#iemulators

Apple Giveth, And Apple Taketh Away

GBA4iOS 2.1, one of the most anticipated updates yet thanks to the introduction of wireless linking (multiplayer) support, finally came out a couple of days ago in open beta form. Thanks to our long-time friendship with developer Riley Testut, iEmulators.com (which I co-founded) was offered the chance to be the first stepping stone in its eventual official release by allowing anyone to download the beta update without any developer experience required.

A week before, we had been contacted by Riley and offered this exclusive chance to host and get this stable-enough beta out to the masses. We, of course, agreed enthusiastically. The whole thing - by which I mean the actual download page - took us long hours to set up and was actually made on the same day of release because, believe it or not, Riley had just updated the source code with all the new updates the night before at around 3:33 A.M.

In a frenzy, my teammates and I spent that whole day working on the distribution/hosting, a video showcasing the update, a quick logo for the occassion, new controller skins and more. We eventually released everything at about 6:30 P.M. to everyone's surprise.

Although we had a few issues with a couple of device installations at first, we managed to successfully fix that through another update. GBA4iOS 2.1 was downloaded at lightning speed, reaching as far as 200,000 downloads in 3 days.

Unfortunately, on November 17, Apple struck once more and revoked its distribution certificate which had helped a lot of iOS 8.1 users download the update since they no longer have access to the once convenient 'date trick' method of installation. 

It came to no one's surprise that Apple would strike once again like they had back in February when Riley released the first version of 2.0 - actually, we kind of expected it and even made bets on the inside as to when it would happen. What did surprise us was how long it took in comparison to the first release, but there was no question that it wouldn't happen to begin with.

We don't blame Apple at all for their actions; they were definitely within their rights to shut it down. With recent discoveries like the WireLurker malware abusing the same method we're using to distribute, it was only natural for them to take necessary precautions. We feel no grudge towards them and you shouldn't either; they're doing what's best for everyone using their technology.

Why release GBA4iOS 2.1 at all knowing it'll get shut down?

Primarily, the reason we released 2.1 the way we did was because of you all! We know a lot of you have updated to the latest (and definitely more secure) iOS 8.1 update, so we didn't want to leave you behind.

We could easily have gone with the 'date trick' required route (like Riley intends to do with the official release) but we decided to risk it for you all to have a few days of joy playing some nostalgic games with all the new features. 

Secondly, it was also an experiment for us. We wanted to find out just how far iEmulators has grown since our re-launch a couple of months back. It also helped us find out how strong this distribution method we're using is since it's a little unconventional and not the typical kind - it definitely helped us realize that our focus should shift back towards that long-term solution we discussed about back on the iEmulators.com page which, speaking of, we have made some progress on and we will reveal more info as it becomes available.

To conclude, we don't currently have plans to bring back GBA4iOS 2.1 back without the date trick - not while we're still in the spotlight and a target. This will be no different than when Riley releases it officially, anyway.

All you users on iOS 8.1, 8.1.1 and the upcoming 8.2, we want to let you know we haven't forgotten about you. Although 8.0.2 and below is pretty much the best way to play emulators on our site currently, we can't stay stuck in the past for too long either. Like the frequent iOS updates coming, we have to try and move alongside them, we must find new solutions and methods to continue to protect those little fun pastimes on our phones that emulators allow us to enjoy.

Note: the revocation of GBA4iOS 2.1 also took down a lot of our other emulators we had hosted before using the no date trick method. Don't worry, they'll be back as soon as we figure some things out! In the mean time, for users on 8.0.2 and below, date trick is still in effect!

Video features OPERATIONiDROID showing off an early version of GBA4iOS 2.1, give it a watch!

As promised in his blog post yesterday, developer Riley Testut has now updated the source code of GBA4iOS 2.0 found on BitBucket with the most anticipated version yet, 2.1. This new update introduces some brand new features to the overall experience, and, best of all? You can install it right now if you have the necessary tools and experience!

GBA4iOS 2.1 has been a work in progress for many months now. Riley and his graphic designer, Paul Thorsen, have been teasing its development as far back as April of this year when they released the first set of photos showcasing a successful on-going trade between an iPhone and iPad running GBA4iOS.

Originally, Riley wanted to spend as much of his time perfecting version 2.1 and multiplayer which is known to still have some potential connectivity issues. However, due to the impending iOS 8.1 update that blocks the 'date trick,' Riley is forced to release much earlier than anticipated in a form of beta. 

The first update in this version will come without Multiplayer functionality (it's coming later) but does sports all the other features he originally wanted to release alongside Multiplayer.

