diff --git a/libs/hwui/Properties.cpp b/libs/hwui/Properties.cpp
index 4243e7e..6cd283a 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/Properties.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/Properties.cpp
@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@
 bool Properties::skpCaptureEnabled = false;
 bool Properties::enableRTAnimations = true;
 
+bool Properties::runningInEmulator = false;
+
 static int property_get_int(const char* key, int defaultValue) {
     char buf[PROPERTY_VALUE_MAX] = {
             '\0',
@@ -135,6 +137,8 @@
     skpCaptureEnabled = property_get_bool("ro.debuggable", false) &&
                         property_get_bool(PROPERTY_CAPTURE_SKP_ENABLED, false);
 
+    runningInEmulator = property_get_bool(PROPERTY_QEMU_KERNEL, false);
+
     return (prevDebugLayersUpdates != debugLayersUpdates) || (prevDebugOverdraw != debugOverdraw) ||
            (prevDebugStencilClip != debugStencilClip);
 }
diff --git a/libs/hwui/Properties.h b/libs/hwui/Properties.h
index af4b694..179b97b 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/Properties.h
+++ b/libs/hwui/Properties.h
@@ -180,6 +180,11 @@
  */
 #define PROPERTY_CAPTURE_SKP_FILENAME "debug.hwui.skp_filename"
 
+/**
+ * Property for whether this is running in the emulator.
+ */
+#define PROPERTY_QEMU_KERNEL "ro.kernel.qemu"
+
 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 // Misc
 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
@@ -261,6 +266,8 @@
     // Used for testing only to change the render pipeline.
     static void overrideRenderPipelineType(RenderPipelineType);
 
+    static bool runningInEmulator;
+
 private:
     static ProfileType sProfileType;
     static bool sDisableProfileBars;
diff --git a/libs/hwui/pipeline/skia/ShaderCache.cpp b/libs/hwui/pipeline/skia/ShaderCache.cpp
index c7a3014..2fa56f6 100644
--- a/libs/hwui/pipeline/skia/ShaderCache.cpp
+++ b/libs/hwui/pipeline/skia/ShaderCache.cpp
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include <log/log.h>
 #include <thread>
 #include "FileBlobCache.h"
+#include "Properties.h"
 #include "utils/TraceUtils.h"
 
 namespace android {
@@ -43,7 +44,11 @@
 void ShaderCache::initShaderDiskCache() {
     ATRACE_NAME("initShaderDiskCache");
     std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mMutex);
-    if (mFilename.length() > 0) {
+
+    // Emulators can switch between different renders either as part of config
+    // or snapshot migration. Also, program binaries may not work well on some
+    // desktop / laptop GPUs. Thus, disable the shader disk cache for emulator builds.
+    if (!Properties::runningInEmulator && mFilename.length() > 0) {
         mBlobCache.reset(new FileBlobCache(maxKeySize, maxValueSize, maxTotalSize, mFilename));
         mInitialized = true;
     }