Remember the days of MS-DOS? If you don’t remember them, you can play classic PC games from that era on your iPhone, thanks to new App Store rules that once again allow the distribution of emulators. This means iDOS 3, a PC emulator that lets you run applications made for MS-DOS through DOSBox, is back in the App Store.
It wasn’t until April this year that people celebrated the possibility of turning the iPad into a retro gaming console. Ten days later, the feature disappeared again, with Apple telling iDOS 3 developer Chaoji Li that “the app provides emulation capabilities but does not specifically emulate retro game consoles” because Guideline 4.7 only allows for game-specific emulators.
In order to avoid pressure from the EU and comply with the antitrust legislation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple has changed its mind again, so less than a month later, UTM SE (which allows you to run Windows on iOS) has been approved, The previously mentioned guide 4.7 has been changed to include “PC Emulator Applications”. It took a while, but iOS 3 was finally approved.
Considering Apple’s fickleness with emulators, we hope they stick around this time.
always inconsistent
We’re not the only ones who doubt Apple’s ability to stick to its ideas. “As much as I want to celebrate, I can’t help but be cautious about the future,” the iDOS 3 developer wrote in a blog post.
These recent rejections come after Apple removed iDOS 2 from the App Store in 2021 after it was discovered that it violated the 2.5.2 guidelines. Yes, it is possible that iDOS 3 is a role-playing game.
DOS and Windows have been home to many games since the 1980s, so it’s easy to think that PC emulators should never be removed. We’re cautiously optimistic that emulators will stick around this time around, as Apple generally doesn’t like to find itself on the bad side of regulatory pressure.
iDOS 3 gives you access to a huge library of games, such as Spaceball Cadet Pinball and Wolfenstein 3D, perfect for those gamers who have been waiting for PC emulators to come to iOS.
However, the entire situation highlights the ongoing tension between Apple’s policies and the desire of developers and users for the flexibility that Android offers. While the return of PC emulators like iOS 3 is a promising development for gamers and technology enthusiasts, it’s also a reminder of the unstable nature of iOS.
Whether this marks a true shift in Apple’s stance remains to be seen, but the battle between innovative third parties and control of Apple is far from over.