Some of these features include brand new skins by Paul Thorsen, custom color palette for original Game Boy (.gb) games, an emulated intro animation when starting a game (which you can toggle off and on), brand new custom settings for the in-app web browser so that you can choose which home page you want it opening when you tap the magnifying glass button, and more.

The source code is up on BitBucket and open to everyone. It does require certain skills and a developer account to build, sign and install. If you fit the requirements, enjoy beta testing 2.1! 

But what about those that don't have the necessary skills or time?

Unfortunately for now, Riley Testut explains that this current version of 2.1 is a little too buggy for public use. Instead he tells me that he would rather have some skilled developers with the proper tools and experience to build this to be the ones beta testing for now. 

Don't lose hope, though. This is only temporary and you will definitely be seeing an update when it's all finished the usual way. There are also plenty of ways to try this out if you have any developer friends willing to help you - can't hurt to ask!

iEmulators 2.0 launched today!

It has been an exciting (and tiring) few months working with my team on this new, redesigned site. For over a year, iEmulators has grown at a steady pace to become one of the most recognizable forms of downloading non-jailbroken applications. 

We wanted version 2.0 to receive the attention it deserved and to give back to the users that have been supporting us from the very beginning. It was, honestly, about damn time. 

iEmulators 2.0 is now a fully-realized hub for the Start3rs. This new version still gives you access to the emulators and apps you have grown used to seeing (plus a lot more coming in the near future), but it also provides even more. 

We have added a dedicated "Home" section where you will find news and information by yours truly, the latest videos by OPERATIONiDROID, and even a featured skins selection from GBA4iOSkins. We intend to update this section as much as possible and use it to push us further than never before.

The "Apps" section is what you may have already guessed, the sections for all the emulators and apps available for download. Although we are starting out by giving the same emulators you have seen before, some of them have been updated. We have taken the time to research, get in contact with developers and obtain working versions of these apps - it's a hard thing to do, but we think the time and effort put into this is worth it. 

In the near future, we will be hosting a beta to bring even more emulators into the site and you definitely shouldn't miss that. Follow @iEmulators for more info.

The "Help" section is your best bet to answer any questions you may have. We provide the all-too-familiar date trick instructions, a few answered frequently asked questions, and even a comments section where you can leave any inquiry or doubt you may have.

Aside from these main sections, we have added other external links that take you to different pages within iEmulators.com

After much consideration, we now have a functioning "donations" page where you can help support the on-going development of the site. It is entirely optional, of course. We just thought it was time we made it available. 

An about page that tells you a little bit about how iEmulators came to be and what our mission is. 

A team page where you can find the faces behind the Start3rs team that brings you iEmulators 2.0, as well as their other social media sites and contact information.

A disclaimer page that serves to detail everything you need to know about the responsibilities of using this site and other legal information. We highly recommend you familiarize yourself with this when you have the time.

A dedicated contact page where you can email iEmulators Support directly or one of the individual Start3rs.

One more thing I need to address is the ads on the page. I know, nobody likes ads, but the truth remains and that is that they help pay the bills.

We contemplated doing this for many months while designing the site and we have arrived at the conclusion that all the man hours alone spent coding site (not mentioning the hours contacting developers, obtaining new apps, testing said apps and even future hours going into the beta) was enough for us to consider them. 

We ran the site for over a year free of charge (and will continue to be free), taking whatever we could out of our own pockets. We switched hosts three times during that time and now we have two new ones - it is only natural to add them to cover the costs. 

We're being careful not to add them in a way that will distract or annoy you. We are also in no way asking you to click them in order to support us, as that is against our policy agreements - but we will have them there and let them do their jobs.

We will never include ads inside applications, these ads are only for the site. 

Featured on OPERATIONiDROID's latest NEWS4iOS.

The iEmulators Beta

Sounds a little exciting, doesn't it? Originally we wanted to keep this a secret until we first launched the new version of the site, but we couldn't contain it for much longer.

Although iEmulators 2.0 is launching with some of the current emulators you know and love (plus lots of changes), we have been working on adding a handful of others that we know you will be thrilled to install - without jailbreaking of course!

Given how close the release of iOS 8 is to the upcoming release of iEmulators 2.0, we decided early on to have a "beta" of sorts to test out a few things.

Reasons For The Beta

We got some new hosting options we would love to learn more about - more specifically, can they handle the traffic that iEmulators currently gets (plus a lot more, we hope)? This is very crucial to a site that focuses on distribution and we don't want to release a whole new host only to have it taken down by too many downloads.

Second reason and one of the most important of all is that we have got a hold of some emulators we want to add to the site. These emulators were obtained through various means and even directly from developers themselves. We wanted to simply add them to the site on day one but we decided that given how everyone would be running iOS 8 by then, we'd figured we better take things calmly and do some proper testing first.

