Apple’s recent acceptance of retro game emulators on the App Store sparked debate when it removed iGBA, a Game Boy emulator that topped the download charts. iGBA was almost identical to another emulator submitted for review. Riley Testut, developer of GBA4iOS, claimed iGBA was a copy of his emulator that included ads and trackers.
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Testut’s latest emulator, Delta, a follow-up to GBA4iOS, is now available for free on the App Store. His original emulator gained attention a decade ago when he enabled iPhone users to sideload the Game Boy Advance emulator without jailbreaking their devices. Although Apple later closed the iOS loophole and faced opposition from Nintendo, Delta can now be easily downloaded directly from the App Store without sideloading.
Delta supports NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, and Nintendo DS games, with plans to add more platforms in the future. The app includes features such as third-party controller support, quick saves, cheat codes, and data syncing via Google Drive or Dropbox. Additionally, Delta offers local multiplayer for up to four players, ideal for iPad or TV mirroring.
To play games on the emulator, you must provide your own games and convert them into ROM files, adhering to legal requirements by using games you already own.
iPhone and iPad users outside the EU can easily download Delta from the App Store, but those in the EU must take a different approach. Testut also manages AltStore, a third-party app marketplace that now offers Delta and another app he developed called Clip, a clipboard manager. Clip requires a small donation of at least one Euro to use.
AltStore PAL is an open-source marketplace where Delta and other third-party apps can be found. It costs users €1.50 per year, covering Apple’s Core Technology Fee for each app marketplace download and payment processing. Alternatively, users can stick to the older version of AltStore, but it requires a computer for sideloading apps and refreshing them weekly.
Testut and his business partner Shane Gill plan to expand AltStore PAL by welcoming other third-party apps once the platform operates smoothly. This new app marketplace aims to offer iPhone users in the EU more flexibility in app choices.
