Best GBA iOS Emulators [No Jailbreak] 2023 – Gaming Emulators

GBA iOS emulator is an open-source game console cum emulator which allows you to play popular games like Nintendo, Super mario bros, PUBG, etc. Emulators come with a lot of in-built features such as cloud saving, hardware controller, auto sensors, cheat that not only enhance the gaming experiences but also take the development to the next level.

The new generation cloud saving features store your gaming data directly on the server so that you can import or export your game’s config between multiple devices with just a click.

Let’s see the top best iOS emulators:

1. GBA4iOS emulator

GBA4iOS is a portable game boy advance console, created by iOS developer Riley Testut, for playing GBA or GBC (Game boy color) games right on your iPhone device. Mario series, and Pokémon are the most popular console games which you can now run on your iPhone device. The GBA emulator provides a very powerful game engine which has many highly-requested features such as AirPlay, Dropbox sync, Cheats, iPad optimization and lots more.

The development of the GBA engine ended a long time ago. However, the developer of this console made it open-source which encourages the freelance dev to keep it alive. The updated version is packed with a lot of marvelous features such as options to display the game in landscape or portrait layouts, save states, skip frames, and fast forward for quicker gameplay.

The best part which I forgot to mention is that it does not require your device to be jailbroken.

How to install the GBA4iOS emulator on iOS without Jailbreak

Most of the GBA emulators require you to jailbreak your device. However, GBA4iOS helps your device to emulate console games without Jailbreak.

Step by step guide:

1. First of all, Navigate to appvalleyapp.com/gba4ios/ from your device.
2. And Tap Install on the app page.
3. Wait until the GBA4iOS’s installation gets completed.
4. That’s it.

Note: you may see the Untrusted Developer Error while visiting Appvalleyapp because it is an unofficial app. Apple do not trust these applications. So follow the below guide:

Step by step guide to fix Untrusted Developer Error

1. You need to jot down or remember the name of the developer from the error message box.
2. Now you have to Open iOS settings and go to the General section.
3. Afterwards, you have to tap on Profiles and find the name of the developer which you have noted down in the first step.
4. Tap it and then tap Trust
5. That’s it. You can now install unofficial apps.

2. Delta emulator

Delta console emulator is also a most popular ROM which allows you to install GBA games on your iPhone or iOS devices. This ROM is also developed by Riley Testut, who is also the developer of GBA4iOS.

The old version of the emulator requires a jailbroken device, but the latest version has just removed the restriction. You can now install Delta emulator on your device without jailbreaking your iOS. It is a multi-system emulator which allows you to play Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64, SNES, Gameboy, on your mobile screen.

The features include Gdrive or Dropbox synchronization, save and load data, and cheat codes between devices. You can either play games with controllers appearing on the game screen or connect your device to an external controller. (best gba ios emulator)

How to install Delta emulator on iOS without Jailbreak

Step by step guide:

1. First of all, browse your browser for a Delta emulator installer. Press the download button on the website.
2. Now you need to tap Install on msg prompt “ignition.fun would like to install Delta Emulator”.
3. After successfully installing, the Delta app icon will appear on your device’s home screen.
4. Your device may throw untrusted developer error. And so you have to allow the installation from untrusted sources.
5. Navigate to General > Settings> Device Management.
6. And then look for the Delta app. Click on the certificate name.
7. And then, ‘Trust apps from the developer to run on your device.
8. Now allow access to your data and tap Trust.
9. That’s it. You can now run games on your delta emulator.

Delta emulator currently supports the following games:

1. Gambatte
2. VBA-M
3. Nestopia
4. Snes9x
5. GlideN64 / Mupen64plus
6. DeSmuMe (patreon beta only)

3. Happy Chick Emulator

Happy Chick is another very popular and widely used gba ios emulator, which offers many types of games for players to choose from: such as Super Mario Bros, Arena of Valor, Final Fantasy, retro games like Pokemon and my favorite PUBG. The best part is that it is available for both Android and iOS devices.

Happy chick is highly conformable with GameSir G5, X1 & Z1. These Gamesir games get updated regularly in order to provide the best user experience to their users. The features include cloud data savings, cheat codes, fast forward, on-screen controller, save and load data easily. This ios emulator does not require a Jailbroken device and so you are free from all headache.

How to install Happy Chick Emulator on iOS without Jailbreak

Here are the steps to install Happy Chick Emulator on iOS without jailbreak:

1. Open your Safari browser and go to the Happy Chick Emulator website.
2. Once you’re on the Happy Chick Emulator website, tap the “Download” button to download the Happy Chick Emulator app.
3. After the download is complete, go to your device’s Settings app and navigate to “General” -> “Profiles & Device Management”.
4. Look for the profile with the name of the developer of the Happy Chick Emulator app and tap it.
5. Tap “Trust” to allow the app to run on your device.
6. Once you’ve trusted the developer profile, go back to your home screen and launch the Happy Chick Emulator app.
7. When you open the app, you’ll be prompted to download game ROMs. You can download game ROMs within the app, or you can download them from a third-party website and import them into the app.
8. Once you’ve downloaded your game ROMs, you can start playing your favorite retro games on your iOS device.

