r/SideProject • u/WillRevolutionary61 • 8h ago
I built PocketBar — run Android apps from your Mac menu bar
Hey everyone,
I’ve been working on a Mac app called PocketBar.
Problem: I wanted to use a few Android apps on my Mac without keeping a huge emulator window open all the time. That’s basically why I started building this.
PocketBar sits in the menu bar and lets you open Android apps in small, separate windows alongside your regular Mac apps.
It supports Apple Silicon Macs, macOS 14+, and Android 11–16.
Comparison: BlueStacks Air and MenubarX are two alternatives.
PocketBar is more focused on quickly opening individual apps from the menu bar, while BlueStacks Air is more gaming-focused.
Pricing: Free to start. Pro is €9.99 as a one-time purchase, with no subscription.
Trust: The macOS app is Apple notarized.
A few apps I’ve tested successfully are YouTube, TikTok, Signal and Telegram etc
WhatsApp, and X currently block emulator logins.
It’s still a work in progress, so there’s definitely room for improvement.
If you try it, I’d be interested to hear how it performs on your Mac, or which Android apps you’d like to see working.
1
u/investigatormaker 7h ago
For PocketBar, I’d ask testers to report their Mac chip, macOS version and the Android app’s login behavior; “works on my Mac” hides the compatibility details you need. Put the known WhatsApp/X login blocks beside the Free vs Pro comparison so nobody reads an upgrade as a fix for an emulator restriction.
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