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IOS emulators

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|developer = [[Apple Inc.]]
|release = 2007
|emulated = {{~}}
}}
:''This page is about software that emulates iOS on other hardware, like desktops.''{{for|emulators that run on iOS|Emulators on iOS}} '''iOS''' devices started the smartphone craze which would go on to replace conventional mobile phones in both Japan (which had its own subset of cell phones) and the rest of the world, with more advanced touch-controlled devices'''iPadOS''' are operating systems created by Apple.
iOS devices started the smartphone craze, which would go on to replace conventional mobile phones in both Japan (which had its own subset of cell phones) and the rest of the world, with more advanced touch-controlled devices. Formerly, iOS was used for both Apple's phones and tablets. Then, the iOS brand was split into two parts in 2019, with iOS now being the OS exclusively used in the iPhone and the now-defunct [[Apple_iPod|iPod Touch]]. The second half, named iPadOS, is a fork of iOS for iPads that makes use of their larger screens, hence its name. Most iOS apps and games work on iPadOS. Unlike their its direct competitor, [[Android emulators|Android-based smartphones]], they currently have '''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. However Similar to most of the Android emulators, some simulators emulators (e.g. , [[BlackThunder]]) uses two-step approach, make making 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),[https://www.heilei.com/ website] is a closed source, commercial iOS simulator that can run a few commercial iOS apps. Unlike previous emulation trails, BlackThunder firstly first loads a highly trimmed Hackintosh image via VirtualBox, which loads Xcode and an iOS simulator into it, then runs decompiled iOS apps that are decompiled and recompiled for the x86 architecture. Appetize.io and other tools that claim to emulate iOS on a web browser are in reality just the iOS simulator in XCode wrapped around a cloud stream to the web browser, and like the iOS XCode simulator, need the source code to run. More recently, touchHLE managed to get a few older iPhone OS apps running by recreating some of iOS’s standard libraries and emulating just the iPhone’s CPU, and nearly the same time, QEMU-iOS got released and can successfully emulate iPhone OS 1.0 on an iPod Touch 1st generation, albeit with bugs.
==Emulators==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"! scope="col"|Name! scope="col"|Platform(s)! scope="col"|Latest version! scope="col"|[[#Hardware_features|Hardware features]]! scope="col"|[[#Enhancements|Enhancements]]! scope="col"|Compatibility! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>! scope="col"|Active! scope="col"|[[Recommended emulators|Recommended]]|-!colspan="9"|PC / x86|-|[https://touchhle.org/ touchHLE]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|macOS}}|[https://github.com/touchHLE/touchHLE/releases {{TouchHLEVer}}]|{{~}}|{{~}}|[https://appdb.touchhle.org/ 28%<br/><small>52 out of 188 reported titles</small>]|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{~}}|-|[https://github.com/devos50/qemu-ios/tree/ipod_touch_1g QEMU-iOS]|align=left|{{Icon|macOS|Linux}}|[https://github.com/devos50/qemu-ios/tree/ipod_touch_1g#building git]|{{~}}|?|N/A|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|-|[[BlackThunder]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|macOS}}|?|?|?|?|{{✗}}|{{?}}|{{✗}}|-|[[MAME]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}|[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]|?|?|N/A|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}[https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/apple/iphone2g.cpp#L318 *]|-|[https://github.com/zhkl0228/unidbg unidbg]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|macOS|Linux}}|0.9.7|?|?|?|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|-|Unnamed iOS emulator|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|Unreleased due to touchHLE|?|?|?|{{No unofficial emulators✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|-|[https://github.com/zydeco/aah aah] |align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}|?|?|?|?|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|-|[https://github.com/ipasimulator/ipasim ipasim]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|PatchV1.0.1|?|?|?