#wireless linking

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!