Apple has made an unexpected decision by approving UTM SE, a leading PC emulator for iPhone and iPad, now available on the App Store, as reported by 9To5Mac. This application enables users to emulate older versions of Windows, macOS, and various other operating systems on their mobile devices.

Back in April, Apple revised its App Store Guidelines to allow game emulators, which led to the global release of several popular emulation apps, including the Nintendo emulator Delta. However, despite this update, Apple initially rejected UTM SE in June, stating that the new guidelines applied only to “retro game” emulators and not to PC emulators. This decision affected not only the global App Store but also third-party app stores in the European Union, causing significant controversy and raising concerns about potential regulatory action from the European Commission.

Over the past weekend, the developers of UTM SE announced via social media that Apple had reversed its decision. AltStore PAL in the EU will shortly provide access to UTM SE, which can be downloaded from the App Store. Apple has not provided an explanation for this change in policy.

UTM SE is made to run old-school software and games, and it supports terminal mode for operating systems that only support text as well as VGA mode for graphical displays. The emulator can simulate x86, PPC, and RISC-V architectures, allowing users to run pre-configured machines or create custom setups from scratch. Built on the reliable and widely-used QEMU emulator, UTM SE faces the limitation that iOS apps cannot use a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler. This restriction means that the performance and capabilities of emulations on iPhone and iPad will not be as robust as on other platforms.

The approval of UTM SE is a notable development for Apple, reflecting the changing landscape of app regulations and the increasing user demand for versatile emulation software. This decision underscores Apple’s willingness to adapt its policies in response to evolving technology and user needs. With UTM SE now officially available, iPhone and iPad users can explore a broader range of software and gaming experiences on their devices, further bridging the gap between mobile and traditional computing platforms.