|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|-|[https://github.com/zhkl0228/unidbg unidbg]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|macOS|Linux}}|0.9.7|?|?|?|{{✓}}|{{~}}|{{✗}}|-|[https://github.com/TrungNguyen1909/qemu-t8030 TruEmu] |align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|?|?|?|?|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}|-|[https://github.com/alephsecurity/xnu-qemu-arm64 xnu-qemu-arm64]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|?|?|?|?|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}|-|iEmu|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|?|?|?|?|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}|-!colspan="9"|Mobile / ARM|-|[https://touchhle.org/ touchHLE]|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/releases 0.2.2]|{{~}}|{{~}}|[https://appdb.touchhle.org/ 28%<br/><small>52 out of 188 reported titles</small>]|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|OS{{~}}|}
==Hypervisors [[Hypervisors|(...)]]==<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Versionversion! scope="col"|[[#Hardware_features|Hardware features]]! scope="col"|[[#Enhancements|Enhancements]]! scope="col"|Compatibility
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulatorsemulators|Recommended]]
|-
|[https://www.corellium.com/ Corellium]|align=left|{{Icon|Web}}|[https://www.corellium.com/ Web-based] ($)|?|?|?|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{~}}<ref group=N>Would be completely recommended if it wasn’t paid and/or a local version that runs on Windows/macOS/Linux is available.</ref>|} ==Native==<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"! colspanscope="6col"|macOS Name! scope="col"|Platform(s)! scope="col"|Latest version! scope="col"|[[#Hardware_features|Hardware features]]! scope="col"|[[#Enhancements|Enhancements]]! scope="col"|Compatibility! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</ ARMabbr>! scope="col"|Active! scope="col"|[[Recommended emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="9"|Mobile / ARM|-|[https://apple.com/macos macOS Big Sur]|align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}<ref group=N>Requires Mac computers with Apple Silicon (M series) processors.</ref>|11 Big Sur to 14 Sonoma|?|?
|?
|{{✗}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[http://systems.cs.columbia.edu/projects/cycada/ Cycada]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|Unreleased
|?
|?
|?
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|}
<references group=N />
 
==Comparison==
;Emulators
:;[[touchHLE]]
::A promising new endeavor that aims to run older iOS apps by reimplementing standard libraries instead of internal components. Because of this [[High/Low_level_emulation|very high-level approach]], no dump of the operating system is required. Its initial target is iPhone OS 2.x, with plans to support other 32-bit iOS versions, mainly 3.x and 4.x, as well as the iPad. Development started in December 2022, and its initial 0.1.0 release came out in February 2023. [https://appdb.touchhle.org/ touchHLE supports a handful of apps], with most apps that do not crash on the start working absolutely perfectly. touchHLE supports running IPA files directly. A game controller is required to control the accelerometer. touchHLE has an app archive that currently only has two apps being touch and go and it’s lite version, which are licensed to be free to use with touchHLE. Unfortunately, touchHLE does not currently have a “canary” branch which gets all the additions of it’s multiple concurrent pull requests.
 
:;QEMU-iOS
::Previously unnamed and referred to as “devos50’s qemu fork”, 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. About a year later, the same user managed to run iPhone OS 2 on an emulated iPod Touch 2G, however internet connectivity is not figured out yet, and nobody has yet ran a 3rd party app via filesystem hacks as of now, as both networking and USB (iTunes) are unemulated and cannot be installed regularly.
 
:;MAME
::Very basic iPhone 2G support available [https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/apple/iphone2g.cpp here] <small>(that cannot boot iOS, nor even get to the Apple logo)</small>. '''Unlikely to ever be completed.'''
 
:;BlackThunder
::Closed-source, commercial iOS emulator that can run a few commercial iOS apps. 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 emulators, 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 iOS apps that are decompiled and recompiled for the x86 architecture.
