Google Wallet is one of the most useful apps for Android devices as it allows you to store and access identification (ID) cards or documents, payment cards, boarding passes, and event tickets among other things. Unfortunately, it isn’t available in the world’s most populous country, India. Fortunately, that’s going to change soon.
As spotted by TechCrunch, Google had listed the Google Wallet app on the Play Store in India and the listing had screenshots showing Indian brands, currency, and locations. While there was no download option available on the listing and the brand later de-listed the app, it suggested that the company is working on making Google Wallet available in India. In fact, if people sideload the app in the country, it works with local payment cards, boarding passes, and event tickets. Some users also reported that Google Wallet worked on WearOS smartwatches in the region.
All in all, it won’t be too long before Google releases the Google Wallet app officially in India. Currently, there’s only one digital wallet app available on Android in the country, which is Samsung Wallet. Unfortunately, it works only on Samsung devices. Once Google launches Google Wallet in India, non-Samsung Android users will finally have a digital wallet app that they can use, allowing them to access IDs, payment cards, boarding passes, and event tickets from a single place. It’s worth mentioning that it will co-exist with Google Pay, which offers UPI payments.
The Apple Notes app is a cultural fixture as well as an essential tool, and it looks like Apple is going to supercharge the iconic app in iOS 18, the next major update for Apple’s flagship mobile operating system. iOS 18 is expected to be previewed alongside the latest versions of its other platform operating systems at WWDC 2024, Apple’s software-centric conference primarily aimed at developers, which kicks off on June 8.
Reports from AppleInsider are that two impressive features are expected to be revealed. First is support for audio recordings directly within the app – akin to the Voice Memos app, but better integrated. This feature is currently being developed for iOS 18 and macOS 15, and a version for the newest iteration of iPadOS can be expected soon after.
The feature will give users basic playback features for audio recordings, letting them record, play, and save entries right in the Notes app. The recordings will be embedded into specific notes that users choose, which can also include text and images along with the recording. Creatives will no doubt find this useful for making multimedia entries, and more casual users might find it a great way to make digital scrapbooks. It will also let users make more complex entries to detail the audio they save, being able to add lengthy descriptions or context entries.
The user interface of the app will be visually similar to the existing Voice Memos app, with the new audio recording feature being presented with similar graphical representations of the captured audio. These new in-app audio notes recordings will be available on all devices connected to iCloud and running at least iOS 18 or macOS 15.
Pre-release versions of the operating systems to be presented at WWDC 2024 also apparently reference a new ‘Math Notes’ feature which will enable the Notes app to interact with the Calculator app. Presumably, this will allow the Notes app to enlist the Calculator app to make calculations as users are entering them in Notes, though there’s no indication of how complex these calculations might be.
More features of this sort are expected to follow the Math Notes feature, and the introduction of the Math Notes feature is slated to coincide with Apple’s debut of a redesigned macOS Calculator app. Users will likely be able to prompt the Math Notes feature from the Calculator app using a designated button or option, but we will have to wait a little while longer to see the exact plans Apple has in store for Math Notes.
(Image credit: Shutterstock/Matveev Aleksandr)
Apple steals a note from Microsoft
These features have both been a part of OneNote, Microsoft’s proprietary note-taking app, a favorite among many who use educational curricula and materials, and those who work in mathematical notation. It also happens to rank highly in terms of popularity in both the iOS App Store and the macOS App Store, the former being highly regarded in user reviews and the latter having been awarded Apple’s Editors’ Choice award. It’s the cohort of people who find OneNote so useful and crucial to their work that Apple might hope to entice them with its Math Notes feature.
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The Notes app may have begun as a humble confidant for shopping lists and late-night thoughts, but it looks like it’s growing up and becoming a more capable app to assist users in more ways. It’s still very popular as the native notetaking app for Apple products, and Apple is understandably making moves to hold on to its staple status.
Again, it’s expected that both the embedded audio recording feature and the Math Notes feature will be premiered at WWDC 2024, but Apple has canceled or delayed features that have been rumored to be in the pipeline before. We won’t know for sure until we hear about it on stage at WWDC in June.
Apple updated its App Review Guidelines this month to allow “retro game console emulator apps” on the App Store for the iPhone and other devices. Below, we outline everything to know about these emulators and available options so far.
This information is up to date as of April 2024, but Apple’s policies could change over time.
