that you can run it in Live mode if you prefer to evaluate it first.
Now, why do we insist on this? What's the idea of Android on PC? First, it would be a big mistake to ignore the impressive number of applications available in that ecosystem. Although those apps were designed for touch interaction and small screens, recent versions of Android have become more receptive to the keyboard/mouse combo. And second, Android is much lighter than Windows will ever be. With 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage, Android has abundant resources to stretch its legs, while Windows 10 cannot avoid classic excesses. Beyond the effort made by parallel projects, Android-x86 remains our best bet, and if you want to know how to install Android Oreo 8.1 on your PC, you must start there.
Android Oreo 8.1 on your PC
The fastest and simplest method to evaluate the compatibility of Android Oreo 8.1 on your PC is by running the ISO image in Live mode. On the other hand, installation on a local medium brings some details. If you are going to use VirtualBox, it is recommended to create a manual partition occupying all the space, not use GPT, format in ext4, and enable GRUB. If you reach Android's internal configuration phase (region, time, email), then the chances are very good. The stable version of Android Oreo 8.1 for PC will ask us if we want to activate the taskbar module (Taskbar). That is up to each user, but personally I think it gives Oreo a more defined desktop profile with a Windows-like start menu.
As expected, Google will insist at every step that you configure a compatible account if you don't do it at the beginning. The Chrome browser works quite well, but video acceleration and audio playback will depend on how well Oreo gets along with the present hardware. The developers announced extensive improvements in OpenGL acceleration, codec support on Intel platforms, and an experimental Vulkan module for certain graphics cards. To finish, the official Android-x86 site offers two images in 32 and 64 bits. Our tests are based on the x64 image, but don't hesitate to use both and see which one responds better.
Official site and download: Click here
