Hands-On With the New App Store Delta Game Emulator

A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the ‌App Store‌.


With official support available for emulators, Testut this morning released his latest emulator, Delta, on the ‌App Store‌. Unlike the other two emulators that have been released in the last week, Delta is incredibly polished and provides an all-around pleasant gameplay experience.

Delta supports game systems that include the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. Skins for the different systems load automatically depending on what's being played, and the app does an excellent job making you feel like you're playing on a retro Nintendo device.

It is worth noting that Delta is such a great emulator because it is not, in fact, new. It has been able to be installed on iPhone using alternate installation means, but the ‌App Store‌ is a much more streamlined way to get it. Delta is the must have emulator, at least for NES content.

Delta's on-screen controls work flawlessly for games, but it is also compatible with a wide range of retro and modern game controllers. It supports save and load states, and content can be synced between devices. There are also advanced features like support for Game Genie and GameShark cheat codes, a hold button, and fast forward for speeding through slow parts of games.

When you import a game, Delta automatically detects the appropriate box art, and there is support for 3D Touch and app icon shortcuts for accessing recent and favorite games.

There are no games included with Delta when you install it, but it can open zipped files that are uploaded to iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules permit "retro game console emulator apps" and Apple says that developers are required to ensure that their software complies with "all applicable laws."

If you haven't downloaded Delta already, it's well worth going to pick it up. We're not expecting Delta to get pulled from the ‌App Store‌, but there's always the possibility that Nintendo could protest now that it's more widely available, so download it sooner rather than later.

Popular Stories

iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Max Rumors Allegedly Refer to 'iPhone 17 Ultra' Model

Friday March 14, 2025 7:56 am PDT by
If you've been following iPhone rumors over the last few years, you may remember reading reports that Apple flirted with the idea of introducing a super high-end "Ultra" model that would either replace its Pro Max device or sit above it in Apple's smartphone hirearchy. These reports appeared in the pre-launch iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 rumor cycles, but ultimately came to nothing. Now though, the...
ios 18 4 carplay

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

Wednesday March 12, 2025 6:05 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes a smaller but meaningful improvement for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay. Specifically, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 11, 2025 3:26 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
apple surveyor app

Apple Launches 'Surveyor' App for Apple Maps Data Collection

Friday March 14, 2025 10:38 am PDT by
Apple today launched a new app called Surveyor, which is designed to allow users to collect data like images of street signs and roadside details to improve Apple Maps. The app is not public facing and appears to be for use with companies that Apple partners with to assign mapping tasks. Downloading the app and opening it up directs users to "Open Partner App" to choose a task. Tapping on...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

Ultra-Thin 'iPhone 17 Air' Rumored to Include These 12 Features

Saturday March 15, 2025 10:50 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
Apple Intelligence Comes Under Fire Feature

Apple Reassures Siri Team Members Feeling Disappointed and Embarrassed by Apple Intelligence Delay

Friday March 14, 2025 11:45 am PDT by
Apple is reassuring employees on the Siri team who may be feeling demotivated by the recent Siri delays and the bad press surrounding the company's decisions, reports Bloomberg. In a Siri team meeting, Apple senior director Robby Walker acknowledged that employees might be feeling "angry, disappointed, burned out and embarrassed" following the Siri delay, but he praised the hard work of...
Sad Siri Feature

Kuo: Cook Should Personally Address Siri Apple Intelligence Failure

Thursday March 13, 2025 4:02 pm PDT by
Apple made a major misstep with the way that it handled the delay of Apple Intelligence features for Siri, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today. Announcing the delay through a press statement was a bad decision, and Apple should instead have gone through official channels. Kuo referenced the well-known "Antennagate" PR crisis when the iPhone 4 launched in 2010, and the way that then Apple...
iOS 18

12 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.4

Monday March 10, 2025 9:28 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.4 in early April, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a neat new capability to iPhone 15 Pro devices, new emoji, and more. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.4 still introduces enhancements that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've listed 12 new...
Apple Maps vs Google Maps Feature

iOS 18.4 Adds a Highly-Requested Setting to iPhones — But Not in U.S.

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
iPhones are finally getting a much-requested setting, but availability is limited. The upcoming iOS 18.4 update introduces an option to set a default navigation app, other than Apple Maps, but unfortunately this new setting is limited to users in the EU. There, you can now set an app like Google Maps or Waze as your default navigation app on the iPhone by opening the Settings app and tapping ...

Top Rated Comments

kiensoy Avatar
12 months ago
Delta Emulator alone is much better than the entire Apple Arcade library.
Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
12 months ago

Delta Emulator alone is much better than the entire Apple Arcade library.
My wife: "I'm a simple woman, just the OG GameBoy version of Tetris with no IAP crap, please."
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
12 months ago
Productivity is going down today...

Attachment Image
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mnsportsgeek Avatar
12 months ago
Where do you get roms?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
12 months ago

My wife: "I'm a simple woman, just the OG GameBoy version of Tetris with no IAP crap, please."
We are kindred spirits. Original Gameboy Tetris is the best version. End of discussion.

I already installed it, and now I finally have proper Tetris on my phone that I can play anywhere.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mukiex Avatar
12 months ago
Real talk, in the mobile space, emulation is typically the closest you're gonna get to an engaging traditional game experience.

Apple's kind of burned traditional gaming down to the ground since day one, when they decided games shouldn't be more than a dollar and basically made it impossible to ever find a good game.

That 100% of their RE Framework games have been bought and paid for by Apple, and that Capcom has ported literally 0 other games on the same framework to iOS, really speaks volumes.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)