 
:;Unnamed iOS Emulator
::This is a Low-Level Emulator made by user “K-8-L-Y-N” discussed on the Darling Discord Server, which can run Springboard and the Calculator. They said it’s their own codename and own interpreter. It does not support touch at all, making it almost useless. It only emulates the kernel and the user provides a filesystem DMG. They’ve gotten iOS 1.0 springboard to boot, which they said was not too difficult and said they were also using iOS 1.0 dyld directly. They said it was a Low-Level-Emulation project as they had to emulate the CPU. They also said the kernel emulation is shorty and it only works. They said they’ll never release it in the state that is in, and refuses to even work on it due to touchHLE’s existence. It does load the original frameworks but doesn’t emulate UIKit. The interpreter was for x86 and interprets ARM. They got it to boot via emulated/recreated parts of the darwin/bsd kernel. Again, it’s emulating the kernel and not doing BSD syscalls on windows. When they feel like the code is in a better state, they do want to release it under the unlicense. However they do not plan to ever work on it anymore due to touchHLE. They say the code is in some pretty messy C++ stuff. They plan on rewriting in C# as they feel more comfortable continuing it in C#.
 
:;TruEmu
::QEMU-t8030, also known as TruEmu, is an iPhone 11 emulated in QEMU, however, the current version with a published source cannot boot. TruEmu is a software that offers support for iOS 14 up to the latest iOS 16 and is built to work on iPhone 6S SecureROM hardware. It also provides out-of-box kernel debugging support and USB support (with Firmware Restore) and utilizes Apple's custom CPU features such as SPRR/GXF and custom PAC. Additionally, TruEmu is open-source software. TruEmu is made to counteract the paid Corellium’s monopoly in iOS emulation for security reasearch. The creator’s mastodon and X (formally Twitter) shows work on full SEP emulation and it booting to SpringBoard and operating the Calculator and Settings apps, but it is currently unreleased, with only minor graphical glitches. The day videos of it’s operation were posted on social medias, a user made an issue about it and archived the repo with no comment, only with a comment before it was emulated saying that he was working on multitouch. The reason it was unreleased remains uncertain. He may be developing a very capable iOS emulator, may have been hired by Corellium, or he may have been stopped by an Apple employee or has been paranoid about possible Copyright issues and decided to not release it nor make a comment.
 
:;iEmu
::QEMU-s5l89xx-port (also known without the -port) (2012), also known as iEmu, is another failed attempt to get an iPhone running in QEMU, this time the 1st generation. The last commits were made in 2013. Any Android app going by the name iEmu is a *scam* and should be avoided. Nowadays, a malicious APK file going by the '''iEmu''' moniker is also being circulated on blogs run by script kiddies claiming to offer a way to run iOS apps on Android. More often than not, they're uploaded with the intention of generating revenue from impressionable users (through pay-per-click URL shorteners) who fall easily for those types of scams. The project started in 2011 but got mysteriously abandoned two years later before anything usable surfaced. All pages related to the project were removed. It's speculated Apple had a hand in this. The name is based on the part number of the original iPhone, and also is known to be called iVM, however, this is unconfirmed.
 
:;unidbg
:: ''unidbg'' (2020) is a developer library that allows emulating Android binaries, however, "experimental" iOS support was added sometime in 2021. It is unknown if any apps are supported.
 
:;aah
:: aah (arm64 architecture handler) uses unicorn and libffi to run iOS arm64 binaries on x86_64 macOS, with varying degrees of success. Most things will fail to launch because they need frameworks/symbols that aren't available on macOS. aah relies on the Mac Catalyst frameworks that are present on macOS 10.15. Additionally aah requires the source code of the app to run it, like the iOS simulator/emulator in XCode. https://twitter.com/maczydeco/status/1155588054486310912 https://github.com/zydeco/aah
 
:;ipasim
:: ''ipasim'' (2017) is a high-level emulator written in C++ that uses Microsoft's winObjC to recompile 64-bit iOS apps into apps in live. It doesn't support much apps except for really basic ones. It was more focused on apps than games.
:;macOS Big Surxnu-qemu-arm64The 17th major operating system of the macOS line:: A security research emulator created by Aleph. It has support for Much like TruEmu, it can partially run iOS and iPadOS applications for Apple M1 based Macs, with launch services working correctly.