What is Allowed
Apple told us that emulators that can load games (ROMs) are permitted on the App Store, so long as the apps are emulating “retro console games” only.
Apple would not tell us which consoles it classifies as retro, but developer Riley Testut’s popular emulator Delta is now available on the App Store, and it can emulate games for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo 64, and Nintendo DS.
There is also a Commodore 64 emulator on the App Store called Emu64 XL.
We have not come across any other fully-functioning emulators on the App Store released after the rule change, but more will likely be available in the future. Apple recently removed an emulator called iGBA from the App Store for ripping off Testut’s code for Delta and its predecessor GBA4iOS, while the developer of NES emulator Bimmy decided to remove the app from the App Store to avoid the risk of legal action from Nintendo.
Legality
While a U.S. court ruled that emulators are legal, downloading copyrighted ROMs is typically against the law in the country. On its customer support website in the U.S., Nintendo says that downloading pirated copies of its games is illegal:
Pirate copies of game files are often referred to as “ROMs”.
The uploading and downloading of pirate copies of Nintendo games is illegal.
Nintendo recently sued the developers of Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu for “facilitating piracy at a colossal scale,” leading to a reported $2.4 million settlement. Nintendo has yet to comment on the availability of emulators in the App Store, but Delta and its predecessor GBA4iOS have been available on the iPhone outside of the App Store for over a decade now without being shut down. Nintendo did issue a DMCA takedown notice against the GBA4iOS website in 2014, but the emulators have continued to remain available.
For those who want to abide by the letter of the law, it is generally legal to download and play “homebrew” games available in the public domain.
One of the first alternative app marketplaces went live in the European Union today, with developer Riley Testut introducing AltStore PAL, a version of his AltStore that can be accessed in EU countries.
AltStore PAL is an open-source app that is designed to distribute apps from independent developers. At launch, it features two apps, including Testut’s Delta game emulator and clipboard manager app Clip. Delta is also being simultaneously released in the App Store outside of the European Union, but it looks like EU customers will need to download it from AltStore.
Testut says that once AltStore PAL is “running smoothly,” third-party app developers will be able to submit their apps for distribution outside of the App Store. The app marketplace is designed to be decentralized with no directory, so developers will need to self-promote their apps and direct users to their websites to install an app through AltStore.
Distributing apps through AltStore is free of charge, but it is worth noting that apps that see more than one million first annual installs will need to pay Apple an 0.50 euro Core Technology Fee. App marketplaces have to pay the fee for every install with no free allowance, so AltStore is charged 0.50 euros each time it is installed. To afford the fee, Testut is charging 1.50 euros per year for AltStore PAL access.
Testut has been working on AltStore PAL since Apple announced plans to support alternative app marketplaces in iOS 17.4. It is open to all apps, but Testut says that it makes the most sense for “smaller, indie apps that otherwise couldn’t exist due to App Store rules.”
AltStore PAL is equipped with Patreon integration to allow developers to monetize their apps. Developers can offer their apps to just their patrons, and this method of distribution also allows for a sub-1 million cap on those who can subscribe to use an app.
iPhone users in the European Union can download AltStore PAL from the AltStore website. Alternative app marketplaces are not available outside of the European Union.
iOS 18 is expected to be the “biggest” update in the iPhone’s history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more…
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts. It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that…
Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company’s App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut’s open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend,…
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple’s rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/”homebrew” games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any…
Apple’s first set of new AI features planned for iOS 18 will not rely on cloud servers at all, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. “As the world awaits Apple’s big AI unveiling on June 10, it looks like the initial wave of features will work entirely on device,” said Gurman, in the Q&A section of his Power On newsletter today. “That means there’s no cloud processing component to the…
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently reported that the first Macs with M4 series chips will be released later this year, with more models to follow next year. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman shared a more specific roadmap for these Macs. Here is the order in which Gurman expects the Macs to launch:1. A low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4, coming around the end of 2024. 2. A 24-inch …
Best Buy this weekend has a big sale on Apple MacBooks and iPads, including new all-time low prices on the M3 MacBook Air, alongside the best prices we’ve ever seen on MacBook Pro, iPad, and more. Some of these deals require a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total membership, which start at $49.99/year. In addition to exclusive access to select discounts, you’ll get free 2-day shipping, an…
Apple’s hardware roadmap was in the news this week, with things hopefully firming up for a launch of updated iPad Pro and iPad Air models next month while we look ahead to the other iPad models and a full lineup of M4-based Macs arriving starting later this year. We also heard some fresh rumors about iOS 18, due to be unveiled at WWDC in a couple of months, while we took a look at how things …
iOS 18 will add a few new features to the Notes app related to voice memos and mathematics, according to information obtained by AppleInsider.
