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:''This page is about software that emulates iOS on other hardware, like desktops.''{{for|emulators that run on IOSiOS|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 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 Similar to most of the Android emulators, some emulators (e.g., [[BlackThunder]]) make uses two-step approach, making 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. 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.

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|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yumetouchHLE/touchHLE/releases 0.1.2{{TouchHLEVer}}] <br> |{{~}}|{{~}}|[https://githubappdb.touchhle.comorg/hikari-no-yume28%<br/touchHLE><small>52 out of 188 reported titles</actions Actionssmall>]

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|{{~✗}}|-|[[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|?|?|?|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}

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|??? |{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}?|-?|[[MAME]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}|[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]?

|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE 1/releases 0.02.2]|{{~}}|{{~}}|[https://appdb.touchhle.org/ 28%<br/><small>52 out of 188 reported titles</small>]|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{~}}|} ==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 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]]|-|[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%"! 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"|Mobile / ARM|-|[https://apple.com/macos macOS]|align=left|{{Icon|macOS}}<ref group=N>Requires Mac computers with Apple Silicon (M series) processors.</ref>|11 Big Sur to 14 Sonoma|?|?|?|{{✗}}

<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.

:;macOS Big SurUnnamed iOS Emulator:The 17th major operating system of :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 macOS lineCalculator. They said it’s their own codename and own interpreter. It has does not support for 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 iPadOS applications for Apple M1said 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 M2-based Macsit only works. HoweverThey said they’ll never release it in the state that is in, some apps cannot be installed directly and refuses to even work on it due to Apple DRMtouchHLE’s existence. This can be bypassed using an IPA file It does load the original frameworks but doesn’t emulate UIKit. The interpreter was for x86 and PlayCoverinterprets ARM. They got it to boot via emulated/recreated parts of the darwin/Sideloadybsd 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#.

:;touchHLETruEmu:A promising new endeavor that aims to run older iOS apps by reimplementing standard libraries instead of internal components. Because of this very high:QEMU-level approacht8030, also known as TruEmu, no dump of the operating system is required. Its initial target is an iPhone OS 2.x11 emulated in QEMU, however, the current version with plans a published source cannot boot. TruEmu is a software that offers support for iOS 14 up to support other 32-bit the latest iOS versions, mainly 316 and is built to work on iPhone 6S SecureROM hardware.x It also provides out-of-box kernel debugging support and USB support (with Firmware Restore) and 4.x, utilizes Apple's custom CPU features such as well as the iPadSPRR/GXF and custom PAC. Development started in December 2022Additionally, and its initial 0TruEmu is open-source software.1.0 release came out TruEmu is made to counteract the paid Corellium’s monopoly in February 2023iOS 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 officially supported applications are [https://archiveminor graphical glitches.org/download/iOSObscura/iPhoneOS%202/com.ooi.supermonkeyball/ ''Super Monkey Ball''] – The day videos of it’s operation were posted on social medias, a user made an issue about it and archived the dev’s inspiration for the project – which is fully playable and runs at full speedrepo with no comment, even only with a comment before it was emulated saying that he was working on mid-range laptops, as well as Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3Dmultitouch. touchHLE supports running IPA files directlyThe reason it was unreleased remains uncertain. [https://archive.org/download/smblite-ios2.0-clutch-2.0.4/smblite-iOS2.0-%28Clutch-2.0.4%29.ipa Super Monkey Ball Lite] and Touch & Go LiteHe may be developing a very capable iOS emulator, the only supported free gamesmay have been hired by Corellium, are the third or he may have been stopped by an Apple employee or has been paranoid about possible Copyright issues and fourth ones supported. A game controller is required decided to control the accelerometernot release it nor make a comment.