==History of Failed iOS Emulation Attempts==;Hypervisor:;CorelliumMany ::A service made by the Israeli company of the currently available '''"simulators"''' only try recreating popular same name that runs any modern iOS apps (like browsers) in devices, some Android devices, or bring-your-own IoT devices on either the cloud or a PC application self-hosted server. Compatibility is basically perfect, and they have hardware iOS 10.3 to the latest iOS version, with no real emulation involveddebugging features and security tools, as well as IPA installing. They also have iPhone 7 to the latest iPhone in terms of hardware. Some notable [[Emulator scamsHypervisors#Type_1_hypervisors|scamsThe devices run on an ARM hypervisor called "CHARM"]] in such fashion are called . '''iPadianFor individuals, it costs 3 USD per hour''' or variations on the name, and are often for most use excluding some cybersecurity tools. The site also prohibits users under 18 from using their service. '''malwareThe service is made for cybersecurity, not general use'''.
* A project to emulate various smartphones (iPhone;Native:;macOS 11 and up::Since macOS 11 Big Sur, iPod Touchthe 17th major operating system of the macOS line, iPadthe operating system for Mac computers has support for iOS and iPadOS applications for Apple Silicon-based Macs. However, some apps cannot be installed directly due to Apple TV 2G) called DRM. This can be bypassed using an IPA file and PlayCover/Sideloady. [https://support.apple.com/guide/app-store/iphone-ipad-apps-mac-apple-silicon-fird2c7092da/mac See this page]. :;Cycada:: '''iEmu'Cycada''(2014), formally known as Cider and Chameleon before that 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, started in 2011 but got mysteriously abandoned two years later before anything usable surfacednot 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". All pages related attempts to release it by contacting them have resulted in them saying they are not interested. You may try to recreate Cycada on your own, provided that you know the project were removedinternals 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 known to exist, which is also unreleased, and it was made by the creator of DarlingHQ along with two other unknown individuals. It's speculated Apple had took about a hand year to develop, and one component of it was released. The one exception where some original code was published was [https://github.com/darlinghq/darling-newlkm here], to be reused in thisDarling later on.* Nowadays, Jeremy Andrus was accused of being a malicious APK file going by sellout for leaving the project to work as a kernel programmer (Now a Cloud Computing Efficiency worker) for Apple. The project booted many 32-bit iOS apps successfully, albeit slowly. The last update to this project was in [https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3135974.3135981 '''iEmu2017''' moniker is also being circulated on blogs run by script kiddies claiming ]. (NOTE: If you search "Cider APK", you will get iPhone 12 launcher adware) To see the paper, its specifications, its compatible apps, and possibly recreate it, see [http://jeremya.com/files/pub/2015/02/andrus-thesis.pdf here] ;Compatibility layer ([[Compatibility_layers|...]])?:;Darling::Although no iOS support exists at the moment, [https://www.darlinghq.org/ Darling] wants to offer a way to run add support for iOS apps on Androidin the “long term”. More often than Although not stated, theymight add support for other platforms based on iOS, such as tvOS or watchOS in the future. ==Hardware features==''This table focusing on early iOS operating system and crucial hardware features that can be possible to emulated through software or will be possible in the near future. Including everything or niche modern iOS features (e.g. [[List_of_games_that_support_Pressure-Sensitive_Face_Buttons#iOS_Emulation|3D Touch / Pressure Sensitive Buttons]], [https://www.reddit.com/r/EmulationOniOS/comments/1dcrgy1/new_game_mode_coming_to_ios_18/ Game Mode]) would result in an endless list.'' {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"|- style="font-weight:bold;"! colspan=2 | Name! TouchHLE! QEMU-iOS! Corellium|-| colspan=2 | [[Wikipedia:IOS#Home_screen|Home screen]]<br/><small>This shouldn're uploaded t be confused with emulator frontend/GUI.</small>| {{✗}}| {{~}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | Non-game apps| {{✗}}| {{~}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | [[Wikipedia:IOS#Notification_Center|Notification Center]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | [[Wikipedia:IOS#App_Store_bypasses|Sideloading/Installing]]| {{✓}}| {{?