First, the report claims that iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to record voice memos directly within the Notes app, and these recordings could then be embedded in notes. Audio recordings can already be copy and pasted from the Voice Memos app into the Notes app for playback, but this step would no longer be necessary starting with iOS 18.
Second, the report claims that the Notes app will likely gain support for displaying mathematical notation on iOS 18, meaning that users would be able to add more types of mathematical equations to notes. This feature will allegedly have some kind of integration with the Calculator app, but the exact implementation is unclear.
The report also says macOS 15 will feature a redesigned Calculator app.
Apple will unveil iOS 18 at its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 10 through June 14, and the update should be widely released in September. We recently recapped other new features and changes expected with iOS 18, including a more customizable Home Screen, Siri enhancements, and more.
iOS 18 is expected to be the “biggest” update in the iPhone’s history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more…
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts. It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that…
Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company’s App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut’s open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend,…
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple’s rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/”homebrew” games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any…
Apple’s first set of new AI features planned for iOS 18 will not rely on cloud servers at all, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. “As the world awaits Apple’s big AI unveiling on June 10, it looks like the initial wave of features will work entirely on device,” said Gurman, in the Q&A section of his Power On newsletter today. “That means there’s no cloud processing component to the…
Best Buy this weekend has a big sale on Apple MacBooks and iPads, including new all-time low prices on the M3 MacBook Air, alongside the best prices we’ve ever seen on MacBook Pro, iPad, and more. Some of these deals require a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total membership, which start at $49.99/year. In addition to exclusive access to select discounts, you’ll get free 2-day shipping, an…
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently reported that the first Macs with M4 series chips will be released later this year, with more models to follow next year. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman shared a more specific roadmap for these Macs. Here is the order in which Gurman expects the Macs to launch:1. A low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4, coming around the end of 2024. 2. A 24-inch …
Apple’s hardware roadmap was in the news this week, with things hopefully firming up for a launch of updated iPad Pro and iPad Air models next month while we look ahead to the other iPad models and a full lineup of M4-based Macs arriving starting later this year. We also heard some fresh rumors about iOS 18, due to be unveiled at WWDC in a couple of months, while we took a look at how things …
As many of you probably found out earlier today, Samsung released a new mobile app that helps newcomers to the Gaming Hub platform on Samsung TVs get into cloud gaming. And I think it’s a great idea and something that Gaming Hub was missing.
Think about it. One of the best qualities of Gaming Hub is that it opens up the world of console and PC gaming to millions of Samsung TV owners through cloud streaming. And it does this without requiring powerful gaming hardware. But the Gaming Hub service does require a gaming controller, which is a barrier for non-gamers who likely won’t have one lying around.
The Virtual Gamepad app is a clever alternative, and even though it’s not going to compete with a physical controller, it is a free (as long as you have a compatible phone) entry-level solution for people who want to start gaming on their TVs.
Virtual Gamepad is missing only a few things to be a lot better
I tested Samsung’s Virtual Gamepad on my Galaxy S24+ and Neo QLED QN90C TV briefly, and the mobile app seems to work as intended for the most part. I don’t have complaints, except maybe that it’s a bit buggy when you try to customize the layout, and the thumbsticks become invisible. It could be by design, in which case, it’s a poor design choice.
More importantly, I wish the app had a few extra options, and I think having them would’ve led to a much better day one experience.
For a start, there is no option to revert the layout to its default setup. Your only option is to close the app and open it again. That’s not a big deal, but the app is also missing an option to save custom layouts. If you don’t get along with the default layout, you’ll have to customize it every time you open the app.
And finally, the app has no layout color options, and I think adding them would help usability in a practical sense. Virtual gamepads already don’t have the best tactile feedback. After all, you’re using a touchscreen to simulate physical buttons.
Toned-down or even translucent on-screen buttons are not an issue when you use on-screen controls for a game that runs on your phone. In fact, they’re likely the preferred option so as to not get in the way of the gameplay.
