The first real emulator arrives in iOS App Store [Update]

Update 15/04/2024: iGBA has been removed from the App Store due to copyright issues that make it extremely similar to GBA4iOS. You can read the full story here.

A new app called iGBA: GBA & GBC Retro Emulator has arrived on the App Store, making it easy for people to play retro games on an iPhone or iPad.

The app works as expected and plays games from the GameBoy era of handheld consoles. To load a game into it, you need to find the title in the Files app. Then, touch-and-hold to bring up some options. Choose share, and tap on iGBA from the list of apps.

Within the app, there are several features, including save states, fast-forwarding, and haptic feedback. Overall, I don’t find it as fully featured as Delta, but it’s easy to download and works well, so it’s likely going to be used by a lot of people.

If you want to test out the emulator, you can download it from the App Store here.

This is the first emulator to appear on the App Store following Apple’s announcement on April 5th that emulation apps are now allowed in the App Store. Leading up to iGBA: GBA & GBC Retro Emulator’s release, it was unclear how emulation apps would work on iOS, and so far, it appears to be very similar to how they operate on Android, Windows and Mac.