:; iEmu::QEMU-iOS:Previously unnamed and referred to s5l89xx-port (also known without the -port) (2012), also known as “devos50’s qemu fork”iEmu, Based on earlier work emulating the S5L8900 and the is another failed attempt to get an iPhone 11 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. It can emulate an iPod Touch 1G running 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 1apps on Android.0, including iBootMore often than not, they're uploaded with the kernel, and 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 Springboard, although it requires project were removed. It's speculated Apple had a modified NOR and NAND imagehand in this. Some featuresThe name is based on the part number of the original iPhone, such as audio and Wi-Fialso is known to be called iVM, are not emulatedhowever, and there are multiple crashesthis is unconfirmed.

:;Corelliumunidbg:A service made by the Israeli company of the same name : ''unidbg'' (2020) is a developer library that runs any modern iOS devices, some allows emulating Android devicesbinaries, or bring-your-own IoT devices on either the cloud or a self-hosted server. Emulation is basically perfecthowever, and they have hardware iOS 10.3 to the latest "experimental" iOS version, with debugging features and security tools, as well as IPA installing. They also have iPhone 7 to the latest iPhone support was added sometime in terms of hardware. The devices run on an ARM hypervisor. For individuals, it costs 99 USD for two cores, which only has iPhone 7, and 295 USD for six cores, to use modern iPhones. The site also prohibits users under 18 from using their service2021. The service It is also made for cybersecurity, not gamingunknown if any apps are supported.

:;MAMEaah:Very basic iPhone 2G support : 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://githubtwitter.com/mamedevmaczydeco/mamestatus/blob1155588054486310912 https:/master/src/mamegithub.com/applezydeco/iphone2g.cpp here]. '''Unlikely to ever be completed.'''aah

:;BlackThunderipasim:The official iOS SDK : ''ipasim'' (macOS2017) is a high-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 level emulator written in the iOS SDK C++ that uses Microsoft's winObjC to run a few chosen recompile 64-bit iOS apps that are recompiled for x86into apps in live. [[BlackThunder]] is a closed source, commercial iOS simulator that can run a few commercial iOS It doesn't support much appsexcept for really basic ones. 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 It was more focused on apps that are decompiled and recompiled for the x86 architecturethan games.

:;Cycadaxnu-qemu-arm64: ''Cycada'' (2014), formally known as Cider and Chameleon before that is an unreleased : A security research project made emulator created 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 librariesAleph. It is seriously not recommended to initiate contact with the developers of the projectMuch like TruEmu, as they never planned on releasing it and want people to use their paper to reproduce it with "significant effort". All 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 internals of Android, can partially run 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 along with two other unknown individuals. It took about a 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 Darling later onlaunch services working correctly.

;TruEmuHypervisor:QEMU-t8030 (2022);Corellium::A service made by the Israeli company of the same name that runs any modern iOS devices, also known as TruEmusome Android devices, or bring-your-own IoT devices on either the cloud or a self-hosted server. Compatibility is an iPhone 11 emulated in QEMUbasically perfect, however it does not and they have a display, and seems abandonedhardware iOS 10. TruEmu is a software that offers support for iOS 14 up 3 to the latest iOS 16version, and is built to work on iPhone 6S SecureROM hardware. It also provides out-of-box kernel with debugging support features and USB support (with Firmware Restore)security tools, and utilizes Apple's custom CPU features such as SPRR/GXF and custom PACwell as IPA installing. Additionally, TruEmu is an open-source software. ;iEmu:QEMU-s5l89xx-port (2012), They also known as iEmu, is another failed attempt have iPhone 7 to get an the latest iPhone running in QEMUterms of hardware. [[Hypervisors#Type_1_hypervisors|The devices run on an ARM hypervisor called "CHARM"]]. '''For individuals, this time the 1st generationit costs 3 USD per hour''' for most use excluding some cybersecurity tools. The last commits were made in 2013site also prohibits users under 18 from using their service. Any Android app going by the name iEmu '''The service is a *scam* and should be avoidedmade for cybersecurity, not general use'''.