However, this is a different case. We’re talking about a gamepad alternative for your TV rather than an on-screen gamepad for your mobile game. Ideally, you won’t be looking at your phone when playing a game on your TV. But, due to the lack of tactile feedback, you may sometimes want to rely on your peripheral vision to locate buttons on your phone’s screen. And an all-gray layout doesn’t help locate the buttons at a glance.
I think giving users the option to color each button individually (or choose from color presets) could have improved the experience greatly. As it is now, the gray virtual thumbsticks and buttons don’t stand out enough. They’re not easy to make out when you are trying to focus on whatever is happening on your TV screen.
In all fairness, this app is new, and Samsung might already be thinking of ways to improve it. So we will give it time. But it could’ve been a lot better from day one if it had these few extra options. And I hope Samsung will consider adding them with future updates.
Samsung launched a new Virtual Gamepad mobile app some weeks ago. If you never heard of it, you’re probably not alone. Unless you own a Samsung smart TV and often use it with SmartThings on your phone, chances are this new app flew under your radar.
Samsung didn’t make any official announcements for this app. It was released quietly on the Google Play Store, but people could find out about it through the SmartThings mobile app, assuming they have a Samsung TV linked up. Here’s all you need to know.
You can now use Gaming Hub without a physical controller
As the name suggests, Virtual Gamepad is a gaming-oriented app. Its primary purpose is to turn your smartphone into a game controller for your TV.
Using this app, you can play cloud games via Gaming Hub on your Samsung TV without having to buy a physical controller. You can turn your mobile phone into a virtual gamepad instead.
This is what it looks like by default. You have some control over the virtual button layout, but there’s no light theme or other color options.
As far as your Samsung TV is concerned, the Virtual Gamepad app on your phone is like any other standard controller connected to your TV. You can use it to control games and your TV’s UI.
Similar to a physical gamepad, the left virtual thumbstick and D-pad control the TV UI, while the A and B buttons work as “select” and “back” buttons — just like on a regular Xbox controller.
This means you can also use Virtual Gamepad on your phone to play smaller Tizen OS games on your TV — games you can download from the TV app store. In other words, it’s not just a Gaming Hub accessory but also a TV remote and virtual controller.
If you want to give the Virtual Gamepad app a try, you can download it from Google Play. But, without a Samsung TV, there’s not much you can do with it.
However, if you have a Samsung TV, you can open the SmartThings app on your phone, access your TV, and select the “Virtual Gamepad” option. It now resides under “Camera Sharing.” You’ll be redirected to the Play Store to download the app on your phone. If you don’t see the Virtual Gamepad option in SmartThings, make sure you’re using the latest version.
Another barrier lifted for Samsung TV owners
Samsung continues to make gaming more accessible to everyone. Gaming Hub for TVs is one of the best choices for casual gamers who don’t want to spend too much money or for people who have never gamed but are interested in trying this pastime activity at a low cost.
However, because Gaming Hub requires a controller to play games, this can be another barrier casual gamers with no prior gaming experience — and thus, no accessories — are facing.
This new Virtual Gamepad mobile app won’t replace the tried and tested physical controller for most gamers. But it can lift this other cost barrier related to controllers. Now, Samsung TV users who want to try Gaming Hub no longer have to spend money on an accessory they may or may not use in the long run. They can try games using the Virtual Gamepad app and decide later whether they should buy a physical controller.
Microsoft today introduced a version of OneNote that is designed to run on the Apple Vision Pro headset. OneNote for Vision Pro was created for visionOS, and it includes many of the features that are available on OneNote for iPad.
The app can be used to write memos, notes, and digital notebooks, and there are options to sync content to OneDrive for access across multiple platforms. There is support for tags like Important and To Do, and notes can be protected with a password.
OneNote on Vision Pro works hands-free or with a connected keyboard and mouse. In the future, Microsoft plans to add support for Copilot, two-factor authentication, and inserting images from the camera or the Photos app.
OneNote can be downloaded from the visionOS App Store as of today. It works with personal and work accounts that are not managed by an organization.
