Changes

:''This page is about software that emulates IOS 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 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, 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.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"

|macOS Big Sur and up|align!colspan=left|{{Icon|macOS}}|?|{{✗}}|{{✓}}"9"|{{✓}}PC / x86

|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yumetouchHLE/touchHLE/releases 0{{TouchHLEVer}}]|{{~}}|{{~}}|[https://appdb.1touchhle.2org/ 28%<br/><small>52 out of 188 reported titles</small>]

|[https://www.corelliumgithub.com/ Corelliumdevos50/qemu-ios/tree/ipod_touch_1g QEMU-iOS]|align=left|{{Icon|WebmacOS|Linux}}|Website[https://github.com/devos50/qemu-ios/tree/ipod_touch_1g#building git]|{{✗~}}|?|N/A

|[https://github.com/devos50/qemu/tree/ipod_touch_1g devos50’s QEMU fork[BlackThunder]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|macOS|Linux}}|git?|?|?|?|{{✗}}|{{✓?}}

|{{✗}}|{{✗}}[https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/apple/iphone2g.cpp#L318 *]

|[http://systems.cs.columbia.edu/projects/cycada/ Cycada]Unnamed iOS emulator|align=left|{{Icon|AndroidWindows}}|Unreleaseddue to touchHLE|?|?|?|{{✗}}

|[[BlackThunder]https://github.com/zydeco/aah aah]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|macOS}}|?|?|?|?|{{✓}}|{{✗}}

|aah[https://github.com/ipasimulator/ipasim ipasim]|align=left|{{Icon|macOSWindows}}|PatchV1.0.1|?|?|?

|TruEmu[https://github.com/alephsecurity/xnu-qemu-arm64 xnu-qemu-arm64]

|?|?|?|?|{{✓}} ||{{~✗}} ||{{✗}}

|?|?|?|?

!colspan="9"|Mobile / ARM|-|[[MAME]https://touchhle.org/ touchHLE]|align=left|{{Icon|WindowsAndroid}}|Linux[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/releases 0.2.2]|macOS{{~}}|FreeBSD{{~}}|[httphttps://wwwappdb.mamedevtouchhle.org/release28%<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.html corellium.com/ Corellium]|align=left|{{MAMEVerIcon|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|?|?|?|{{✗}} |{{✓}}|{{✗✓}}

:;macOS Big SurQEMU-iOS:The 17th major operating system of :Previously unnamed and referred to as “devos50’s qemu fork”, Based on earlier work emulating the S5L8900 and the macOS lineiPhone 11 in QEMU. It has support for 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 iPadOS applications for Apple M1Wi-based Macs. HoweverFi, some apps are not installed due emulated, and there are multiple crashes. About a year later, the same user managed to Apple DRM. This can be bypassed using run iPhone OS 2 on an IPA file emulated iPod Touch 2G, however internet connectivity is not figured out yet, and Sideloadynobody 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.

:;touchHLEMAME:A promising new endeavor that aims to run older iOS apps by reimplementing standard libraries instead of internal components. Because of this very high-level approach, no dump of the operating system is required. Its initial target is :Very basic iPhone OS 2.x, with plans to 2G 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. The only officially supported applications are available [https://archivegithub.orgcom/mamedev/mame/blob/master/downloadsrc/iOSObscuramame/iPhoneOS%202apple/com.ooiiphone2g.supermonkeyball/ ''Super Monkey Ball''cpp here] – the dev’s inspiration for the project – which is fully playable and runs at full speed<small>(that cannot boot iOS, nor even on mid-range laptops, as well as Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D. touchHLE supports running IPA files directly. Super Monkey Ball Lite and Touch & Go Lite, get to the only supported free games, are the third and fourth one supportedApple logo)</small>. A game controller is required '''Unlikely to control the accelerometerever be completed.'''

