Your job doesn't end with ensuring your site runs great across Chrome and Android. Even though Device Mode can simulate a range of other devices like iPhones, we encourage you to check out other browsers solutions for emulation.
This extension one-click resizes your window to the typical size of a fullscreen Chromebook. It is very simple. A quick look at how to enable Chrome's useful new Emulation Mode to emulate dozens of mobile devices.
TL;DR
When you don’t have a particular device, or want to do a spot check on something, the best option is to emulate the device right inside your browser.
Device emulators and simulators let you mimic your development site on a range of devices from your workstation.
Cloud-based emulators let you automate unit tests for your site across different platforms.
Browser emulators
Browser emulators are great for testing a site's responsiveness, but they don’temulate differences in API, CSS support, and certain behaviors that you'd seeon a mobile browser. Test your site on browsers running on real devices to becertain everything behaves as expected.
Firefox' Responsive Design View
Firefox has a responsive design viewthat encourages you to stop thinking in terms of specific devices and insteadexplore how your design changes at common screen sizes or your own size bydragging the edges.
Edge's F12 Emulation
To emulate Windows Phones, use Microsoft Edge's built-in emulation.
Since Edge does not ship with legacy compatibility, use IE 11's Emulation to simulate how your page would look in older versions of Internet Explorer.
Device emulators and simulators
Device simulators and emulators simulate not just the browser environment but the entire device. They're useful to test things that require OS integration, for example form input with virtual keyboards.
Android Emulator
At the moment, there is no way to install Chrome on an Android emulator. However, you can use the Android Browser, the Chromium Content Shell and Firefox for Android which we'll cover later in this guide. Chromium Content Shell uses the same Chrome rendering engine, but comes without any of the browser specific features.
The Android emulator comes with the Android SDK which you need to download fromhere. Then follow the instructions to setup a virtual device and start the emulator.
Once your emulator is booted, click on the Browser icon and you'll be able to test your site on the old Stock Browser for Android.
Chromium Content Shell on Android
To install the Chromium Content Shell for Android, leave your emulator runningand run the following commands at a command prompt:
Now you can test your site with the Chromium Content Shell.
Firefox on Android
Similar to Chromium's Content Shell, you can get an APK to install Firefox onto the emulator.
Download the right .apk file from https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/mobile/releases/latest/.
From here, you can install the file onto an open emulator or connected Android device with the following command:
iOS Simulator
The iOS simulator for Mac OS X comes with Xcode, which you can install from theApp Store.
When you're done, learn how to work with the simulator through Apple's documentation.
Note: To avoid having to open Xcode every time you want to use the iOS Simulator, open it, then right click the iOS Simulator icon in your dock and select Keep in Dock. Now just click this icon whenever you need it.
Modern.IE
Modern.IE Virtual Machines let you access different versions of IE on your computer via VirtualBox (or VMWare). Choose a virtual machine on the download page here.
Cloud-based emulators and simulators
If you can’t use the emulators and don't have access to real devices, then cloud-based emulators are the next best thing. A big advantage of cloud-based emulators over real devices and local emulators is that you can automate unit tests for your site across different platforms.
BrowserStack (commercial) is the easiest to use for manual testing. You select an operating system, select your browser version and device type, select a URL to browse, and it spins up a hosted virtual machine that you can interact with. You can also fire up multiple emulators in the same screen, letting you test how your app looks and feels across multiple devices at the same time.
SauceLabs (commercial) allows you to run unit tests inside of an emulator, which can be really useful for scripting a flow through your site and watch the video recording of this afterwards on various devices. You can also do manual testing with your site.
Device Anywhere (commercial) doesn'tuse emulators but real devices which you can control remotely. This is very useful in the event where you need to reproduce a problem on a specific device and can't see the bug on any of the options in the previous guides.
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Google’s Chromebooks run Chrome OS, a lightweight operating system based on Linux that provides you with a full Chrome browser and a basic desktop environment. Before buying a Chromebook, you may want to play with Chrome OS in a virtual machine in a window on your desktop.
