Is it a physical phone?

No. It is neither an emulator nor a handset. Android runs as a container on ARM64 hardware, and the session is destroyed when it ends.

ReDroid is an open-source Android container runtime. SpawnDroid runs it on ARM64 servers with its own device profiles and orchestration.

Do native arm64 libraries work?

Yes. Your APK links against real arm64-v8a native libraries, which is the main reason native crashes and ABI behaviour are trustworthy here.

Which Android versions are available?

Android 12 to 16, on a phone or a tablet screen. Android 14 on a phone is the default; pass a profile id such as android-15-phone or android-16-tablet to choose another cell.

Every device can report a fixed GPS position through Android test location providers. The fix is flagged as mock, so apps that explicitly reject mock locations will ignore it.

How it works

ReDroid vs an emulator.

SpawnDroid runs Android as a container on ARM64 servers. ReDroid is the container runtime underneath; there is no QEMU device model and no hypervisor in the path. Here is what that changes, and what it does not.

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At a glance

Runtime: Android as a container (ReDroid) on ARM64 server hardware
Native libraries: Your APK links against real arm64-v8a libraries
Device model: No QEMU device model and no hypervisor in the path
Profiles: Android 12 to 16, phone or tablet; Android 14 phone default
Same session: A browser stream and a hosted Appium endpoint at once

How it compares

Feature	Typical emulator	SpawnDroid
What runs Android	A software device model plus a translation layer	Android userspace in a container on ARM64
CPU instruction set	Depends on the image; often x86 on a desktop host	ARM64, the same instruction set a modern phone uses
Hypervisor	Usually required for hardware acceleration	None in the path
Native arm64 apps	Needs a matching image or translation	Runs arm64-v8a natively
Where it runs	Your laptop or a cloud VM	SpawnDroid's ARM64 servers, streamed to the browser

Emulator behaviour depends on the image and host. This table is deliberately general; check your emulator or device cloud’s current documentation before deciding.

What an emulator does

An emulator models a device in software. Your app runs against that model, which is useful when you need an exact OS image, an x86 ABI, or dozens of API levels at once. The trade is a translation layer between the app and the hardware: behaviour can differ from a phone, especially for native libraries, performance and framework timing.

What a container does

SpawnDroid runs Android as a container on ARM64 server hardware. The Android userspace boots in the container and shares the host kernel through binder, the interface Android exposes on a device. There is no device model to translate through, and no hypervisor to boot.

ReDroid is the open-source Android container runtime underneath. SpawnDroid runs ReDroid with its own device profiles, branding and orchestration, and exposes the running session as a browser stream and a hosted Appium endpoint.

Why ARM64 matters

Modern Android phones are ARM64. When an APK contains arm64-v8a native libraries, those libraries run natively here rather than through an x86 translation layer. That is the difference that makes native crashes, ABIs and framework behaviour trustworthy for teams shipping native code.

What ReDroid does not give you

It is not a physical handset. There is no handset body and no radio.
It is not a full device matrix. SpawnDroid offers Android 12 to 16 on a phone or tablet screen.
It is not iOS. SpawnDroid runs Android only.
GPS is a test provider, not a radio fix. Mock location is flagged as mock, and apps that reject mock locations will ignore it.

When an emulator is still the right tool

If you need the exact OS image, an x86 ABI, or dozens of API levels at once, a local emulator or a device farm may fit better. SpawnDroid is built for running and testing a build on real Android, not for emulating every device in a lab.

How to try it

Upload a universal APKBuilds up to 512 MB are supported. An .aab is converted to a universal APK on the device host; split APKs are not supported.
Start an Android sessionPick Android 12 to 16 on a phone or tablet. Android 14 on a phone is the default profile.
Drive it or automate itUse the browser stream by hand, or point an Appium/W3C WebDriver client at the same session.