:; devos50’s QEMU forkBlackThunder:Based on earlier work emulating the S5L8900 and the iPhone 11 in QEMU: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. It can emulate they run code generated for an iPod Touch 1G running x86 target rather than ARM code as used by iOS 1.0However, some emulators, including iBoote.g. BlackThunder, make use of the kernel, and simulator in the SpringboardiOS SDK to run a few chosen iOS apps that are recompiled for x86. Unlike previous emulation trails, although it requires BlackThunder first loads a modified NOR and NAND highly trimmed Hackintosh image. Some featuresvia VirtualBox, such as audio which loads Xcode and Wi-Fian iOS simulator into it, then runs iOS apps that are not emulated, decompiled and there are multiple crashes. [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 ptrecompiled for the x86 architecture.2]

:;CorelliumUnnamed iOS Emulator:A service :This is a Low-Level Emulator made by user “K-8-L-Y-N” discussed on the Isrealian company of Darling Discord Server, which can run Springboard and the same name that runs any modern iOS devicesCalculator. They said it’s their own codename and own interpreter. It does not support touch at all, some Android devices, or bring-your-own IoT devices on either making it almost useless. It only emulates the kernel and the cloud or user provides a self hosted serverfilesystem DMG. Emulation is basically perfectThey’ve gotten iOS 1.0 springboard to boot, which they said was not too difficult and said they have hardware were also using iOS 101.3 0 dyld directly. They said it was a Low-Level-Emulation project as they had to emulate the latest iOS version, with debugging features CPU. They also said the kernel emulation is shorty and security tools, as well as IPA installingit only works. They also have iPhone 7 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 latest iPhone in terms of hardwareoriginal frameworks but doesn’t emulate UIKit. The devices run on an interpreter was for x86 and interprets ARM hypervisor. For individuals, They got it costs 99 USD for 2 cores, which only has iPhone 7to boot via emulated/recreated parts of the darwin/bsd kernel. Again, it’s emulating the kernel and 295 USD for 6 coresnot doing BSD syscalls on windows. When they feel like the code is in a better state, they do want to use modern iPhonesrelease it under the unlicense. The site also prohibits users under 18 from using their serviceHowever they do not plan to ever work on it anymore due to touchHLE. The service They say the code is also made for cybersecurity, not gamingin some pretty messy C++ stuff. They plan on rewriting in C# as they feel more comfortable continuing it in C#.

:;MAMETruEmu:Very basic :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 2G 6S SecureROM hardware. It also provides out-of-box kernel debugging support and USB support available [https:(with Firmware Restore) and utilizes Apple's custom CPU features such as SPRR//githubGXF and custom PAC.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/apple/iphone2gAdditionally, TruEmu is open-source software.cpp here]TruEmu is made to counteract the paid Corellium’s monopoly in iOS emulation for security reasearch. Unlikely The creator’s mastodon and X (formally Twitter) shows work on full SEP emulation and it booting to ever 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 completeddeveloping 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.

:;BlackThunderiEmu:The official iOS SDK :QEMU-s5l89xx-port (macOSalso known without the -onlyport) (2012) only allows for , also known as iEmu, is another failed attempt to get an iPhone running your own projectsin QEMU, ithis time the 1st generation.eThe last commits were made in 2013. they run code generated for an x86 target rather than ARM code as used Any Android app going by iOSthe name iEmu is a *scam* and should be avoided. However some simulators e.g. BlackThunderNowadays, make use of a malicious APK file going by the simulator in the iOS SDK '''iEmu''' moniker is also being circulated on blogs run by script kiddies claiming to offer a way to run a few chosen iOS apps that are recompiled for x86on Android. [[BlackThunder]] More often than not, they're uploaded with the intention of generating revenue from impressionable users (Chinese:黑雷模拟器through pay-per-click URL shorteners),website is 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 closed source, commercial iOS simulator that can run a few commercial iOS appshand in this. Unlike previous emulation trailsThe name is based on the part number of the original iPhone, BlackThunder firstly loads a highly trimmed Hackintosh image via VirtualBoxand also is known to be called iVM, which loads Xcode and an iOS simulator into ithowever, then runs iOS apps that are decompiled and recompiled for the x86 architecturethis is unconfirmed.

:;Cycadaunidbg:: ''Cycadaunidbg'' (20142020), formally known as Cider is an unreleased research project made by a few folks at Columbia developer library that ran iOS 5.1.1 and experimentally iOS 6 apps at a highallows emulating Android binaries, but not perfect quality and compatibility (see paper for list). It is based on pirated iOS libraries. It is seriously not reccomended to initiate contact with the developers of the projecthowever, as they never planned on releasing it and want people to use their paper to reproduce it with "significant effortexperimental". You may try to recreate Cycada on your own, provided that you know the internals of Android, iOS, XNU, and Linuxsupport was added sometime in 2021. [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-It is unknown if any apps-android-platform Announcement] - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Cycada Wikipedia] - [https://archiveare supported.org/details/image-071 Screenshots]

