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.

iGBA Feature

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

apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Preparing iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones

Saturday October 11, 2025 6:59 pm PDT by
Apple's software engineers are internally testing iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will likely be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released within the next few weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS...
10

Apple to Launch New Products Starting Next Week, Claims Dubious Leak [Updated]

Friday October 10, 2025 5:57 am PDT by
Update: the Naver account appears to be referencing a speculative post on X by Vadim Yuryev, dated October 6. The original article follows. Apple will announce new products through a series of press releases beginning as soon as next week, according to a dubious claim posted on the Korean blog Naver. The Naver blog account yeux1122, which aggregates rather than originates Apple...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 6 New Features

Saturday October 11, 2025 10:10 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still nearly a year away, a handful of new features and changes have already been rumored for the devices. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Smaller Dynamic Island The standard iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with a slightly smaller Dynamic Island, but the devices will...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Being Rebranded as Apple TV

Monday October 13, 2025 8:25 am PDT by
Buried in its announcement about "F1: The Movie" making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple has also announced that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV. A single line near the end of the press release states "Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity," though Apple's website has yet to be updated with any changes, so we're unsure on the details of the...
All AirPods 2025

Apple Reportedly Working on New AirPods Pro, AirPods 5, and H3 Chip

Sunday October 12, 2025 9:24 am PDT by
After releasing AirPods Pro 3 last month, Apple is already working on the next AirPods Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. It is unclear if the new AirPods Pro would be branded as AirPods Pro 4, or if they would be considered an updated version of AirPods Pro 3. Gurman did not take a position, opting to describe them as a "new version" of the "high-end in-ear buds." AirPods Pro 2...
Tim Cook MacBook

Apple's Next CEO Identified

Wednesday October 8, 2025 12:30 pm PDT by
Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus remains the "leading contender" to become the company's next CEO, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Ternus is 50 years old, so he is still young enough to have a long run at the helm of Apple, after current CEO Tim Cook retires. He is already a key decision-maker at Apple, according to Gurman, and he appears to have a charismatic...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Apple Rumored to Launch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip Before M5 Pro and M5 Max Models

Friday October 10, 2025 1:18 pm PDT by
Apple is planning to release a base MacBook Pro with a standard M5 chip before higher-end models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, according to AppleInsider's sources with "knowledge of macOS Tahoe development and hardware testing." The report said a MacBook Pro with an M5 chip is "nearing release," and Apple has apparently been testing this model with an unreleased macOS 26.0.2 version....
10

Apple Event This October? Here's the Latest on What to Expect

Thursday October 9, 2025 7:00 am PDT by
While it is unclear if Apple will host an October event this year, or stick to press releases, rumors suggest it will announce several new products this month. The graphic for Apple's "Unleashed" event in October 2021 Below, we have recapped everything to know about a potential Apple event this October. When The table below outlines when Apple teased its October launches over the past...

Top Rated Comments

Zapski Avatar
20 months ago
So this is an ad and tracking enabled version of someone else’s work. Hard pass.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MarioPhone96 Avatar
20 months ago
The fact this app is based off GBA4iOS and is full of ads and tracking makes it not worth getting. Just wait for Delta, it’s way better.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Populus Avatar
20 months ago
From what I’ve read, this has embedded ads. I would prefer paid emulators that aren’t based on ads…
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SoldOnApple Avatar
20 months ago
Tim Cook finally got my emails.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
foobarbaz Avatar
20 months ago
Eww. First thing it does is ask for push notification permission. Then it asks for permission to be tracked by 126 (!) entities. Then it shows an ad with a fake button trying to get me to click it. (You know the kind you find on shady download sites).

No, thank you.

I’ll wait for a premium or community app, not shovelware from a developer with 70 different apps.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarletonTorpin Avatar
20 months ago

So this is an ad and tracking enabled version of someone else’s work. Hard pass.
Well said, Zapski.

I downloaded the app, and then I realized the only way to load roms is via a web browser, which built into the app.

I am NOT putting any user info into a third-party app's web browser.

Here's hoping for a more-legit and official solution, in the future.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)