So far, a lot of the apps seem to run on iOS 8 - others don't fare so lucky; however, they might just work on older devices perfectly. All these things is what we want to find out, and we require you, the users, to find out. 

With this in mind, we will be hosting a beta very soon to test all these apps as well as the host. The beta page isn't up just yet, but we can't wait to tell you how it will work.

How The Beta Works

You'll find all this information I've just given in that beta page, and also certain steps to take in order to be eligible for it. The whole thing will be organized via a mailing list where you sign up and you can receive special emails from us with secret links and passwords to a secondary, secret beta page where some apps will be available for download - but not all at once. 

Anybody can sign up for the mailing list, but only a limited amount of users will be allowed to before we disable the mailing list. To be even considered for the group, you must do three simple things first which we will be verifying in order to make it to the beta group. 

You must be following @iEmulators on Twitter.

You must be subscribed to OPERATIONiDROID on YouTube

You must retweet a tweet to share the news of the beta.

That's it! When the beta page is live, and all three things are done, you are eligible to join the limited mailing list. Remember, this won't open for a few more days so there's no tweet to retweet yet.

Even if you're eligible and sign up for the list, only a limited amount of people can be taken in - this is a first come, first serve type of deal so you have to be alert and keep up on Twitter to find out when we'll be releasing that mailing list link. We'll give notices ahead of time and make sure a lot of these things are done after school in some regions.

This beta will more than likely start a few days after we launch iEmulators 2.0, so be prepared and stay tuned with everyone involved!

Follow the Start3rs:

@mithical 

@OPERATIONiDROID

@the120thwhisper

Follow iEmulators:

iEmulators 2.0 first ever teaser!

Subtle color change (but not too radically different), more refined look and design up to par with the latest flat trend, apps section with icons and so much more that we can't wait of you to see. You can definitely tell the difference, huh? 

We have been working on this update for many months, having conceptualized the idea mere weeks after we first launched iEmulators.com back in November 2013 - it's crazy to think where we are now.

Originally, we wanted to tease you guys tomorrow but it only goes to show the power of Twitter. You guys retweeted 100 times to see this little teaser today and we complied! This isn't everything - there's many more previews and things we are yet to show you - you'll just have to wait and see. iEmulators 2.0 is closer than you think!

Note: things are subject to change for release day!

We'd like to take a moment to thank everyone that supported us since the very beginning till now. We just reached a big milestone of 5,000 followers on Twitter and we truly appreciate it. 

Your humble Start3rs,

Video by @OPERATIONiDROID

A lot of people kept asking and tweeting how to get Pokemon Light Platinum on GBA4iOS 1.6, especially since I posted the custom skin I made to play it on iPad, so here it is! It's a very popular Pokemon hack that I highly recommend you try.

Watch the video to learn how to get Light Platinum on GBA4iOS 1.6!

If you don't currently have GBA4iOS 1.6 you can download it for free over at http://gba4ioskins.com/iemulators, our new site that we are working from the ground up to bring you your favorite non-jailbreak apps.

GBA4iOSkins presents: iEmulators

The team behind GBA4iOSkins is comprised of three GBA4iOS 2.0 beta testers with access to the newest updates, each with a set of main skills that increased our chances to get where we are now.

One of them brings you daily content and information about GBA4iOS 2.0 through writing via this beta blog.

Another brings you weekly content through video format on their official YouTube account.

The last is in charge of coding and site management of some of our amazing sites like GBA4iOSkins and iEmulators. 

We all contributed each other's skills and enhanced them into creating GBA4iOSkins, but we can't stop there.

Yesterday's news of emu4ios.weebly.com going down made us realize that a lot of people still rely in these kinds of sites to collect and provide the apps they can't get any where else, which is why (in about 2 hours) we managed to begin the planning of a new site we will create to give you access to your favorite, non-jailbreak apps, as well as other things.

But what's the difference between you and some other weebly sites that provide the same apps you do?

To that I answer with what I wrote above. We are a team, we have the skills, we have the knowledge, the inside access and, most of all, the will to create the things we think you need. Our site is currently under development and it is far from being what we would want (you can see our work in progress here at http://gba4ioskins.com/iemulators). Our site also has a twitter @iEmulators.

We will strive to be different and better. A big goal we have is that we want to credit back all those hard-working developers that spent hours implementing those apps for your use - they deserve a thanks for their work. We will - through our inside knowledge and connections with people in developing groups like GBA4iOS and NDS4iOS - provide official links back to their creators the day they are available for download.

We will bring you news and updates, videos and a new site, controller skins and many other things we can manage because we want to make it more efficient for you to find all the information you want.