:;TruEmuaah:QEMU-t8030 : aah (2022arm64 architecture handler)uses unicorn and libffi to run iOS arm64 binaries on x86_64 macOS, also known as TruEmu, is an iPhone 11 emulated in QEMU, however it does not have a display, and seems abandonedwith varying degrees of success. [https:Most things will fail to launch because they need frameworks//githubsymbols that aren't available on macOS.com/TrungNguyen1909/qemu-t8030 Source code] - [https://iaah relies on the Mac Catalyst frameworks that are present on macOS 10.blackhat15.com/USA-22/Thursday/US-22-Nguyen-TruEmu.pdf Presentation] ;iEmu:QEMU-s5l89xx-port (2012), also known as iEmu, is another failed attempt Additionally aah requires the source code of the app to get an iPhone running in QEMUrun it, this time like the 1st generation. The last commits were made iOS simulator/emulator in 2013XCode. Any Android app going by the name iEmu is a *scam* and should be avoided. [https://githubtwitter.com/danzatt/QEMU-s5l89xx-port Source Code Mirror (Up to late 2012)] - [http://web.archive.org/web/20131213053331/http://www.iemu.org/index.php/Main_Page Website (archived)] - [http://web.archive.orgmaczydeco/web/20130410061346status/1155588054486310912 https://github.com/cmwdotmezydeco/QEMU-s5l89xx-port Source Code (Archive)]aah

:;unidbgipasim:: ''unidbgipasim'' (20202017) is a developer library high-level emulator written in C++ that allows emulating Android binaries, however "expiramental" uses Microsoft's winObjC to recompile 64-bit iOS apps into apps in live. It doesn't support was added some time in 2021much apps except for really basic ones. It is unknown if any was more focused on apps are supportedthan games.

:;xnu-qemu-arm64:: A security research emulator created by Aleph. Much like TruEmu, it can partially run iOS, with launch services working correctly. ;Hypervisor:;Corellium::A service made by the Israeli company of the same name that runs any modern iOS devices, some Android devices, or bring-your-own IoT devices on either the cloud or a self-hosted server. Compatibility is basically perfect, and they have hardware iOS 10.3 to the latest iOS version, with debugging features and security tools, as well as IPA installing. They also have iPhone 7 to the latest iPhone in terms of hardware. [[Hypervisors#Type_1_hypervisors|The devices run on an ARM hypervisor called "CHARM"]]. '''For individuals, it costs 3 USD per hour''' for most use excluding some cybersecurity tools. The site also prohibits users under 18 from using their service. '''The service is made for cybersecurity, not general use'''. ;Native:;macOS 11 and up::Since macOS 11 Big Sur, the 17th major operating system of the macOS line, 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.apple.com/guide/app-store/iphone-ipad-apps-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), 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, but not perfect quality and compatibility (see paper for list) uses unicorn . 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 libffi 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 run recreate Cycada on your own, provided that you know the internals of Android, iOS arm64 binaries on x86_64 macOS, 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 varying degrees two other unknown individuals. It took about a year to develop, and one component of successit was released. Most things The one exception where some original code was published was [https://github.com/darlinghq/darling-newlkm here], 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 apps successfully, albeit slowly. The last update to this project was in [https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3135974.3135981 '''2017''']. (NOTE: If you search "Cider APK", you will fail 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 launch because add support for iOS apps in the “long term”. Although not stated, they need frameworksmight 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:/symbols that aren/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 available on macOSbe 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;"|WIP| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | iOS 5|style="background:skyblue;"|[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE#touchhle-high-level-emulator-for-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>|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. aah relies on 4 was the Mac Catalyst frameworks last version that are 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://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/writing-armv6-code-for-ios ios_armv6] (iPhone OS 1 – iOS 4.2.1)<br/><small>Supporting ios_armv6 ABI is crucial for emulators due to 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 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 macOS 10the [[Wikipedia:ARM_architecture_family|ARM 32-bit (Cortex)]] architecture, which isn't used in newer hardware.</small>| {{✓}}[https://github.com/merryhime/dynarmic?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-guest-architectures *]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/writing-arm64-code-for-apple-platforms 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.15x APIs is crucial for emulators due to compatibility and [[Preservation_projects|preservation]] reasons. </small>| {{✓}}[https://twittergithub.com/maczydecohikari-no-yume/touchHLE?tab=readme-ov-file#development-status*]| {{?}}| {{?}}|-| colspan=2 | [https://1155588054486310912 developer.apple.com/metal/ Metal] (iOS 8 to ''present'')|style="background:{{{color|#FFD2D2}}};"|[https://github.com/zydecohikari-no-yume/touchHLE/issues/181#issuecomment-1777098259 Never]| {{✗}}| {{?}}|}<references group=N4/aah>

