Game Boy Emulator for iPhone Now Available in App Store Following Rule Change [Removed]
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts.
It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that users download from the web and open via the Files app on the iPhone. Accordingly, it seems like there are no game restrictions for emulators, unless Apple mistakenly approved iGBA on the App Store.
iGBA works with Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games. It is important to note that it can be illegal to possess certain ROMs from game developers, but homebrew Game Boy games are typically in the clear.
iGBA appears to be a copy of Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS emulator, but with ads that can track users. GBA4iOS is the predecessor to Testut's current Nintendo game emulator Delta, which can be installed on the iPhone outside of the App Store, and will soon be available through his alternative app marketplace AltStore on iPhones in the EU. It is not clear if Testut plans to make Delta available in the App Store following the rule change.
Update: As noted by Parker Ortolani, the iGBA emulator has been removed from the App Store. Apple told us it removed the app for violating the company's app review guidelines related to spam and copyright, after learning that it was a knockoff app that copied another developer's submission (likely referring to GBA4iOS).
Popular Stories
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has high expectations for Apple's first foldable iPhone.
In his Power On newsletter today, he said the foldable iPhone will be "the most significant overhaul in the iPhone's history."
"iPhone 4, iPhone 6 and iPhone X were clearly a big deal, but this is a whole new design," he said.
Like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, the foldable iPhone will reportedly open up like ...
March has been an incredibly busy month for Apple, with the company unveiling more than 10 new products and accessories. We said hello to the MacBook Neo at the start of the month, and we bid farewell to the Mac Pro at the end of it.
Nevertheless, there is still a lot more to come this year.
Beyond the usual annual updates to iPhones and Apple Watches, Apple's all-new smart home hub is...
Apple is expected to release two new iPhone apps this year, including an Apple Business app and a Siri app with chatbot-like functionality.
With the Apple Business app, employees at businesses using the new Apple Business platform will be able to install apps for work, view contact information for colleagues, and request support. Apple Business is launching on April 14, and it replaces Apple ...
Popular Stories
Apple has announced it is lowering App Store developer fees in China from March 15, with commission rates for standard in-app purchases (IAPs) set to change to 25%, down from 30%.
In an update on its Developer blog, Apple also said the commission rate for qualifying IAPs under the App Store Small Business Program and Mini Apps Partner Program (and auto-renewals of IAP subscriptions after the ...
A lawsuit brought against Apple by music streaming app Musi has been dismissed by a federal judge, after she ruled that Apple's developer agreement gives it the right to remove any app from the App Store at any time, "with or without cause."
Launched in 2013 by two Canadian teenagers, Musi was an app that played YouTube videos in a stripped-down interface, showed its own ads (removable for...
Apple has quietly blocked AI "vibe coding" apps, such as Replit and Vibecode, from releasing App Store updates unless they make changes, The Information reports.
"Vibe coding" tools allow users with little to no programming experience to build apps or websites using natural language prompts. Their accessibility has driven rapid adoption among both developers and non-technical users.
Apple ...
