Apple Is Ditching PC Emulation on IPhone
Anyone hoping to turn their iPhone into a real PC in their pocket is going to come away disappointed as Apple has dropped two PC emulators from the App Store.
The move follows a recent rule change that allowed emulators of retro gaming consoles like the Super Nintendo and even the PlayStation on the App Store, finally giving developers clearer boundaries on exactly what is and isn’t allowed.
The apps in question are iDOS3, which allows your iPhone to run MS-DOS, and UTM SE, a general operating system emulator that includes ways to run Windows 7, Windows 10, various versions of Linux, and more.
iDOS3 developer Chaojie Li told The Verge that the reason Apple rejected the app was because “only retro game console emulators are eligible according to the 4.7 recommendation.”
Lee said Apple refused to propose changes or define what exactly constitutes a retro gaming console.
UTM posted a similar note to X , formerly Twitter, taking issue with Apple’s idea that “PC is not a console” on the grounds that “there are retro Windows/DOS PC games that UTM is involved in running SE can be helpful.” Despite Apple’s resistance to allowing PC emulation, UTM SE faces an additional hurdle to adoption on the iPhone. The post adds that Apple also refuses to notarize the app for third-party app stores due to the inclusion of just-in-time compilation, which technically violates the rule that apps must be self-contained. UTM said the emulator does not contain any code that violates these rules, but it will not challenge Apple’s decision.
In an email to The Verge, Lee lamented that “as the sole developer and rule enforcer in the iOS ecosystem, they don’t need to be consistent at all.”
Apple did not immediately respond to Lifehacker’s request for comment. For now, those who want to play retro games on iOS will have to look to alternatives like Delta and Retroarch .