;unidbgNative: ''unidbg'' (2020) is a developer library that allows emulating Android binaries;macOS 11 and up::Since macOS 11 Big Sur, the 17th major operating system of the macOS line, however "experimental" the 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 DRM. This can be bypassed using an IPA file and PlayCover/Sideloady. [https://support was added some time in 2021. It is unknown if any apple.com/guide/app-store/iphone-ipad-apps are supported-mac-apple-silicon-fird2c7092da/mac See this page].If you have an ARM Mac, and want to emulate newer/modern apps/games, native execution is the most recommended

:;aahCycada: aah : ''Cycada'' (arm64 architecture handler2014) uses unicorn , 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 libffi to run experimentally iOS arm64 binaries 6 apps at a high, but not perfect quality and compatibility (see paper for list). It is based on x86_64 macOSpirated 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 varying degrees of success"significant effort". Most things will fail All attempts to launch because release it by contacting them have resulted in them saying they need frameworks/symbols that aren't available on macOSare not interested. aah relies You may try to recreate Cycada on your own, provided that you know the Mac Catalyst frameworks internals of Android, iOS, XNU, and Linux. Out of 69 tested apps, 19 apps fully work, 10 work with minor bugs that are present on macOS 10do not affect functionality, 15 have major errors that affect functionality, and 27 crash.15Only [https://github. Additionally aah requires com/darlinghq/darling/issues/1168#issuecomment-1115143186 one recreation] is known to exist, which is also unreleased, and it was made by the source code creator of the app DarlingHQ along with two other unknown individuals. It took about a year to run develop, and one component of itwas released. The one exception where some original code was published was [https://github.com/darlinghq/darling-newlkm here], like to be reused in Darling later on. Jeremy Andrus was accused of being a 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 simulator/emulator apps successfully, albeit slowly. The last update to this project was in XCode. [https://twitterdl.comacm.org/doi/maczydecopdf/status10.1145/1155588054486310912 https3135974.3135981 '''2017''']. (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://githubjeremya.com/zydecofiles/aahpub/2015/02/andrus-thesis.pdf here]

;ipasimCompatibility layer ([[Compatibility_layers|...]])?:;Darling: ''ipasim'' (2017) is a high level emulator written in C++ that uses Microsoft's winObjC :Although no iOS support exists at the moment, [https://www.darlinghq.org/ Darling] wants to recompile 64-bit add support for iOS apps into apps in livethe “long term”. It doesn't Although not stated, they might add support much apps except for really basic ones. It was more focused other platforms based on apps then gamesiOS, such as tvOS or watchOS in the future.

;xnu-qemu-arm64==Hardware features==: A security research emulator created by Aleph. Security ''This table focusing on early iOS operating system and crucial hardware features that like TruEmu, it can partially run be possible to emulated through software or will be possible in the near future. Including everything or niche modern iOSfeatures (e.g. [[List_of_games_that_support_Pressure-Sensitive_Face_Buttons#iOS_Emulation|3D Touch / Pressure Sensitive Buttons]], with launchd services working correctly[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'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]]| {{✓}}[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 last version compatible solely with ARMv6 chips.| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iPhone OS 3<br/><small>Supported both ARMv6 and ARMv7-A chips.</br>| {{✓}} <br> <small>(Only 3.0)</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iOS 4<br/><small>iOS 4.2.1 was the last version supported ARMv6 chips.</small>| style="background: Orange;Darling"|WIP| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iOS 5|style="background:Although skyblue;"|[https://github.com/hikari-no -yume/touchHLE#touchhle-high-level-emulator-for-iphone-os-apps Future goal]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iOS support exists at 6<br/><small>iOS 6.1.6 was the moment, last version compatible solely with 32-bit ARMv7-A chips.</small>|style="background:skyblue;"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE#touchhle-high-level-emulator-for-iphone-os-apps Future goal]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iOS 7 to 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 ''present''|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 | [https://wwwdeveloper.darlinghqapple.orgcom/ Darlingdocumentation/xcode/writing-armv6-code-for-ios ios_armv6] wants (iPhone OS 1 – iOS 4.2.1)<br/><small>Supporting ios_armv6 ABI is crucial for emulators due to add support compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons.</small>| {{✓}}[https://github.com/merryhime/dynarmic?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-guest-architectures *]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/writing-armv7-code-for -ios ios_armv7a] (iPhone OS 3 – iOS apps 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 the “long term”newer hardware.</small>| {{✓}}[https://github.com/merryhime/dynarmic?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-guest-architectures *]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.apple. Although not stated, they might add support com/documentation/xcode/writing-arm64-code-for other -apple-platforms based on ios_armv8.''x''a] (iOS 11.0 to ''present'')|style="background:{{{color|#FFD2D2}}};"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/issues/181#issuecomment-1777098259 Never]| {{✗}}| {{?}}|-! 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>| {{✓}}[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE?tab=readme-ov-file#development-status *]| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.apple.com/metal/ Metal] (iOS, such as tvOS or watchOS in the future8 to ''present'')|style="background:{{{color|#FFD2D2}}};"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/issues/181#issuecomment-1777098259 Never]| {{✗}}| {{?}}|}<references group=N4/>

