Gone were the times when we all had to go through the grind and even jailbreak our beloved iPhones to play retro games! Following Apple’s recent update to the App Store guidelines, a handful of exciting emulator apps have launched in the App Store. Rest assured, a good many emulators are gearing up to arrive sooner rather than later. Thus, fasten up your seat belt for a nostalgia-driven gameplay.
That means if you have a penchant for playing retro games on your iPhone, now is the right time to break all shackles and enjoy retro gaming to the core. On this very note, let’s jump right in to explore the 4 best emulators for iPhone and iPad.
Best Free iPhone Emulators on the App Store
If you are bothered about whether or not your old iPhone will be able to run an emulator app, let me tell you that all of these emulators have the support for older iOS versions. Moreover, they also offer a ton of customization for a more personalized experience.
1. Delta
To put it straight, “Delta” is by far the most capable and versatile emulator for iOS right now. Boasting pretty neat on-screen controller skins and the compatibility with a variety of physical controllers, it has got all the boxes ticked off to be your preferred emulator. For those unfamiliar, it has been developed by Riley Testut as the worthy successor to the popular GBA4iOS emulator.
Talking about the features that have pleased me the most in Delta, the ability to lock save states, the auto-backup, and the flexibility to import controller skins designed by others have succeeded in winning me over.
Supported Devices:
- iPhone
- The developer has confirmed that the iPad support is going to arrive soon.
- Note that Delta requires iOS 14/iPadOS 14 or later.
Supported Game Systems
- Nintendo Entertainment System •
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System • Nintendo 64 •
- Game Boy (Color) •
- Game Boy Advance •
- Nintendo DS
Controller Support
- Nintendo Switch Pro controllers,
- Joy-Cons
- Nintendo Switch Online controllers (NES, SNES, N64)
- PS4
- PS5
- Xbox One S
- Xbox Series X
- MFi game controllers
- Bluetooth & wired keyboards
2. Gamma
Designed to be a powerful emulator for the original PlayStation, Gamma never fails to impress. Developed by ZodTTD, Gamma can make you fall in with with the classic PS 1 gaming on your iPhone. It offers a hassle-free way to sync your files through your preferred backup services.
What’s more, it also automatically saves your progress so that your stats don’t get overwritten. However, what has attracted me the most is the availability of super handy portrait and landscape controllers. If you aren’t pleased with the readymade controllers, you can choose to make your own controller skins as well.
Notably, Gamma supports not only Bluetooth and MFi game controllers but also Bluetooth and wired keyboards.
Supported Devices:
- iPhone
- iPad
- Keep in mind that Gamma requires your devices to be running iOS 15 or later.
Supported Consoles:
- PlayStation (PS1)
3. RetroArch
There is a lot to like about the RetroArch emulator. For one, it’s open source, entirely ad-free, and cross-platform frontend for emulators. So, you can play your favorite games to your heart’s liking without being interrupted by ads or having to break your banks.
With the simple and lightweight interface, RetroArch feels pretty familiar right from the get-go. Hence, you won’t have to go through the grind or rigorous learning curve. Simplicity aside, it is also feature-packed with a range of cool features such as RetroAchievements, MFi controller support, custom overlays, and neat latency management.
Supported Devices:
- iPhone
- iPad
- Apple TV
- Bear in mind that RetroArch has the support for iOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.2, tvOS 14.2 or later.
Supported Consoles:
- Nintendo DS
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
- Nintendo 64 (N64)
- SEGA Genesis
- SEGA Saturn
- Game Boy (all models)
- Atari 2600
- Commodore 64
- PlayStation (PS1)
- PlayStation Portable (PSP)
4. PlayStation Portable Emulator (PPSSPP)
For playing retro PSP games on your iPhone, you can’t go wrong with the PlayStation Portable Emulator (PPSSPP). It’s worth pointing out that PPSSPP is built right into the RetroArch. However, you can install it as a standalone app as well. As it supports iOS 12 or later, you can get the most out of this emulator even on your decade-old iPhone or iPad.
Supported Devices:
- iPhone
- iPad
- PlayStation Portable Emulator supports iOS 12/iPadOS 12 or later.
Supported Consoles:
- PlayStation Portable (PSP)
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