What You’re Getting
RELATED:The Best Chromebooks You Can Buy, 2017 Edition
Here’s the thing: You can’t get an official version of Chrome OS without buying a Chromebook. Google doesn’t offer a version of Chrome OS you can install on existing hardware, whether in a virtual machine or on a full laptop or desktop PC. You can only get the full version of Chrome OS on a Chromebook.
However, Chrome OS—like the Chrome browser itself—is based on an open-source project. The open-source project is named Chromium OS. It includes most of Chrome OS, aside from some extra features Google adds later, including support for Android apps.
We suggest using Neverware CloudReady for this. Neverware takes the Chromium OS code and modifies it to work on existing PC hardware. They then add additional enterprise management features and sell their solution to schools and businesses who want to run Chrome OS on existing PCs.
However, Neverware offers a free version for home use and free virtual machines for VirtualBox and VMware. This software is based on Chromium OS and is almost exactly identical to Chrome OS. It’s just missing a few bells and whistles you can only get on a Chromebook.
How to Get the Virtual Machine
RELATED:Beginner Geek: How to Create and Use Virtual Machines
First, you’ll need a virtual machine application installed. We suggest the free VirtualBox software, but you can also use a VMware product like VMware Workstation if you prefer that or already have it installed.
Once you’ve installed a virtual machine program, head to Neverware’s CloudReady virtual machine images page. Click the appropriate link to download the virtual machine image for either VirtualBox or VMware, whichever you have installed.
Next, import the downloaded virtual machine appliance into your virtual machine program of choice. In VirtualBox, click File > Import Appliance and browse to the virtual machine file you just downloaded, which will have the .OVF file extension.
VirtualBox or VMware will set up the virtual machine’s virtual hardware according to the specifications in the file. You don’t have to configure anything or even install the operating system—it’s already installed. Just click the “Import” button to continue.
To launch the CloudReady virtual machine, just double-click it in your virtual machine library.
Using Chromium OS
Despite the Neverware CloudReady branding, the words “Chromium OS” will appear throughout the operating system, indicating that you’re primarily just using the open source build of Chrome OS.
Everything will work fairly similarly. You’ll see the usual Chrome OS setup screen, although it will be branded with a “CloudReady” logo.
When you boot up the virtual machine for the first time, it will offer to automatically download the Adobe Flash plug-in for you. This is something that’s normally included on Chrome OS, but can’t be included here. On a Chromebook, you won’t see this window. However, this wizard still helps you install it in a single click.
You’ll sign into the operating system with a Google account, just like how you’d normally use a Chromebook. In fact, when you do, you’ll receive an email alert from Google that there was a new sign-in from Chrome OS.
You can click around and use the environment like you’d use a normal Chromebook. You’ll find the usual things: A desktop environment with a taskbar, tray, and launcher, apps like the Files app, and of course the Chrome browser itself.
Some features will not be present. You won’t find any support for Android apps, a feature that’s been appearing on more (but not all) Chromebooks lately. You may encounter issues with multimedia or DRM-restricted websites.
The operating system won’t receive updates from Google, but it will automatically update to new versions of CloudReady released by Neverware. These tend to lag behind new versions of Chrome OS released by Google itself, as Neverware has to modify them once they’re released.
When you boot up the virtual machine in the future, you’ll see the usual Chrome OS sign-in screen where you can enter your password, sign in with a new user account, or sign in as a guest. In guest mode, your Chromebook will give the guest a blank slate and automatically erase their browsing data when they sign out.
While this is a preview of the experience of using Chrome OS, it can’t substitute for the real thing. Not only is it missing a few features, but the performance of Chrome OS on real hardware should be much better than in a virtual machine.
What’s more, the experience of using Chrome OS inside a virtual machine is kind of missing the point. Chrome OS is supposed to be simple and lightweight, getting out of your way and giving you an easy-to-use laptop that doesn’t need system maintenance or software installation, something you can easily use and hand to guests with its guest mode.
RELATED:How to Install Android in VirtualBox
You can’t actually have the whole Chrome OS experience without trying a Chromebook, just like you can’t have the experience of using an Android phone by installing Android in a virtual machine on your PC. You may want to visit a local electronics store and play with a Chromebook in person if you’re still curious. That will let you experiment with those Android apps on Chrome OS, too.
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