==Our most recommendedEnhancements==This is an overall guide for people looking for an {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"|- style="font-weight:bold;"! colspan=2 | Name! TouchHLE! QEMU-iOS emulator|-|rowspan=1 | Graphics| [[Resolution|Resizable Internal Resolution]]| {{✓}}[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. If you have a Apple Silicon Mac 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, TXAA and want to emulate 64MLAA/SMAA)</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [[Wikipedia:Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-bitrendering scaling]]<br/modern apps><small>(Sharp bilinear, just use Sideloady Lanczos and DecryptDay to install the app itself on your M1[[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/M2 Mac><small>Early versions of iOS didn't support keyboard input. If you have <br/>One way an Intel MaciOS emulator can provide keyboard input for these versions is through the injection method, try using “aah” which is your best optionsends keystrokes input data directy into emulated memory. If you want to emulate 32</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-bit | [[Controllers#Mouse Injectors for Emulators|Mouse input injection]]<br/><small>Early versions of iOS apps, use touchHLE didn't support mouse input.<br/>One way an iOS emulator can provide mouse input for iPhone OS 2 apps, if your app these versions is one of through the only of 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 devices like the handful [https://blog.logitech.com/2013/11/20/compatible-games-for-logitech-powershell-controller-battery/ Logitech Powershell Controller]).<br/> Earlier iOS versions (1-to-6) offered [https://www.gottabemobile.com/ios-6-gaming-ipad-controller-iphone/ no native gamepad support].</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| rowspan=6 | Quality of supported appslife| [[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs#PlayStation_1|Streamable compression format]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Per-Game Profiles| {{✓}}| {{✗}}|-| Command Line Options| {{✓}}| {{?}}|-| On-Screen Display<br/><small>Showcases messages, controller input state which is useful for speedrunners, performance data, active settings, and if not, various notifications.</small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| 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 wait use third party apps such as [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shootingplus-v3/id1447087625 ShootingPlus V3] for Cycada this.</small>| {{✓}}[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/blob/trunk/OPTIONS_HELP.txt#L33 *]| {{✗}}|-| Big Picture Mode| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| rowspan=4 | Misc| [[Wikipedia:Variable_refresh_rate|Variable Refresh Rate compatible]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [[Virtual_reality#VR_game_room_simulations|EmuVR support]]| colspan=11 | Exclusive to release or get recreated, but it likely won’t ever happen[https://www.emuvr.net/wiki/Installation_Guide#Downloads libretro cores] at the moment. So there is no support. If you just want to try |-| AI Service<br/><small>With the look and feel help of the first iPhone<abbr title="optical character recognition">OCR</iOSabbr> and other techniques, devos19’s QEMU fork is the best option. If you are emulating for the purpose AI service can provide a live translation of something related a game, or text-to-speech capabilities for cybersecurity or advanced testing not in the XCode emulatorvisually impaired among other things, try and purchase Corellium, however if you are broke either on demand 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 automatically.</small>| colspan=11 | Exclusive to iOS[https://docs.libretro.com/guides/ai-service/ libretro cores] at the moment. If you want to easily run '''VERY''' simple iOS apps on Windows, use ipasim, even though So there is nearly zero people in this categoryno support.|-| Debug features| {{~}}[https://github. If you would like to run a few commercial iOS apps and games from China, use BlackThundercom/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/blob/trunk/OPTIONS_HELP.txt#L131 *]| {{?}}|}<references group=N3/>

