BlueStacks is inarguably one of the most popular Android emulators out there. It's been around for over a decade, and in that time, it has evolved from being just a simple app player to a full-fledged emulator. The emulator is now getting another update on the beta channel, which brings some major improvements and prepares for support for ARM devices.

BlueStacks 5 beta is a complete rewrite of the emulator that offers significant performance upgrades over BlueStacks 4. It uses 40% less memory than the previous release, and it includes advanced features like FPS lock, Long-flight, and Eco mode. The update is also said to bring support for ARM devices, which means that you should be able to use it on Windows 10 on ARM devices like the Surface Pro X. However, we noticed that there isn't an ARM client yet, and the existing version doesn't run on the Surface Pro X. It seems that ARM support is still being worked on and may arrive in a future beta update.

In a statement about the latest update, Sharad Agarwal, Chief Architect for BlueStacks 5, said, "Our app container technology enables games to be optimized to run on PC, Mac and other devices without any additional work needed from the developer. This is a key component missing in both Android on Chromebook and iOS apps on Mac. We see the market for BlueStacks App Player expanding considerably with Apple's endorsement of running iOS apps on the Mac form factor, and App Containers is a key technology for this. ARM devices have a big advantage over x86 devices for running Android Apps as they don't need binary translation. Our support for ARM reflects the work we have been doing for the last three years."

Thanks to the new FPS Lock and Long-flight features, BlueStacks 5 is now also optimized for long gaming sessions. These features enable smooth continuous gameplay over extended periods of time, coupled with faster boot, install and launch times. The Eco-mode feature, on the other hand, allows users to multitask more efficiently and run multiple instances of the emulator without any adverse effects on performance. If you're interested in giving BlueStacks 5 beta a shot, you can download it on your device by following this link.

This article was updated at 08:00 PM ET on February 17, 2021, to reflect that the ARM client isn't available yet.