This is one of the 20 best iOS emulators to run iOS apps on Mac and Windows. It runs on the ubiquitous Adobe Air Framework. For users that are familiar with Adobe Air Framework, you would know Adobe Air is quite remarkable. This emulator creates a virtual screen on the laptop, bearing a resemblance to the iPhone Screen. Jul 13, 2020 There’s quite a bit you need to do here, but it’s all relatively simple: Open the UTM app. Tap the + button in the top-right corner to begin creating your virtual machine. Give your machine a name. Under the System section, change the architecture to PowerPC and the system to Mac99 based PowerMAC.
Who say only Android can run emulators? iOS devices, such as iPhone and iPad can run emulators too. Without jailbreak!
- However it won’t be as simple as if you are doing this on Android device, but the steps are totally do-able.
- You can pair a Bluetooth controller to play the game, either MFi controller or iCade controller
- Using the complete guide here, you’ll end up able to play PlayStation, N64, GBA, Sega Genesis / SNES and more!
In my previous article, I have written a guide to play PSP games on iOS device. In case you haven’t seen it, check it out here: Playing PSP on iOS.
This time I’m going to cover a more generic and more retro emulator, one that can emulate any systems starting from Nintendo GBA, Dreamcast and before it, such as the original PlayStation, Sega Megadrive/Genesis, SNES, NES, Atari – complete list, check below.
Emulator choices
First of all, though it’s not requiring any jailbreak, but since Apple has never allowed emulators in App Store, so you won’t find these on App Store and to install them, it won’t be so straight-forward like installing any apps or games from the App Store, but I can assure you, the steps are also not super difficult to do. All you need to have is time to do and execute it. All the steps below is like 30 minutes (more or less) – depends on your speed and your internet connection speed to download the necessary.
So back to the topic, here are the choices for retro-gaming machine emulators:
1) RetroArch. The multi-platform emulators champion as it can run almost all the retro gaming consoles and available on many platforms. Unfortunately, the latest RetroArch build – as of this article is written – is not run on iOS 14 nor on iOS 13.
2) Provenance. The multi-platform emulators, available on iOS. This is the one I can find that is as close as RetroArch – in terms of retro gaming console compatibility, in fact Provenance is also using some portion of RetroArch. Good thing is Provenance is compatible and working on the latest iOS 14.
Retro gaming console supported by Provenance – as of this article is written:
So given the facts, in this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to install Provenance. Though the same steps also can be used to install RetroArch – should RetroArch come out with newer builds that’s compatible with newer iOS.
Installing Provenance on iOS – The Multi-Platforms Emulator for iPhone & iPad
It’s highly recommended that you are on at least iOS 13 to do this, since on iOS 13, Apple has enabled Files app to work just like a normal Windows Explorer (on Windows) or Finder (on Mac). But in case you are on iOS 12 or before, don’t fret, hit the comment section below in case you are stuck.
In summary, here are the steps required. You can skip them if any of those, you have done it before.
1) Install iTunes on Computer.
2) Register for Apple FREE Developer Account.
3) Generate App Specific Password.
4) Install AltStore to Computer.
5) Connect your iPhone.
6) Install AltStore to iPhone.
7) Get the latest Provenance build for iOS.
8) Install Provenance to iOS.
9) Run Provenance on iOS
For 1) to 6) read below
The first 6 steps (Step #1 to step #6) are generic steps to enable any application or games that is not available at Apple App Store to be able to be installed on your iOS device without jailbreaking- it’s called Sideloading. These Sideloading steps including all required download links, I have detailed and provided them here on this link: iOS Sideloading complete guide. You need about 15-30 minutes, depends on your internet connection to complete everything – since mostly are either downloading software or registering account.
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For step #7 to step #9, here are the details.
7) Get the latest Provenance build for iOS.
Provenance latest build for iOS can be downloaded here: Provenance Latest Build.
As of when this article is written, the latest build is v1.5b 2774. Download the .IPA file directly using your iOS device. Click the download link above from Safari browser. Once downloaded, the file shall be stored under your Files app.
In case you don’t know, IPA is short for iOS Application Package (iOS app/game file – it’s like EXE file for Windows or APK file for Android).
