simpleApple will start allowing emulators on the iOS App Store
proper*in the EU.
kaduDo we know if these emulators will support JIT? JIT has always been prohibited on iOS (which is why there are no browsers other than Safari - Firefox and Chrome on iOS are just a Safari WebView plus a crappy interface on top).
Even when sideloading emulators, you only get JIT by paying for a special developer license or using exploits on very specific iOS versions.
Without JIT, sure, go nuts emulating the NES… But forget about anything more demanding than a GameCube, or using this to run a VM or something.
naveyou only get JIT by paying for a special developer license or using exploits on very specific iOS versions.
Actually Altstore has Altjit which works on all iOS versions altstore supports but requires you to be connected to the same network as a computer running altstore.
tsonfeirSadly jail breaking is required after iOS 11
For what?
For for UTM
No I believe it also works with altstore (though I haven’t personally tried it).
Hmm. I’ll give that a shot.
but requires you to be connected to the same network as a computer running altstore.
So you mean iOS doesn’t natively support JIT for App Store apps and require hacky workarounds?
I was just pointing out that OPs list was incomplete. Also theoretically someone could include altjit in their app because the App Store guidelines don’t explicitly say you can’t.
iOS natively supports JIT (by which we mean writable and executable memory) but Apple locks it down to only two use cases:
AltStore launches a debugger and connects it to your phone. Even though it’s not actually doing anything with a debugger, that’s enough to convince iOS to let your app use memory that’s both writable and executable (the key feature needed for JIT).
Without JIT you need to either resort to a slower form of emulation or do something creative.
iOS natively supports JIT (by which we mean writable and executable memory) but Apple locks it down to only two use cases:
So you mean iOS doesn’t natively support JIT for App Store apps and requires hacky workarounds?
If that’s how you want to put it, sure.
So just like my initial comment from days ago said. Got it.
which is why there are no browsers other than Safari
Want that explicitly forbidden? Browsers don’t need jit to be fast enough
Yes, op is a little confused.
- Browsers (were, still are in many regions) forbidden from using any engine other than the iOS provided webkit.
- Dynamic recompilation is not possible on iOS because of how iOS does code signing. This basically blocks the entire concept of executing instructions that weren’t part of the original signed code.
The GameCube also needs a JIT for decent performance. On a phone, that will especially hurt to emulate the CPU in software.
welcome to 2010s
5 B.E. (Before Enshittification)
henfredemarsApple warns that developers are “responsible for all such software offered in your app, including ensuring that such software complies with these Guidelines and all applicable laws.” This raises the question of whether anyone can release a game emulator or only the companies that own the rights to the games distributed for it.
A good move, and great for distribution, but this does look like it’s difficult to publish an emulator unless you could control the games too. I don’t see this clearly permitting a general purpose emulator. It’s possible, but knowing Apple, I would expect that this could let Nintendo publish an emulator but not necessarily an open source project.
Dark ArcI really don’t see Nintendo publishing an emulator that runs on hardware they didn’t make (yay unnecessary e-waste).
Man that rule is such bullcrap. Imagine a photo editor that only allowed you to edit your own pictures and only those matching the app’s content rating.
Didn’t know hell froze over.
This is app store competition does. Apple didn’t want an emulator-friendly app store to become super popular.
Android Market: hey we did that too!..in 2010.
Except they’ve been pulled recently after the Nintendo fiasco
Largely by the emulator creators themselves though, no?
No, I didn’t mean to say Google did that. Not like Google is a great company, but I’m saying there was a scare a bit ago from the emulator publishers themselves when that happened. At least I thought that’s why aesthersx got taken down, and I thought I remembered others as well. Obviously people seem to disagree
Did they? I think I remember some authors no longer taking payment for them. Maybe some others took theirs down. I don’t remember hearing about Google themselves taking them down
Looks like my next phone will be an SE. Literally the one and only reason I swapped to Android was to have easy access to GBA games.
FloufymIs there any good game boy emulator ? I want to play Pokémon.
TwinTusksDrastic is a fantastic DS emulator for android, it recently became free. I bought it over a decade ago and has been a blast.