DolphiniOS Not Coming to Apple Devices, Despite Recent Emulator Support

Apple is now allowing emulators on their devices, but they still aren’t allowing DolphiniOS to be downloadable on the App Store. This means iPhone and iPad users shouldn’t expect Wii and Gamecube emulation on their devices anytime soon, even if they can run these games.

OatmealDome, the creator of Dolphin, went to Twitter and explained why they won’t be able to bring their emulator to Apple’s App Store. Dolphin has a feature called Just-in-Time (JIT) that uses PC code to make these games run better on the systems they’re in. Since Apple won’t allow devs to access their code, they have restricted this emulator’s release.

For their part, OatmealDome did submit a DMA to try and get DolphiniOS on the company’s App Store but they were unsuccessful. While there are ways to make the emulator work without access to JIT, it will mean the game won't play well.

“The only exceptions are Safari and alternative web browsers in Europe,” the developer said. “We submitted a DMA [Digital Markets Act] interoperability request to Apple for JIT support, but Apple denied the request a few weeks ago.”

With the success of apps like Delta on iOS devices, it’s a shame that DolphiniOS won’t be a part of that anytime soon. Considering how video game preservation just isn’t as respected as other mediums, there are only so many ways to play these classic games again. Sure, Nintendo Switch Online has access to Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, NES, SNES, and N64, but the updates are rare and infrequent.

Emulation is the only way fans can experience some of these games again, as not every title can have a remake or remaster. It’s why fans were so excited when Apple allowed more emulators in their store, so this is disappointing.

DolphiniOS isn’t going to be available anytime soon, unfortunately. That being said, fans can use Dolphin in devices like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally.