UTM SE PC emulator on iPhone2 min read Last Updated Jul 15 2024 | 12:19 PM ISTAfter allowing retro gaming console emulators on iPhones, Apple has now approved UTM SE PC emulator app for distribution on iPhones through the App Store.
The operating system emulator app, the first of its kind on iPhones and iPads, allows users to emulate older versions of Windows and MacOS on iPhones to run classic software and retro PC games.Earlier this year, Apple had updated its App Store guidelines to allow retro game console emulators, mini games, and HTML5 mini apps on iPhones (under guideline 4.7).
However, the US-based technology giant reportedly rejected App Store submissions of UTM-SE and iDOS 3, an app that emulates disk operating systems (DOS) like MS-DOS.
After this, UTM, the developer of UTM SE app posted on X stating that the Apples App Store Review board determined that PC is not a console and the company will only allow retro game console emulators on iPhones.
The developer also stated that Apple was blocking it on third party app marketplaces too.However, in a recent post on X, UTM confirmed the availability of UTM SE emulator on iOS and visionOS App Store.
Additionally, the app will also be available through the third-party app marketplace AltStore PAL in the European Union.According to the developer, it had to build the iOS app without using the Just-In-Time compiler (JIT) that violates Apples guidelines for apps.
JIT is a program that is essentially responsible for performance optimisation of Java-based applications.
With the iOS app not using JIT, it is likely that the emulator would be less powerful on iPhones compared to other platforms.UTM SE: FeaturesAccording to the app listing page on the App Store, the PC emulator allows users to run classic softwares and old-school games on iPhones, iPads and Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset.
The emulator supports both Video Graphics Array (VGA) mode for graphics and terminal mode for text-only operating systems.
The developer said that the app can emulate x86, PPC, and RISC-V architectures.First Published: Jul 15 2024 | 12:18 PMIST