==History of failed iOS emulation attemptsScams==Many of the currently available '''"simulatorssolutions"''' only try recreating popular iOS apps (like browsers) in a PC application with no real emulation involved. Some notable [[Emulator scams|scams]] in such fashion are called '''iPadian''' or variations on the name, and are often '''malware'''. iPadian itself is not a real emulator and cannot actually emulate any iOS, iPadOS, or watchOS code and just use recreations that are limited in functionality and are not ports. “AIR iPhone” is also a simulator in Adobe Flash. Malware on Android also goes by the name “iEmu”, “Cider” and “Cycada”, based on the unfinished and unreleased projects of the same name, and is sometimes iOS launcher software that is possibly infected by malware. iOS emulators that aren't scams operate like XCode, where they cannot run non-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 confirmed to be a VNC client and faked, with the HTML5 version likely fake as well.*Blog sites suggest “iOSEmus” as an iOS emulator for Android devices. In reality, it is an alternate App Store for iOS to install jailbreak tools including console emulators and other tools on iOS 11.

* A project Your best bet, until touchHLE supports your 32-bit app, ARM macOS is able to emulate various smartphones be virtualized without an ARM Mac (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Apple TV 2Gfor 64-bit) called '''iEmu''', or a new emulation effort is ever 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.* 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 hope that whatever iOS apps on app you're interested in gets an Androidport. More often than notThis is very rare, they're uploaded with the intention of generating revenue from impressionable users (through pay-per-click URL shorteners) who fall easily especially for those types of scams.* There has been a project Japanese ones, as Android is perceived to provide a runtime for iOS apps be more open to run on '''Android''' called [http://systemspiracy.cs.columbia.edu/projects/cycada/ That appears to be gradually changing lately and isn'''Cycada'''] (formerly known t of as '''Cider'''). Not much progress has been made, and the original author was accused of being a sellout for leaving the project to work as a kernel programmer concern for Apple. The project booted many 32non-bit iOS gaming apps successfully. However, albeit slowly. The last update to this project was in [https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3135974the U.3135981 '''2017''']S. (NOTE: If you search "Cider APK", you will get iPhone 12 launcher adware) * There was also a project based on [[QEMU]] that usually went around by the name QEMU-s5l89xx (based on trend goes to iOS exclusively, including the part number of Faves, Bloom, and the original iPhone)official ChatGPT apps getting iOS versions first, or iVM. The last known commits to this project were and a trend of users in 2013Anglo-America discriminating against Android users, and it is unclear if this project will ever come forcing them to switch to iOS also may contribute to fruitionthe need for one.

Your best bet, until a new emulation effort is ever started, is to hope that whatever iOS app you're interested in gets an Android port==External links==*[[Wikipedia:Comparison_of_mobile_operating_systems|Comparison of mobile operating systems]] (Wikipedia)*Reddit: [https://www.reddit. This is very rare, especially for Japanese ones, as Android is perceived to be more open to piracycom/r/LegacyJailbreak/ r/LegacyJailbreak] (old devices) [https://www. That appears to be gradually changing lately and isn't of as much concern for non-gaming appsreddit.com/r/Jailbreak/ r/Jailbreak] (new devices)