Changes

:''This page is about software that emulates IOS iOS on other hardware, like desktops.''{{for|emulators that run on IOS|Emulators on iOS}}

Unlike its direct competitor, [[Android emulators|Android]], there are practically no usable emulators, as the official iOS SDK (macOS-only) only allows for running your own projects, i.e., they run code generated for an x86 target rather than ARM code as used by iOS. Some simulators (e.g., [[BlackThunder]]) make use of the simulator in the iOS SDK to run a few chosen iOS apps that are recompiled for x86. Unlike previous emulation trails, BlackThunder first loads a highly trimmed Hackintosh image via VirtualBox, which loads Xcode and an iOS simulator into it, then runs decompiled iOS apps recompiled for the x86 architecture. More recently, touchHLE managed to get at least one a few older iPhone OS app apps running by recreating some of iOS’s standard libraries and emulating just the iPhone’s CPU.

:The 17th major operating system of the macOS line. It has support for iOS and iPadOS applications for Apple M1and M2-based Macs. However, some apps are not installed due to Apple DRM. This can be bypassed using an IPA file and PlayCover/Sideloady.

:Based on earlier work emulating the S5L8900 and the iPhone 11 in QEMU. It can emulate an iPod Touch 1G running iOS 1.0, including iBoot, the kernel, and the Springboard, although it requires a modified NOR and NAND image. Some features, such as audio and Wi-Fi, are not emulated, and there are multiple crashes. A TikTok user has [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRvq7Syc/ ported] it to android Android however did not put up a download yet. [https://github.com/devos50/qemu/tree/ipod_touch_1g Source code] - [https://devos50.github.io/blog/2022/ipod-touch-qemu/ Blog post] - [https://devos50.github.io/blog/2022/ipod-touch-qemu-pt2/ Blog post pt.2]

:The official iOS SDK (macOS-only) only allows for running your own projects, i.e. they run code generated for an x86 target rather than ARM code as used by iOS. However, some simulators, e.g. BlackThunder, make use of the simulator in the iOS SDK to run a few chosen iOS apps that are recompiled for x86. [[BlackThunder]] (Chinese:黑雷模拟器),website is a closed source, commercial iOS simulator that can run a few commercial iOS apps. Unlike previous emulation trails, BlackThunder firstly loads a highly trimmed Hackintosh image via VirtualBox, which loads Xcode and an iOS simulator into it, then runs iOS apps that are decompiled and recompiled for the x86 architecture.

: ''Cycada'' (2014), formally known as Cider is an unreleased research project made by a few folks at Columbia that ran iOS 5.1.1 and experimentally iOS 6 apps at a high, but not perfect quality and compatibility (see paper for list). It is based on pirated iOS libraries. It is seriously not recommended to initiate contact with the developers of the project, as they never planned on releasing it and want people to use their paper to reproduce it with "significant effort". ([https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/997879688124960799/1089212942710472734/IMG_5233.png Source]) All attempts to release it by contacting them have resulted in them saying they are [https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/997879688124960799/1089213603506311268/IMG_5234.png not interested]. You may try to recreate Cycada on your own, provided that you know the internals of Android, iOS, XNU, and Linux. Out of 69 tested apps, 19 apps fully work, 10 work with minor bugs that do not affect functionality, 15 have major errors that affect functionality, and 27 crash. Only [https://github.com/darlinghq/darling/issues/1168#issuecomment-1115143186 one recreation] is know to exist, which is also unreleased, and it was made by the creator of DarlingHQ. [https://systems.cs.columbia.edu/projects/cycada/ Website] - [https://jeremya.com/files/pub/2015/02/andrus-thesis.pdf Paper] - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uaple0Ec1Dg Video demo] - [https://jeremya.com/files/pub/2014/03/cider/Cider-ASPLOS-2014-clean-full.pdf Presentation] - [http://engineering.columbia.edu/sync-columbia-engineering-team-first-run-ios-apps-android-platform Announcement] - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Cycada Wikipedia] - [https://archive.org/details/image-071 Screenshots]

This is an overall guide for people looking for an iOS emulator. If you have a Apple Silicon Mac and want to emulate 64-bit/modern apps, just use Sideloady and DecryptDay to install the app itself on your M1 /M2 Mac. If you have an Intel Mac, try using “aah” which is your best option. If you want to emulate 32-bit iOS apps, use touchHLE for iPhone OS 2 apps, if your app is one of the only of the handful of supported apps, and if not, you can patiently wait for Cycada to release or get recreated, but it likely won’t ever happen. If you just want to try the look and feel of the first iPhone/iOS, devos19’s QEMU fork is the best option. If you are emulating for the purpose of something related for cybersecurity or advanced testing not in the XCode emulator, try and purchase Corellium, however if you are broke or a minor, your only real option is TruEmu, even though it can only be used for testing low level iOS components because it cannot boot to iOS. If you want to easily run '''VERY ''' simple iOS apps on Windows, use ipasim, even though there is nearly zero people in this category. If you would like to run a few commercial iOS apps and games from China, use BlackThunder.  Overall, it’s a waiting game for older iOS apps for either touchHLE to support your game, or devos50 to make a QEMU fork for an iPod touch that supports your apps version. Please note that hikari_no_yume and/or devos50 may get burnt out, face technical limitations too big, or legitimately die, so there’s absolutely no guarantee.