Emulators made my iPhone and iPad the best retro consoles of 2025

I love emulators. Since I was able to play Super Mario 64 on my Windows 98 PC back in 1999, I’ve had a fascination with how emulators can not only run games at various speeds but also improve others. From new textures to mods, emulators are usually one of the first apps I download when I buy a new device.

In 2024, Apple changed an App Store policy to allow emulators, meaning compatible iPhones and iPads could now run apps that could emulate classic gaming systems. It means that emulators like Delta and Gamma have become some of my most frequently used apps in 2025. However, there are still some improvements I’d love to see in 2026.

The Escapist recaps

• Emulators can run systems from the past on modern devices, such as laptops, Android devices, iPhones, iPads, and more. They can also improve games by increasing the resolution and replacing textures with sharper ones.
• One of the first gaming emulators was UltraHLE in 1997, an app that could run Nintendo 64 games, such as Super Mario 64.
• In April 2024, Apple allowed emulator apps to be made available on the iPhone and iPad App Stores.
• Since then, Delta, Gamma, and Provenance have become some of the most popular emulators on the App Store, allowing users to play a variety of classic games from the past.

A positive policy change

Before the 2024 policy change, you would need to ‘jailbreak’ your Apple device in order to run an emulator, which was far too much hassle than it was worth. I’d use emulators on my PS Vita, MacBook Pro, and other devices to play titles that would be nearly impossible to see a re-release due to licensing issues or a clear lack of interest from a gaming company.

Now, it’s as easy as downloading Delta, Gamma, Provenance, and many more from the App Store and going from there. We don’t recommend using these emulators to play commercial game ROMs you don’t own, but there are plenty of great homebrew titles you can play with them.

Delta is one of the most commonly known emulators. Beginning as GBA4iOS in 2010, the team, consisting of Riley Testut and Shane Gill, has transformed the app into a way of being able to play titles from Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Super Nintendo, and soon, Sega Genesis systems, all wrapped in a great interface with some useful quality-of-life features.

It’s been able to help for those moments when I’ve been delayed by a train or waiting in a long queue. I’ll play games like Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening or Tetris to pass the time, or some of Rare’s Blast Corps on the N64. Thanks to the Backbone controller I snap my iPhone into, it feels like I’m playing on a souped-up PlayStation Vita handheld.

There’s also Gamma, a dedicated PlayStation 1 emulator that’s heavily influenced by Delta in its features and user interface. After dropping in some of the games I’ve owned since the mid-90s, I’m playing Tomb Raider 3, Metal Gear Solid, Rosco McQueen, and many more, complete with an upscalled resolution and some cheats enabled.

These emulators have already earned their place on the main Home Screen page of my iPhone and iPad. They’re simply essential to me now. However, as we head into 2026, it feels like we’re only just getting started with emulators on iOS devices.

Could PS2 games be playable in 2026?

Despite loving the fact that I can play the majority of consoles and handhelds of the past 30 years, there are still some that are yet to be fully supported. Sega Dreamcast runs on Provenance, a multi-emulator app, but it’s slow. The PlayStation 2 is even worse, but it’s due to a feature called JIT (Just-In-Time).

This is meant for developers who can translate code on the fly. This means that any game running in an emulator is translated quickly to run better on the device, which could be a significant benefit for emulators. However, Apple has restricted its use to developers. Having spoken to Riley Testut of Delta in the past, I’m aware how much of a big frustration it’s been.

Granted, Apple’s policy change of allowing emulators is not something the company wanted to do. It was down to appease the European Union with its Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is still ongoing. It has led to changes in allowing third-party App Stores, opening up how third-party wearables work on iPhones, and more.

So, expecting Apple to make JIT available to all seems unlikely in 2026. However, as iPhones become faster and more powerful, there may be a time when it won’t be needed. The thought of playing Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 games like Sonic Adventure and Onimusha 3 on my iPhone doesn’t feel like an impossibility. But for now, I’m very content using my iPhone as a hub for playing a bunch of classics from the last few decades.

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