8) Install Provenance to iOS.
On this step, you need to connect your iOS device to your computer running AltServer (refer to Step #1 to #6).
Open the Files app, then go to “On My iPhone” and then go to “Download”. This is typically the dump folder if you download something from the internet using Safari. Find and locate the Provenance IPA file.
Once you locate the Provenance IPA file, tap on the IPA file, then press the arrow up button, to show you list of apps available to open the file. If you can’t see AltStore listed there, then scroll until the end and tap “More”.
Iphone Emulator Software
Find “AltStore” or “Copy to AltStore” and tap on it.
AltStore shall get opened and begin sideloading the Provenance IPA file. Within minutes, you should be able to see the Provenance icon on iOS Home screen.
Yes, you just installed Provenance – the multi-platforms emulator on iOS device successfully!
9) Run Provenance on iOS
Running Provenance on iOS is as simple as tapping the icon. However, you won’t be able to play it since you don’t have any games on it yet.
Where you can get the Games ISO or ROMS?
Well, due to legal reasons, it’s either you dump the game yourself or Google here is your best friend.
In case you opt to Google around, use the following keyword: <Game console> + “ROMS” or “ISO” (such as “PlayStation ISO” or “SNES ROMS”).
How to transfer Games ISO/ROMS to Provenance?
There are various ways to accomplish this, but my own recommendation is to use the help of computer to get the game ROMS/ISO, especially if they are big in size.
Once you have the Game ISO/ROMS with you, using a computer (PC/Mac):
1) Connect your iOS device to computer.
2) Open iTunes (if it’s not open already) and ensure your iOS device is detected in iTunes.
3) Inside iTunes, select your iPhone / iPad. Then on the left side of the iTunes menu, choose “File Sharing” (identified as (1) on the image below).
4) Select Provenance from the application list (identified as (2) on the image above).
5) Once Provenance is selected, click on “Add File” (identified as (4) on the image above) and locate the game ISO/ROMS file and click “OK” to start uploading game ISO/ROMS file from your computer to your iOS device.
Redo step #5 as many as you want for the rest of game ISO/ROMS that you have.
Once done with transferring game ISO/ROMS file into your iOS device, you can safely disconnect it from iTunes, then before running Provenance, do these: On your iOS device, open Files app, Go to “On My iPhone” > “Provenance”. Copy all your game ISO/ROMS to “Imports” folder. Once you have done that, only then you can run the Provenance app. It will start to process game ISO/ROMS you have stored under “Imports”.
Once finished processing, you should be able to see all the games icon listed inside the Provenance app. Congrats!
What are you waiting for?
Right now, I have these loaded in on my iPhone: Street of Rage 3 (Sega Genesis / Mega Drive), The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (N64), Super Mario World (SNES) and Metal Slug X (PlayStation 1), and ready to play them anytime I like.
What about you? Which retro-game you would like to play?
Do give your comments down below on the comment section. Oh! If you are facing any difficulties to get Provenance emulator up and running on your iPhone or other iOS devices, don’t hesitate to put your issue also down below on the comment section, I’ll try to help.
Do you have anything you want me to cover on my next article? Write them down on the comment section down below.
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I’ve started work on the next in my 1-bit Woodblocks series: “Tekagami” (Ito Shinsui’s “Hand Mirror”). So it’s a good time to talk about how I turned an iPad Pro into the ultimate Classic Macintosh.
UltraPaint on System 7, running in a Macintosh emulator on an iPad Pro' />
Emulators
Both Macintosh emulators available on iOS we’re ported by @maczydeco who has done an amazing job making them feel truly at home on iOS. Many thanks! They need to be built from source using Xcode but it’s a pretty straight forward process.
Mini vMac
- Supports System 1.1 to 7.5.5
- Limited RAM and CPU emulation
- File Sharing via bespoke method
- No dynamic screen resolution changing
- Odd interface using Control key shortcuts
BasiliskII
- Supports System 7.0 to 8.1
- Advanced RAM and CPU emulation
- File Sharing via mapped folder
- Dynamic screen resolutions through Monitors control panel, or automation
- Native iOS interface for settings panel, negating all the issues with the desktop GUI
- We have a winner!
