Why DolphiniOS’s Wii and GameCube emulator isn’t coming to the App Store

DolphiniOS, a fork of nan celebrated Dolphin emulator for Nintendo Wii and GameCube games, has confirmed that it’s not coming to nan Apple App Store moreover though emulators are now supported. In a station connected Friday, nan developer down nan emulator says it’s because Apple doesn’t let DolphiniOS to usage its underlying performance-boosting tech.

As explained by developer OatmealDome, DolphiniOS — on pinch different Wii and GameCube emulators — uses thing called Just-in-Time (JIT). This is simply a compiler that “translates” nan GameCube and Wii’s PowerPC-based codification into a connection different devices tin understand, making emulations tally a batch smoother.

But Apple doesn’t let third-party apps to usage JIT compilers, arsenic noted by OatmealDome. “The only exceptions are Safari and replacement web browsers successful Europe,” nan developer writes. “We submitted a DMA [Digital Markets Act] interoperability petition to Apple for JIT support, but Apple denied nan petition a fewer weeks ago.”

Although there’s a measurement to get astir JIT by utilizing an “interpreter,” OatmealDome writes that it’s “many times slower than nan JIT compiler.” A brace of videos shared by OatmealDome shows conscionable really poorly a Mario Kart Wii emulation performs connected an iPhone 15 erstwhile using an interpreter alternatively of JIT. The Verge reached retired to Apple pinch a petition for much accusation astir its rules surrounding JIT but didn’t instantly perceive back.