}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | Wi-Fi| {{~}}<abbr title="Local Area Network (LAN) only">*</abbr>| {{✗}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | Bluetooth| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | [[Wikipedia:Multi-touch#Applications|Multi-touch]]| {{?}}| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [[List_of_games_that_support_tracked_motion_controllers#iOS_Emulation|Motion sensors]]| {{Y}}[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/blob/trunk/OPTIONS_HELP.txt#L33 *]| {{✗}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [[Wikipedia:IOS#Multitasking|Location]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✓}}|-| rowspan=2 | Connectivity| [[Preservation_projects#Private_Platform_Servers|Game Center]]<br/><small>Achievements, Challenges, Leaderboards etc.</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{?}}|-| [[Wikipedia:Apple_Push_Notification_service|Apple Push Notification service]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✓}}|-! colspan=5 | [[Wikipedia:List_of_Apple_codenames#iOS|OS versions]]|-| colspan=2 | iPhone OS 1| {{✗}}| {{✓}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iPhone OS 2<br/><small>iPhone OS 2.2.1 was the intention of generating revenue from impressionable users last version compatible solely with ARMv6 chips.| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iPhone OS 3<br/><small>Supported both ARMv6 and ARMv7-A chips.</br>| {{✓}} <br> <small>(through payOnly 3.0)</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iOS 4<br/><small>iOS 4.2.1 was the last version supported ARMv6 chips.</small>| style="background: Orange;"|WIP| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iOS 5|style="background:skyblue;"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE#touchhle-high-level-peremulator-click URL shorteners) who fall easily for those types of scams-iphone-os-apps Future goal]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iOS 6<br/><small>iOS 6.1.6 was the last version compatible solely with 32-bit ARMv7-A chips.</small>* There has been recently a project to provide a runtime |style="background:skyblue;"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE#touchhle-high-level-emulator-for -iphone-os-apps Future goal]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iOS apps 7 to run on 10<br/><small>Supports both 64-bit ARMv8''x''-A and 32-bit ARMv7-A chips. iOS 10.3.4 was the last version that supported 32-bit chips.</small>|style="background:{{{color|#FFD2D2}}};"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/issues/181#issuecomment-1777098259 Never]| {{✗}}| {{~}} (iOS 10.3.3 and 10.3.4 only)|-| colspan=2 | iOS 11 to 'Android'present'' called |style="background:{{{color|#FFD2D2}}};"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/issues/181#issuecomment-1777098259 Never]| {{✗}}| {{✓}}|-| colspan=2 | iPadOS|style="background:{{{color|#FFD2D2}}};"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/issues/181#issuecomment-1777098259 Never]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | WatchOS|style="background:{{{color|#FFD2D2}}};"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/issues/181#issuecomment-1777098259 Never]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-! colspan=5 | [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/application-binary-interfaces Supported ABIs]|-| colspan=2 | [httphttps://systemsdeveloper.csapple.columbiacom/documentation/xcode/writing-armv6-code-for-ios ios_armv6] (iPhone OS 1 – iOS 4.2.edu1)<br/projects><small>Supporting ios_armv6 ABI is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.</cycadasmall>| {{Y}}[https://github.com/merryhime/ dynarmic?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-guest-architectures *]| {{N}}| {{N}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/writing-armv7-code-for-ios ios_armv7a] (iPhone OS 3 – iOS 10.3.4)<br/><small>Supporting ios_armv7a ABI is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.<br/> Older applications and games often rely on the [[Wikipedia:ARM_architecture_family|ARM 32-bit (Cortex)]] architecture, which isn't used in newer hardware.</small>| {{Y}}[https://github.com/merryhime/dynarmic?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-guest-architectures *]| {{N}}| {{N}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/writing-arm64-code-for-apple-platforms ios_armv8.''Cycada'x''a] (formerly known as iOS 11.0 to ''present'')|style="background:{{{color|#FFD2D2}}};"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/issues/181#issuecomment-1777098259 Never]| {{N}}| {{?