The Appstore’s First Emulator App Arrives – and then Disappears

Not long after Apple allowed the availability of emulation apps in its App Store, it looks like the first emulator – called “iGBA” – has arrived for iOS users. It was a short-lived affair however, as Apple has seemingly pulled the app shortly after its release. A quick search on the store no longer shows the app, which apparently was made using stolen code.

According to Riley Testut, developer of “GBA4iOS” and the “Delta” Gameboy Advance emulator, iGBA used stolen code from GBA4iOS. According to a post on his Mastodon social page:

So apparently Apple approved a knock-off of GBA4iOS — the predecessor to [delta] I made in high school — in the App Store. I did not give anyone permission to do this, yet it’s now sitting at the top of the charts (despite being filled with ads + tracking)

I’ve bit my tongue a bunch in the past month…but this really frustrates me. So glad App Review exists to protect consumers from scams and rip-offs like this

Additionally, iGBA was criticized by several users after it was discovered that the app comes with location tracking, a feature that’s not needed for retro game emulation. It was also heavily occupied with ads, prompting complaints from users who downloaded the app onto their phones.

Retro emulation on mobile phones has been possible since the days of Symbian, gaining even more traction with the introduction of Android. With all that said, we’re hoping that iOS gets more reputable emulators, especially since apps like PPSSPP are strongly predicted to arrive for the iPhone soon.

Source: Apple Insider