Today was a big day for iOS developer Riley Testut, who is perhaps best known for being the mind behind AltStore, the popular sideloading utility used by iPhone and iPad owners around the world to install apps outside of the App Store with their Apple ID.
Not only did Testut’s new AltStore PAL alternative App Store go live for 27 countries in the European Union (EU), but the developer’s popular Delta emulator app also made its way into the App Store as a free download for those residing in the United States and on various other parts of the world.
Apple has long rejected Delta and refused to host the emulator app in the App Store, but Apple recently clarified that retro emulators were allowed in the App Store and has been approving emulator apps left and right, although several of those are no longer available – some because Apple pulled them and some because the developers themselves pulled them.
Testut, on the other hand, seems adamant about keeping Delta in the App Store. It’s a powerful emulator app that supports emulating games from the following Nintendo-based game systems:
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- Nintendo 64
- Game Boy (Color)
- Game Boy Advance
- Nintendo DS
- Support for more incoming…
Delta not only supports emulation of the aforementioned consoles, but it also supports importing skins to change the way the emulator looks. You can even use hardware game controllers with Delta to control your games with a physical controller instead of touch-based controls. Currently, the following controller types are supported:
- Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
- Nintendo Switch Joy-Con
- Nintendo Switch Online controllers (NES, SNES, N64)
- PlayStation 4 controller
- PlayStation 5 controller
- Xbox One S controller
- Xbox Series X controller
- MFi game controllers
- Bluetooth & wired keyboards
Oh, and we should also probably mention that Delta supports saving game states so that you can pick up where you left off. Backups are automatically made of your save states to ensure you never lose your progress. Local multiplayer with support for up to 4 players even works in NES, SNES, and N64 games.
Delta also supports cheat codes for the supported systems, allows you to use 3D Touch/Haptic Touch to peek at game save states, and allows you to use AirPlay to steam your games to the big screen. Various games even support the iPhone’s built-in gyroscope, microphone, and more.
It’s worth noting that while Delta is an emulator app, you won’t find any games in the app after downloading it. You will need to import the ROMs yourself, but as most people already know, sharing and downloading ROMs that don’t belong to you is a form of piracy and is classified as an illegal file-sharing behavior. For that reason, we must insist that you only use ROMs you already own and supply for yourself for personal use.
Delta is perhaps the most sought-after emulator app ever for the iOS platform, and given how much Apple has rejected this app in the past, it’s almost surreal to finally see it in the App Store everywhere but in the EU. Those in the EU have the choice of paying 1.50 Euros to access Delta from AltStore PAL, or they can sideload the app with AltStore or Sideloadly or perma-sign it with TrollStore.
If you’re just about anywhere else, then you can visit the App Store and download Delta for free. You can learn more about Delta via the online user guide.
Are you going to be using Delta for iOS now that it’s in the App Store? Let us know in the comments section down below.