}}|-! colspan=5 | [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/technologies Supported APIs]|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/opengles OpenGL ES x.x] (iPhone OS 2 – iOS 12.0)<br/><small>Supporting OpenGL ES x.x APIs is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.</small>| {{Y}}[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE?tab=readme-ov-file#development-status *]| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.apple.com/metal/ Metal] (iOS 8 to 'Cider'present'')|style="background:{{{color|#FFD2D2}}};"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/issues/181#issuecomment-1777098259 Never]| {{N}}| {{?}}|}<references group=N4/> ==Enhancements=={| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"|- style="font-weight:bold;"! colspan=2 | Name! TouchHLE! QEMU-iOS|-|rowspan=1 | Graphics| [[Resolution|Resizable Internal Resolution]]| {{Y}}[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/blob/trunk/OPTIONS_HELP.txt#L23 *]| {{?}}|-|rowspan=6 | Post-Processing| [[Shader_Presets|Shader Chain]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [[Shaders_and_filters|Filters]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-|[[Shaders_and_filters#AI-powered filters|AI-powered filter compatible]]<br/><small>([https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/gfecnt/nvidia-freestyle-ansel-enhancements-geforce-experience-article/ Freestyle])</small>| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| [[Wikipedia:Category:Anti-aliasing_algorithms|Post-rendering AA]]<br/><small>(FXAA, but not much progress has been made as of recentlyTXAA and MLAA/SMAA)</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [[Wikipedia:Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-rendering scaling]]<br/><small>(Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 1]])</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-|[[High_dynamic_range#Inverse_tone_mapping|Inverse tone mapping compatible]]| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| rowspan=5 | [https://tasvideos.org/Emulatorresources/Features TAS features]| [[Wikipedia:Macro_(computer_science)|Macros/Scripts]]/[https://tasvideos.org/LuaScripting Lua]| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| Rewind| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Savestates| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [https://tasvideos.org/Movies Movie recording/playback]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| rowspan=3 | Input| [[Controllers#Mouse Injectors for Emulators|Keyboard input injection]]<br/><small>Early versions of iOS didn't support keyboard input.<br/>One way an iOS emulator can provide keyboard input for these versions is through the original author was accused by some injection method, which sends keystrokes input data directy into emulated memory.</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [[Controllers#Mouse Injectors for Emulators|Mouse input injection]]<br/><small>Early versions of being a sellout iOS didn't support mouse input.<br/>One way an iOS emulator can provide mouse input for these versions is through the injection method, which sends cursor input data directy into emulated memory.</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [[Controllers#Mouse Injectors for Emulators|Gamepad input injection]]<br/><small>Before [[Wikipedia:MFi_Program|MFi]] extended support in iOS 7 (unlocking gamepad compatibility for leaving devices like the project [https://blog.logitech.com/2013/11/20/compatible-games-for-logitech-powershell-controller-battery/ Logitech Powershell Controller]).<br/> Earlier iOS versions (1-to work -6) offered [https://www.gottabemobile.com/ios-6-gaming-ipad-controller-iphone/ no native gamepad support].</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| rowspan=6 | Quality of life| [[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs#PlayStation_1|Streamable compression format]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Per-Game Profiles| {{Y}}| {{N}}|-| Command Line Options| {{Y}}| {{?}}|-| On-Screen Display<br/><small>Showcases messages, controller input state which is useful for speedrunners, performance data, active settings, and various notifications.</small>| {{N}}| {{N}}|-| Built-in On-Screen Control<br/><small>Simulating touch input on display via keyboard or gamepad. This QoL enhancement is crucial for lots of touch input exclusive games.