Microsoft has made many of its apps available on the Vision Pro, including Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
iOS 18 is expected to be the “biggest” update in the iPhone’s history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more…
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts. It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that…
Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company’s App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut’s open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend,…
Apple’s first set of new AI features planned for iOS 18 will not rely on cloud servers at all, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. “As the world awaits Apple’s big AI unveiling on June 10, it looks like the initial wave of features will work entirely on device,” said Gurman, in the Q&A section of his Power On newsletter today. “That means there’s no cloud processing component to the…
Best Buy this weekend has a big sale on Apple MacBooks and iPads, including new all-time low prices on the M3 MacBook Air, alongside the best prices we’ve ever seen on MacBook Pro, iPad, and more. Some of these deals require a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total membership, which start at $49.99/year. In addition to exclusive access to select discounts, you’ll get free 2-day shipping, an…
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently reported that the first Macs with M4 series chips will be released later this year, with more models to follow next year. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman shared a more specific roadmap for these Macs. Here is the order in which Gurman expects the Macs to launch:1. A low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4, coming around the end of 2024. 2. A 24-inch …
Apple’s hardware roadmap was in the news this week, with things hopefully firming up for a launch of updated iPad Pro and iPad Air models next month while we look ahead to the other iPad models and a full lineup of M4-based Macs arriving starting later this year. We also heard some fresh rumors about iOS 18, due to be unveiled at WWDC in a couple of months, while we took a look at how things …
Over the weekend, a Game Boy emulator named iGBA appeared in the iPhone’s App Store, but Apple quickly removed the app due to violations of the company’s App Review Guidelines related to spam and copyright. Apple has since shared additional details about why it removed iGBA from the App Store, and it also clarified its guidelines for emulators. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley…
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple’s rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo.
On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/”homebrew” games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any NES games available for download online, such as Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. Nintendo released the NES game console in 1985, so some of these games are nearly 40 years old. On its website, Nintendo says “downloading of pirate copies of Nintendo games is illegal.”
The release of Bimmy comes after Apple removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for ripping off another emulator known as GBA4iOS, which was distributed outside the App Store. Apple said it had approved of iGBA’s functionality prior to learning that the app was a knockoff, suggesting that emulators for older Nintendo game consoles are permitted on the App Store, and Bimmy seems to be the first proof of that.
Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators earlier this month. Apple says developers of emulators are “responsible for all such software” offered in the app, including compliance with “all applicable laws.”
iOS 18 is expected to be the “biggest” update in the iPhone’s history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more…
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts. It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that…
Apple’s hardware roadmap was in the news this week, with things hopefully firming up for a launch of updated iPad Pro and iPad Air models next month while we look ahead to the other iPad models and a full lineup of M4-based Macs arriving starting later this year. We also heard some fresh rumors about iOS 18, due to be unveiled at WWDC in a couple of months, while we took a look at how things …
Best Buy this weekend has a big sale on Apple MacBooks and iPads, including new all-time low prices on the M3 MacBook Air, alongside the best prices we’ve ever seen on MacBook Pro, iPad, and more. Some of these deals require a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total membership, which start at $49.99/year. In addition to exclusive access to select discounts, you’ll get free 2-day shipping, an…
Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company’s App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut’s open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend,…
Apple’s first set of new AI features planned for iOS 18 will not rely on cloud servers at all, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. “As the world awaits Apple’s big AI unveiling on June 10, it looks like the initial wave of features will work entirely on device,” said Gurman, in the Q&A section of his Power On newsletter today. “That means there’s no cloud processing component to the…
iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut’s open-source GBA4iOS app, with the addition of ads on top. While it did not explicitly name GBA4iOS, Apple told us it removed iGBA from the App Store after learning that it was a knockoff app that copied another developer’s work and attempted to pass it off as its own.
Notably, Apple confirmed to us that emulators on the App Store are permitted to load ROMs downloaded from the web, so long as the app is emulating retro console games only. Apple also said it had approved iGBA’s functionality, before learning that it was a knockoff app, suggesting that Game Boy emulation is permitted on the App Store, but the company has yet to share any other examples of retro game consoles.
All in all, it appears that iGBA was removed from the App Store entirely because it was a ripoff of GBA4iOS, rather than due to piracy concerns resulting from users being able to load any ROM downloaded from the web. However, exactly which consoles Apple considers to be retro, and if there will be any other restrictions, remains to be seen.
It also remains to be seen how Nintendo reacts to Apple approving Game Boy emulators for distribution through the App Store on the iPhone. On its U.S. customer support website, Nintendo says downloading pirated copies of its games is illegal:
Pirate copies of game files are often referred to as “ROMs”.
The uploading and downloading of pirate copies of Nintendo games is illegal.
We have reached out to Nintendo for comment.
Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators earlier this month. Apple says developers of emulators are “responsible for all such software” offered in the app, including compliance with “all applicable laws.”