==History of failed Enhancements=={| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"|- style="font-weight:bold;"! colspan=2 | Name! TouchHLE! QEMU-iOS emulation attempts|-|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.com/en-us/geforce/news/gfecnt/nvidia-freestyle-ansel-enhancements-geforce-experience-article/ Freestyle])</small>| {{?}}| {{?}}|-Many | [[Wikipedia:Category:Anti-aliasing_algorithms|Post-rendering AA]]<br/><small>(FXAA, TXAA 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 currently available 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 iOS didn'''"simulators"''' only try recreating popular 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 apps 7 (unlocking gamepad compatibility for devices like browsersthe [https://blog.logitech.com/2013/11/20/compatible-games-for-logitech-powershell-controller-battery/ Logitech Powershell Controller]) in a PC application with .<br/> Earlier iOS versions (1-to-6) offered [https://www.gottabemobile.com/ios-6-gaming-ipad-controller-iphone/ no real emulation involvednative gamepad support]. Some notable </small>| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| rowspan=6 | Quality of life| [[Emulator scamsSave_disk_space_for_ISOs#PlayStation_1|scamsStreamable 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 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 use third party apps such fashion are called '''iPadian''' as [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shootingplus-v3/id1447087625 ShootingPlus V3] for 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 [https://www.emuvr.net/wiki/Installation_Guide#Downloads libretro cores] at the moment. So there is no support.|-| AI Service<br/><small>With the help of <abbr title="optical character recognition">OCR</abbr> and other techniques, the AI service can provide a live translation of a game, or variations text-to-speech capabilities for the visually impaired among other things, either on demand or automatically.</small>| colspan=11 | Exclusive to [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/ai-service/ libretro cores] at the name, and are often '''malware'''moment. So there is no support.|-| Debug features| {{~}}[https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/blob/trunk/OPTIONS_HELP. txt#L131 *]| {{?}}|}<references group=N3/>

* A project to emulate various smartphones (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Apple TV 2G) called '''iEmu''', 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.==Scams==* Nowadays, a malicious APK file going by Many of the currently available '''iEmu"solutions"''' moniker is also being circulated on blogs run by script kiddies claiming to offer a way to run only try recreating popular 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 shortenerslike browsers) who fall easily for those types of scamsin a PC application with no real emulation involved.* There has been a project to provide a runtime for iOS apps to run on '''Android''' called Some notable [[http://systems.cs.columbia.edu/projects/cycada/ '''Cycada'''Emulator scams|scams]] (formerly known as in such fashion are called '''CideriPadian'''). Not much progress has been madeor variations on the name, and the original author was accused of being a sellout for leaving the project to work as a kernel programmer 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 are often '''2017malware''']. (NOTE: If you search "Cider APK"iPadian itself is not a real emulator and cannot actually emulate any iOS, you will get iPhone 12 launcher adwareiPadOS, even on UpToDown or Malavida) * There was watchOS code and just use recreations that are limited in functionality and are not ports. “AIR iPhone” is also a project based simulator in Adobe Flash. Malware on [[QEMU]] that usually went around Android also goes by the name QEMU-s5l89xx (“iEmu”, “Cider” and “Cycada”, based on the part number unfinished and unreleased projects of the original iPhone)same name, and is sometimes iOS launcher software that is possibly infected by malware. iOS emulators that aren't scams operate like XCode, or iVMwhere they cannot run non-development builds. The last known commits *TikTok videos by the user “iPod Emulator Hype” appear to this project were in 2013show 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 unclear if this project will ever come an alternate App Store for iOS to fruitioninstall 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. However, in the U.S., the trend goes to iOS exclusively, including the Faves, Bloom, and the official ChatGPT apps getting iOS versions first, and a trend of users in Anglo-America discriminating against Android users, forcing them to switch to iOS also may contribute to the need for one.

iOS apps are distributed in the IPA format==External links==*[[Wikipedia:Comparison_of_mobile_operating_systems|Comparison of mobile operating systems]] (Wikipedia)*Reddit: [https://www.reddit.com/r/LegacyJailbreak/ r/LegacyJailbreak] (old devices) [https://www. Like Android's APK files, they are standard ZIP files, so their contents can be browsed and extracted most of the timereddit.com/r/Jailbreak/ r/Jailbreak] (new devices)