This emulator runs iOS apps on Android, but there are some

An emulator launched a few months ago by a Swedish developer allowed old iOS apps to be launched on macOS and Windows. In a slightly different guise, the latter is now coming to Android…with serious limitations.

Were you expecting an iOS emulator on Android (not a simple launcher)? It is there, but it can disappoint you at least in part. Based on ” Touch This new emulator carried by another developer suffers from many limitations.

As mentioned 9to5MacEmulating iOS on another OS is a tricky task: Apple’s mobile operating system is designed to run on certain components and not others. This hasn’t stopped some developers from hijacking the system enough to successfully emulate older versions, where the latter are less secure…and therefore easier to exploit for reuse on other platforms.

Emulating iOS on Android… very fragmented

With touchHLE and its Android variant it is impossible to fully emulate an older version of iOS. Understand that only older applications that are compatible with these older versions of the system can exploit. Among these apps are now dated mobile games, such as Super Monkey Ballor Crash Bandicoot: Nitro Kart 3D which we’ve already seen in simulations on Mac and PC.

Thanks to the work done by the developer “ciciplusplus”, touchHLE has been able to successfully migrate to Android and the aforementioned games can thus be played on Android without any particular difficulty. But beware of the many limitations that occur in this case.

Hey @employee
TouchHLE on Android!
Hope to post a WIP PR soon 😀# touch #SuperMonkeyBall # Cyclosables pic.twitter.com/1l7z5WrkHH

– ciciplusplus (ciciplusplus) March 15, 2023

We learn for example that the applications affected by this simulation only run on chips with the AArch64 architecture. It’s also necessary to have the native installers for the apps you want to run via touchHLE, which makes emulation more restrictive. Last but not least: aloneSuper Monkey BallSo far tested with touchHLE for Android. So it is very likely that you will discover issues in the future with other games or applications.

Nothing tells us that this iOS simulation project will expand to more apps and games in the future. As it is, it is above all a fragmented software demo, bordering on a simple proof of concept.

These details are given, if you want to try the emulator on your own, it is possible. All the information needed to make it happen contained on githubat this address.

To follow us, we invite you to Download our Android and iOS app. You can read our articles and profiles and watch the latest videos on YouTube.