Software:touchHLE

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touchHLE
Screenshot of touchHLE options page
Original author(s)hikari_no_yume
Developer(s)hikari_no_yume and 25 others
Stable release
0.2.3[1]
Repositoryhttps://github.com/touchHLE/touchHLE
Written inRust
Operating systemAndroid, macOS, Microsoft Windows
LicenseMozilla Public License 2.0
Websitehttps://touchhle.org/

touchHLE is a free and open-source emulator for iOS applications, originally developed by an anonymous programmer going by the pseudonym hikari_no_yume.[2][3] It is written in Rust to work specifically with games developed for older iOS versions,[4][5] and as of version 0.2.3 it supports hundreds of games.

touchHLE was first released in February 2023 where it was able to run Super Monkey Ball,[6][7] a launch title for the App Store in 2008 which was at the time considered "long lost" due to it being incompatible with newer iOS versions.[8][9] Support for other games, such as the Lite version of Super Monkey Ball, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D and Touch & Go was added in later builds,[10][11] and the emulator was ported to Android after a pull request was issued to add support for it, allowing Android devices to run legacy iOS games.[12][13][14]

The emulator makes use of high-level emulation where touchHLE itself takes the place of iOS and provides its own implementations of operating system frameworks, thus avoiding any dependency on copyrighted Apple firmware and libraries; the only code executed by the emulated CPU is the app binary and open-source libraries from Apple.[15] hikari_no_yume also stated that they do not plan on supporting newer versions of iOS both on a technical and philosophical standpoint, citing the complexity of implementing 64-bit iOS apps and system libraries[15] and changing trends in the mobile app ecosystem where the emergence of free-to-play games brought about concerns regarding the perceived decline in quality of mobile games.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Release v0.2.3: The Happy New Year release! · touchHLE/touchHLE". 2026-01-02. https://github.com/touchHLE/touchHLE/releases/tag/v0.2.3. 
  2. ↑ "touchHLE" (in en). https://touchhle.org/. 
  3. ↑ "光の夢〜hikari's dream〜dream of light" (in en). https://hikari.noyu.me/. 
  4. ↑ "TouchHLE Emulator Lets You Play Old iPhone Games On Mac And PC - iOS Hacker" (in en). 11 March 2023. https://ioshacker.com/news/touchhle-emulator-lets-you-play-old-iphone-games-mac-and-pc. 
  5. ↑ "DOOM On IPhone OS, On Android - Hackaday" (in en). 25 July 2023. https://hackaday.com/2023/07/24/doom-on-iphone-os-on-android/. 
  6. ↑ "Release v0.1.0: First release! · hikari-no-yume/touchHLE" (in en). https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/releases/tag/v0.1.0. 
  7. ↑ "Review: Super Monkey Ball for iPhone - Macworld" (in en). https://www.macworld.com/article/191454/supermonkeyball.html. 
  8. ↑ Wallace, Anthony (February 3, 2023). "Enthusiast Creates Advanced iOS Emulator To Revive Obsolete Super Monkey Ball Game" (in en). https://retrododo.com/enthusiast-creates-advanced-ios-emulator/. "TouchHLE not only allows Hikari to play the long lost Super Monkey Ball game, but it opens up the possibility for any obsolete game from the 32-bit era of iOS." 
  9. ↑ "The forgotten Super Monkey Ball game that launched the iPhone app store has been preserved with a new emulator - GamesRadar+" (in en). 10 February 2023. https://www.gamesradar.com/the-forgotten-super-monkey-ball-game-that-launched-the-iphone-app-store-has-been-preserved-with-a-new-emulator/. "touchHLE is starting to save the games lost in the iPhone's app-pocalypse" 
  10. ↑ "Doom II RPG - Apps - touchHLE app compatibility database" (in en). https://appdb.touchhle.org/apps/57. 
  11. ↑ "TouchHLE: High-level emulator for iPhone OS apps". https://github.com/hikari-no-yume/touchHLE/blob/trunk/APP_SUPPORT.md. 
  12. ↑ Espósito, Filipe (24 April 2023). "Developer ports iOS emulator to Android, but you shouldn't get excited about it". 9to5Mac. https://9to5mac.com/2023/04/24/ios-emulator-to-android/. 
  13. ↑ "High-level iOS emulator touchHLE runs on Windows and Mac, aims to preserve old iOS gaming apps". 6 February 2023. https://www.techspot.com/news/97504-high-level-ios-emulator-touchhle-aims-preserve-old.html. 
  14. ↑ Williams, Elliot (July 25, 2023). "DOOM On IPhone OS, On Android" (in en-US). https://hackaday.com/2023/07/24/doom-on-iphone-os-on-android/. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "touchHLE is a new emulator for iPhone OS apps" (in en). February 6, 2023. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/02/touchhle-is-a-new-emulator-for-iphone-os-apps/. 
  16. ↑ "touchHLE FAQ (frequently asked questions)". https://touchhle.org/faq.html. 



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