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A new game emulator for iOS has conjoin the party . UTM , an opened - source personal computer operating system emulator , has releasedUTM SEafter a extended review cognitive process and a premature rejection .
you may download UTM SE for free on App Store for iOS and visionOS , and it ’ll be total to AltStore Pal , an alternative app marketplace in the EU . “ Shoutouts to AltStore squad for their supporter and to Apple for reconsidering their policy,”UTM send on X ( formerly Twitter ) .
consort to the developer ( andspotted by The Verge ) , the app was rejected from the App Store and third - political party app storehouse in the EU in June . In astatement posted to X , this was due to rule 4.7 in the App Store guidelines , which applies to other apps such asDelta — Game Emulatorthat emulate consoles for playing video games . After a two - month - recollective review process , Apple rejected the app ’s inclusion because , as the developer states , “ microcomputer is not a console . ” It mention formula 2.5.2 under the Notarization Review Guidelines , which tell apps may not “ download , install , or execute computer code which introduces or change features or functionality of the app , admit other apps . ”
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& mdash ; UTM ( @UTMapp)June 9 , 2024
Looking through Apple ’s guidelines , its rejection seems to come from the app ’s economic consumption of a just in time ( JIT ) compilation . This is often used by emulators like UTM to take computer code and exchange it so that it can run for any system . Since Apple operating systems are notoriously locked down , apps like UTM let you emulate or host over 30 operating systems for MacOS , iPadOS , and iOS . However , its utilisation of JIT , according to Apple , is a security jeopardy that can uncover the drug user to malware .
So the UTM now on the App Store , UTM SE , does n’t involve JIT . However , developer Turing Software says that the app “ is a subpar experience and is n’t deserving fighting for . ” This might be interchangeable to what the Dolphin emulator is deal with in regards to an Io or MacOS app . The UTM Emily Post links to ablog on oatmealdome.methat notes Dolphin utilise an “ interpretive program ” to run code to get around JIT , but it ’s “ many times slower . ”
Basically , UTM SE will be like the even UTM , but will flow a wad slower . It also seems to hold few operating systems , just noting “ x86 , PPC , and RISC - V architecture ” on its store pageboy . However , if you just want to play some retro PC games on your headphone , it might be worth checking out — especially because it ’s liberal .
There are a bunch ofother iPhone emulatorsnow available , though , include the said Delta , RetroArch , and PPSSPP . This is thanks to new regulations in the EU under the Digital Markets Act that pushed Apple to let third - party app stores on its devices .
