The best iPhone/iOS emulators you can get your hands on

Modern games are great, but nothing beats the classics. Emulators make it possible to play retro games using our smartphones. And don’t think they are exclusive to Android; you can now also use them on iOS, although depending on what you want, you may have to do some tinkering.

Let’s go over the basics and then move on to the best emulators on iPhone.

What you must know about iOS emulators

The Apple App Store has many safe apps that have undergone a rigorous filtering system to ensure quality and security. But until recently, you couldn’t find any emulators there.

This is because emulators are in a bit of a gray area in terms of legality. While using emulators isn’t illegal, you need ROM files of the games you will be playing. Creating or distributing ROMs can essentially count as pirating. Some believe it’s legal if they’ve purchased the titles and digitalized them into ROM files for personal use, but Nintendo would beg to differ. We’re no legal advisors, so do your legal research before using emulators and ROMs.

However, Apple changed its policy on emulators in early 2024, opening the floodgates for a few brave developers to list their emulators on the Apple App Store. Granted, developers still risk the ire of publishers like Nintendo, so thus far, it’s been more of a trickle than a flood.

Apart from the few options on the App Store, you also have the option to sideload emulators from third-party app stores. Many don’t know this, but it’s possible to sideload apps on iOS. It’s not meant for ordinary users, but for companies to provide internal apps to their workers without the need to list an application publicly. Companies need approval from Apple, which the manufacturer calls an “enterprise certificate.”

Granted, Apple has also loosened its stance on third-party app stores in recent months. Part of this comes after pressure from the European Union, so depending on where you live you may have to try different methods. Check out our guide on sideloading apps to iOS to learn more. 

The best iPhone emulators

RetroArch: The all-in-one solution

RetroArch is unique in that it’s so widely available. You can use it on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It can also emulate a plethora of consoles. On most platforms, the list includes nearly every console, but on iOS the lack of JIT makes things more complicated. As a result, GameCube and PS2 emulation still isn’t available.

There’s also a learning curve for beginners, but since it’s available on many platforms, you only have to learn it once to play on all of your devices. This emulator is also available on the App Store, making it easy to install for just about anyone. 

Delta: The first “official” option

Delta is a favorite among iPhone emulator gamers, and for many reasons. The UI is among the best and comes with plenty of features. These include multi-system support for NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64, and Sega Genesis. It also supports a nice variety of controllers, such as Cboc controllers, PlayStation pads, and even Nintendo Switch peripherals.

But Delta emulator’s biggest advantage is that it was the first emulator officially available on the App Store. RetroArch and others have since followed suit, but Delta is probably easier to use if you’re new to emulation.

Eclipse: No jailbreak or sideloading required

Next up is another low-lift iOS emulator. The Eclipse emulator doesn’t require jailbreaking or installing any third-party software. Instead, it works straight from your browser, and it is pretty awesome for an online emulator.

For starters, it supports a wide variety of systems, including Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Master System, and Sega Game Gear. It also supports touch, keyboard, and gamepad input. All of these benefits make Eclipse an easy iPhone emulator recommendation for most users.

PPSSPP: The best PSP emulator

PPSSPP has been the best PSP emulator on Android for years, and now it’s officially available on the iOS App Store. It isn’t particularly complex, but it does what it does better than anything else on iOS. It’s even better than PSP emulation on RetroArch, even though it uses the same core.

The app is free to use, but you can buy a paid version to support the developer. It’s awkward to update two apps, so for gameplay, I’d stick with the free version, even after buying the paid version to contribute to future updates.

Provenance: A great multi-system emulator

Provenance is another great multi-system emulator with plenty of support for all kinds of consoles. These include various Atari systems, NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, GameCube, Wii, Nintendo 64, GBA, Sega Saturn, Sega Game Gear, PlayStation, and even SNK Neo Geo Pocket/Pocket Color.

After months of effort, the developer finally got the app added to the App Store in 2024. It’s not as polished as other all-in-one emulators on the list though, so I’d recommend trying those first.

DolphiniOS: The best for GameCube and Wii

We gave you plenty of iPhone emulators with wide console support, but maybe you don’t care about all those. If all you want is to emulate GameCube and Wii games, DolphiniOS will serve you just right.

The emulator has plenty of nifty features, including integrated cheat support, online gaming, texture packs, and more. The only catch is that it’s not available on the App Store. You’ll have to download it from the AltStore or the official website, which requires some technical know-how.

Play!: The best PS2 emulator

The PlayStation 2 reshaped a generation, and it’s time to relive the golden gaming days with Play!. This emulator only supports PlayStation emulation. It is simple, can be easily sideloaded, and works without complex configurations.

If you want to get a taste of what this emulator can do, you can also play games right from your browser. That said, the web client is still technically an experiment, so game compatibility is a worse than the standalone emulator.

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