<br/>Also you can use third party apps such as a kernel programmer [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shootingplus-v3/id1447087625 ShootingPlus V3] for Applethis. </small>| {{Y}}[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/blob/trunk/OPTIONS_HELP.txt#L33 * There was also a project based on ]| {{N}}|-| Big Picture Mode| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| rowspan=4 | Misc| [[Wikipedia:Variable_refresh_rate|Variable Refresh Rate compatible]]| {{N}}| {{N}}|-| [[QEMUVirtual_reality#VR_game_room_simulations|EmuVR support]]| colspan=11 | Exclusive to [https://www.emuvr.net/wiki/Installation_Guide#Downloads libretro cores] that usually went around by at the name QEMUmoment. So there is no support.|-s5l89xx (based on | AI Service<br/><small>With the part number help of <abbr title="optical character recognition">OCR</abbr> and other techniques, the original iPhone)AI service can provide a live translation of a game, or text-to-speech capabilities for the visually impaired among other things, either on demand or iVMautomatically. The last known commits </small>| colspan=11 | Exclusive to this project were in 2013, and it [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/ai-service/ libretro cores] at the moment. So there is unclear if this project will ever come to fruitionno support.|-| Debug features| {{~}}[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/blob/trunk/OPTIONS_HELP.txt#L131 *]| {{?}}|}<references group=N3/>
Your best bet, until ==Scams==Many of the currently available '''"solutions"''' only try recreating popular iOS apps (like browsers) in a new PC application with no real emulation effort is ever startedinvolved. Some notable [[Emulator scams|scams]] in such fashion are called '''iPadian''' or variations on the name, and are often '''malware'''. iPadian itself is to hope for whatever not a real emulator and cannot actually emulate any iOS app you , iPadOS, or watchOS code and just use recreations that are interested limited in, to have an Android portfunctionality and are not ports. Which “AIR iPhone” is often sadly not also a simulator in Adobe Flash. Malware on Android also goes by the case (until very recently) for name “iEmu”, “Cider” and “Cycada”, based on the vast majority unfinished and unreleased projects of the older game appssame name, and is sometimes iOS launcher software that is possibly infected by malware. iOS emulators that aren't scams operate like XCode, especially Japanese ones where they cannot run non- as development builds.*TikTok videos by the user “iPod Emulator Hype” appear to show QEMU-iOS running on an Android device and a web browser, however, the Android version is perceived often confirmed to be a VNC client and faked, with the more piracy-friendly platformHTML5 version likely fake as well. That appears to be gradually changing lately and isn't *Blog sites suggest “iOSEmus” as much concern an iOS emulator for non-gaming appsAndroid devices. In reality, but the older apps are unlikely it is an alternate App Store for iOS to get ported for the most partinstall jailbreak tools including console emulators and other tools on iOS 11.
Your best bet, until touchHLE supports your 32-bit app, ARM macOS is able to be virtualized without an ARM Mac (for 64-bit), or a new emulation effort is ever started, is to hope that whatever iOS app you're interested in gets an Android port. This is very rare, especially for Japanese ones, as Android is perceived to be more open to piracy. That appears to be gradually changing lately and isn't of as much concern for non-gaming apps are distributed . However, in the IPA formatU. Like its Android counterpartS., the trend goes to iOS exclusively, including the Faves, Bloom, APK filesand the official ChatGPT apps getting iOS versions first, they can be opened as and a regular zip file most trend of users in Anglo-America discriminating against Android users, forcing them to switch to iOS also may contribute to the time and their contents dissected this wayneed for one.
==See alsoExternal links==* [[Emulators on iOSWikipedia:Comparison_of_mobile_operating_systems|Comparison of mobile operating systems]](Wikipedia)*Reddit: [https://www.reddit.com/r/LegacyJailbreak/ r/LegacyJailbreak] (old devices) [https://www.reddit.com/r/Jailbreak/ r/Jailbreak] (new devices)
{{Apple}}
[[Category:Mobiles]]
[[Category:Media Players]]
[[Category:iOS emulators|*]]
[[Category:Not yet emulatedOperating systems]][[Category:Mobile Operating Systems]][[Category:MAME Driver Status: Preliminary]][[Category:ARM-based]]
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