4. Provenance Emulator

The provenance is a multi-emulator iOS emulator which has insane native-features. This emulator supports various types of systems such as Sony console, Nintendo, Atari, NEC, Bandai, SNK, Sega.

The features include very accurate and full speed emulation, save and load states, stereo sound, battery saving module, Local Multiplayer via External Controllers, Adjustable Controller Overlay Opacity, ROM Customizations, Game Library Searching, Multiple Options for Managing ROMs, Game Saves and Cover Art, Portrait and Landscape Orientation, Automatic ROM Matching.

The users find that Cydia method is the easiest solution to install provenance emulator on any iOS, iPad, IPhone devices.

How to install Provenance iOS emulator without a computer

1. First, search for Provenance emulator on your browser.
2. And then press download button on the website. Tap Install on Msg prompt on your screen, ‘would like to install Provenance.’
3. And then, the Provenance app icon will automatically appear on your home screen.
4. Now you have to allow your device to support installation from unofficial sources.
5. So navigate to Settings → General → Device Management.
6. You have to find the provenance app certificate and trust it.
7. And then you can run the emulator as usual. That’s it.

5. RetroArch Emulator

RetroArch is free, open source and cross-platform font-end for media players, video games, game engines and emulators. This emulator is available for Windows, Android and iOS devices.

It is a reference implementation of libretro, which makes it reliable, high speed, light weight, and without dependencies.

RetroArch is a multi-platform and so it automatically recognizes and configures as soon as you connect your universal joypad to it. It also helps you to record your game session.

The features include taking screenshots, save and load states, ability to remap controls, ability to enter and load cheats, built-in input remapping, scan files / directories and add them to game system collections, eye-candy menus to choose from, download programs (‘cores’) online, eye-candy menus, view database information about each game, over 80+ programs(‘cores’) now and counting.

RetroArch does not have push advertisements, not restriction means 100% free, open source license, no DRM.

How to install RetroArch Emulator on iOS without Jailbreak

1. If you’re an iOS user and you want to install RetroArch emulator on your device without jailbreak, here are the steps to follow:
2. Open your browser and go to the RetroArch website
3. Scroll down to the “iOS (Non-Jailbroken)” section and tap the “Download” button to download the RetroArch IPA file.
4. After the download is complete, download Cydia Impactor on your computer.
5. Connect your iOS device to your computer using a USB cable.
6. Open Cydia Impactor and drag the RetroArch IPA file into the Cydia Impactor window.
7. Enter your Apple ID and password when prompted.
8. Wait for Cydia Impactor to sign the RetroArch IPA file and install it on your iOS device.
9. Once the installation is complete, go to your device’s Settings app and navigate to “General” -> “Profiles & Device Management”.
10. Look for the profile with the name of the developer of the RetroArch app and tap it.
11. Tap “Trust” to allow the app to run on your device.
12. Once you’ve trusted the developer profile, go back to your home screen and launch the RetroArch app.
13. When you open the app, you’ll be prompted to download game cores. You can download game cores within the app, or you can download them from a third-party website and import them into the app.
14. Once you’ve downloaded your game cores, you can start playing your favorite retro games on your iOS device.

1. Is the GBA emulator Safe?

It is one of the controversial questions which has been asked many times for many years. There are many tech. enthusiasts who reported that after installing the GBA emulator their device got some weird problems.

You can find a lot of reddit threads that gba emulators consume a lot of RAM and battery which makes your device very slow. However these threads are many years old. The open-source developers have updated the emulators many times since its development. However, It all depends upon your device specifications.

Each device has its own problem. And so I request you add a comment in the below comment box so that other players can solve their issues.

2. What is the best GBA emulator for iOS?

It all depends on your device specifications and your requirements. In this article, I have featured five widely used best gba iOS emulators. You should try all of them and identify which one is working smoothly on your device.

I recommend you try GBA4iOS first because it has been featured by hardcore game lovers. It is packed with a lot of features and advanced modules.

[It’s my request to you to specify your device details and also state which GBA iOS emulator is working fine for you.]

3. Why is GBA4iOS not working?

The most common issue faced by players is ‘Untrusted developer error’ which you can easily solve. I have already stated the solution. Once again, I am showing you. Follow the below solution:

1. Navigate to Settings → General → Device Management.
2. You have to find the emulator (which you have installed) certificate and trust it.
3. And then you can run the emulator as usual. That’s it.

If you are facing problems apart from untrusted developer error then It might be due to your device specification or you have downloaded a broken app file.

The pro tip is that download and install the app from a trusted source [If you know a better site then you can comment below the site name]. And also try all the iOS emulators and identify which one is working or which one is not working.

I have tried my best to showcase the best GBAiOS emulator so that you all guys don’t face any problems related to installation guides. I have featured only five best ios emulators for iPhone which support almost all the versions, including iOS 13.

My own experience says that only use those iOS emulators which has the following features,

1. Save or load states. If the app provides cloud saving then you must try the app because you can easily import and export the emulator’s configuration between your devices.
2. Hardware controller support. Playing with an external controller is a wonderful experience. It feels like playing on a computer.

Thanks to all of you. And I request to all the game lovers, if you feel that I have missed anything to state in the above article then comment in the comment box below. I would love to feature your suggestions in the article. If you also looking for a quick guide to root the BlueStacks emulator then you can read a step-by-step guide here.