Yes, it’s finally here, you can run a full PC emulator on your iPhone! The first application of the concept belongs to UTM SE. Presentation.
PC emulation has now made it to the App Store, and it is a real change in Apple’s policy since several PC emulators have been rejected, as well as proving in that moment the intention of the Apple brand itself in allowing only the emulation of video games. UTM SE delivers the first-ever PC emulator to iPhones, iPads, and Apple Vision Pro; thus, its users can ‘run classic software and old-school games’ across Windows XP, Mac OS 9, Linux, and more.
Yes friends, it’s now possible to have a PC emulator on your wonderful and stylish iPhone.
This is somewhat unexpected because the UTM SE developer posted on X that its application was rejected on the official App Store and in third-party stores due to the view that ‘a PC is not a console’. The developer had even told me that it would not appeal against this decision, reasoning that this app was simply an ‘experience’ compared to the desktop versions.
We have no idea what prompted Apple to reverse its decision – could it be the EU looking a little too closely at the Cupertino firm? UTM expressed its gratitude to the third party AltStore team and later the App Store regulations have been coordinated by developer @ktemkin to the preference of UTM. Before that, the app relied on just-in-time compilation, which gives better performance but is a no-no as per Apple’s one-app-in-one-bottle rule. If this was not done it, the app would have been confined to the third party stores only.
The first app of this nature is the UTM SE
UTM SE is not a tool that requires much effort to operate, and it has a lot of potential: it is capable of running operating systems, including the latest ones, Windows 11. It does, however, depend on the smartphone or a tablet it is run on and, as stated in the App Store listing of the program, the aim is to replicate the look of the older OS like MS DOS so that people can play some classic games like Oregon Trail or Doom, for instance.
The instructions for installation vary depending on what you need, but you can go to the help page of the UTM website, everything is well detailed. While you’re at it, you’ll also learn how to install various Windows OSes or, more simply, download and install pre-compiled virtual Linux machines. Once you have a PC emulator, simply tap on the + icon in the top left corner of the app to add it to your list. The Settings button in the top right corner allows you to assign gestures, change performance-related features, and even set up a controller, among other things.