Last night, I played a Game Boy Advance game on my iPhone thanks to a new emulator called iGBA, which appears to be the first Game Boy Advance game on the App Store since Apple started allowing emulators worldwide Boy Advance emulator. The only problem is, iGBA doesn’t look like developer Mattia La Spina’s own work.
Still, he said he was disappointed with Apple, not La Spina.
Testut returns to edge:
I’ve been working with Apple for over a month to release AltStore as an alternative app marketplace, and I was disappointed to see that they approved a knockoff of AltStore’s flagship app, Delta, at the time. However, we still plan to launch Delta soon, and we will share more information about it soon.
Below are some screenshots of GBA4iOS and iGBA for comparison, starting with iGBA first.
When contacted for comment, La Spina did not explicitly confirm the use of Testut’s code, but told edge They “didn’t expect the app would have such a big impact and I’m really sorry,” adding that they had contacted Testut via email.
Another problem with iGBA is that, according to its App Store listing, it collects data that can be used to identify you, such as location data and identifiers. I recommend reading developer Mattia La Spina’s Github hosting privacy policy before diving in. However, when I loaded the app, it didn’t ask for location data permission, and I didn’t see the in-app browser tracker consent some users on Reddit reported seeing.
I know of another emulator, by edge’s Parker Olotany. It is a Commodore 64 emulator called Emu64 XL. Here I did see a consent request form filled with switches for what seemed like miles of trackers. I did not try to find or play any Commodore 64 games using Emu64 XL and deleted the application.
Apple has strictly controlled the App Store since its inception. That control is now being broken down, with the EU’s Digital Markets Act allowing the company to allow sideloading in other app stores and on the iPhone. The company also faces a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice that could force it to make similar concessions — which may be why it started allowing emulators in the first place. Regardless, allowing emulators feels like a win. Unfortunately, the first app to take advantage of this didn’t quite hit the mark.
Updated April 14, 2024 at 11:17 AM ET: Updated based on comments from developers Riley Testut and Mattia La Spina.