- Source code (use the
iosbranch)
File Sharing
This works a treat in both emulators, but the experience is better in BasiliskII.
With Mini vMac you need to run a special file import app, and then whilst it’s open use iOS Share Sheet to send a file to Mini vMac. These extra steps are just enough friction to make the emulator annoying to use.
With BasiliskII things are easier as it has a drive mapped to the app’s file sharing folder. You can use the Share Sheet in the same way as Mini vMac, but you can also simply copy/move a file to the BasiliskII folder and it will be accessible inside the emulator. The only gotcha with this approach is that you’re best moving the file to the emulated system’s main disk drive otherwise you’ll encounter various oddities with certain apps that don’t know how to cope with files located on this type of drive.
Screen Resolutions
Emulate Ipad On Mac Laptop
The original Macintosh had a native screen resolution of 512×342.
Conceptually, the iPad has a logical screen resolution of 1024×768, which when running in pixel doubled mode equates to 512×384. A pretty good match. Specifically, the native resolution varies according to the model of iPad or iPhone you are using.
I use an iPad Pro 12.9” which has a native resolution of 2732×2048, pixel doubled that means 1366×1024, and pixel quadrupled 683×512. Targeting this ballpark of resolution means user interface elements will be around the magic 44pt tappable area, so that fingertip interactions are accurate, predictable and enjoyable.
Of course the iPad can flip between landscape and portrait orientations on demand, which means BasiliskII supporting the Monitors control panel is a big win.
So I added a bunch of custom resolutions to the BasiliskII soure code to add support for both pixel-doubled and pixel-quadrupled resolutions, in both portrait and landscape, with and without room for the software keyboard. I can switch between these resolutions with keyboard shortcuts. Which leads nicely on to…
Custom Keyboards
Both emulators share the same software keyboard mechanism. The keyboard layouts are user-editable as JSON and compiled into a custom format.
So I put together a custom keyboard layout that can be used in either emulator that gives me quick thumb access to tools and shortcuts in my most used apps: artWORKS and UltraPaint. It works for both apps as they are closely related, sharing a lot of code and resources.
With this keyboard layout I’m not only relabelling the function keys, but also replacing some key codes to reposition keys for my own purposes. The apps don’t respond to function keys so I use macros and Apple Events to get things to work as detailed in another post.
How does the experience compare to a real Macintosh?
The most important aspect of this setup is that it runs System 7 and the various apps I use. That is the core of my classic Macintosh experience and the goal I had in mind. The hardware running System 7 is merely a conduit.
That said, the iPad Pro is more portable, reliable and capable than my real Macintosh. That’s 30 years of hardware progress for you.
The iPad’s display in particular is a huge differentiator—it can assume so many different resolutions it should be thought of as a collection of displays rather than just a single one.
Apple Pencil is very similar in feel to my Wacom ArtPad II, but with the single huge improvement that you’re drawing directly on the screen. Drawing with an Apple Pencil on System 7 is every bit as good as drawing in a native iPad app.
iOS is only a swipe away: download classic software using a modern web browser like Safari, expand archives more quickly with Files or Documents, watch videos picture-in-picture, search your Inside Macintosh PDFs in Books, listen to streaming music, and so many other things that aren’t doable (or at least are extremely difficult to do) on a real classic Macintosh.
Bluetooth keyboards just work. The new/recent mouse pointer support in iOS also works. You could even plug the iPad into an external display to go full circle back to a desktop computer.
This setup gives me the best of both old and new worlds, and that’s why I refer to it as the Ultimate Classic Macintosh.
Related posts
Forthcoming posts
- Apple Pencil
Elsewhere
- 2021-03-29 — The Mac Observer
- 2021-04-18 — Hacker News
- 2021-04-19 — Boing Boing
- 2021-04-19 — iDownloadBlog
- 2021-04-19 — The Loop
- 2021-04-22 — FredZone (in French)
- 2021-04-23 — Gizmodo
- 2021-04-23 — Pixel Envy
- 2021-04-26 — Input Magazine
- 2021-04-26 — iGeneration (in French)