Key Takeaways
- The previously barred UTM SE emulator is now available on the Apple App Store for iOS and visionOS.
- UTM SE emulates full PC operating systems, allowing retro apps and games to run on compatible software.
- The developer is pleased with Apple’s reevaluation and credits the AltStore team for improving the app’s performance.
If you’re an Apple user who loves emulation, you’ve probably had a lot of fun checking out all the new apps that hit the App Store in recent months. Ever since the company opened the gates to emulators, we saw great examples such as Delta and RetroArch make their debut on the App Store. In fact, our own Brady Snider gave the Delta emulator a test run to see if it’s even worth getting a gaming handheld anymore. Now, Apple is allowing even more emulators onto its platform, including one that had been rejected from the App Store beforehand.
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Apple finally allows UTM SE onto the App Store
As spotted by The Verge, the developers behind the UTM SE emulator wanted to hop on the wave of emulation apps pouring onto the App Store. However, UTM SE is a little different from other emulators; instead of replicating a console, it aims to emulate full PC operating systems. Once you have an operating system running, you can install retro apps or games on the system it was designed for. Apple was unsure if a computer emulator should be treated the same as a console one, so it erred on the side of caution and denied it from the App Store.
The developer didn’t get too disgruntled with Apple’s judgment, stating that the app didn’t really run so great anyway. However, a month after their initial rejection, UTM SE is now on the App Store, with the developer crediting the AltStore team for improving the app’s performance and Apple for “reconsidering their policy.” If you want to give it a try for yourself, head over to the UTM SE App Store page and give it a spin today.
