Here’s how to install MAME Arcade Machine Emulator on your iPhone or iPad for free, easily and without jailbreak or weird things

We all carry powerful computers in our pockets and it’s called iPhone. It is also the most secure smartphone on the market thanks to the security measures that Apple implements on the phone and the restrictions when Install apps that are not in your favorite app store. That may change in a few years when Apple finally allows apps to be installed from outside of its app store, although there are no concrete plans to do so at the moment.

In addition to restricting code review processes for malicious code, these restrictions also restrict the Emulator Installation that allows users to run software from the App Store free of charge – but that doesn’t mean that we can’t install it ourselves directly.

Previously it was necessary to achieve this escape from prison and there are even ways to install with third-party certificates that we may not trust. However, there is a way light to install these emulators without doing anything “strange” on our iPhone and even using nour Apple ID for extra security. And you don’t even have to be a developer or have ever dealt with Xcode.

How to install MAME emulator on iPhone

Before you begin, take away your fears craft with Xcode – Apple’s development environment for its apps – even if you’ve used it. This guide may seem very long, but that’s because I have it fully explained and detailed so that – exactly – nobody gets lost. It’s easy, you don’t need a paid developer account, just your iPhone and Mac.

A few months ago I explained to you how to install the MAME arcade emulator on Apple TV, we even dared to compile it. This time it will not be necessary not even that since we directly download the already compiled version, ready to be generated as an Xcode project.

I have to say that in my tests that Version of MAME for iOS has evolved in incredible ways: The interface is simple, easy to use, very complete – and the quality of the emulation is impressive. Don’t hesitate to try it on your iPhone to see for yourself. Let’s go there:

1.- Install Xcode. Do this first because the download is quick, but decompressing and installing the environment may take some time depending on your Mac. All you have to do is go to the Xcode section of the Mac App Store and click Install.

2.- Create or use a developer account: The first thing you need is a developer account. It doesn’t have to be paid for. If we don’t have one, we can create one completely free (it takes 1 minute) from this link:

2.- Download the MAME4iOS master repository: access the repository website and copy the address that I indicate in the image below:

3.- Open the project in Xcode: Once you have Xcode installed, open it. There may be another tool to install, the environment will tell you itself and it’s totally automatic. Once the welcome screen appears, press “Clone Existing Project” and enter the address we copied earlier:

4.- Select the “Master” branch from the drop-down menu and click “Clone”:

5.- You have just downloaded the entire source code of Mame for iOS. Open Finder and navigate to where you downloaded it to open the .xcodeproj project file. By default you have it in: /Documents/MAME4iOS/Xcode/MAME4iOS/MAME4iOS.xcodeproj.

If you can’t find it, use Spotlight to search for it. Double-click this file to open it with Xcode.

6.- Give it time, it has to process all the files the first time you open it…

7.- Before we generate the executable, we will add two essential things: our Apple ID to sign the app and link our iPhone/iPad to install it. For the first part, open Xcode/Preferences

8th.- Go to the Accounts tab, click the “+” logo and add the Developer Apple ID you created earlier (or already had). We use this to sign our app so that we can safely install it on our iPhone.

9.- Connect your iPhone to your Mac and open Xcode / Window / Devices and Simulators. You’ll see your phone is connected but not paired yet. To do this, you need to unlock the iPhone (or iPad, it’s done exactly that way) with your passcode and “trust” the Mac you connected it to. You need to enable iPhone/iPad development mode under Settings / Privacy & Security / Developer Mode / (Yes).

10.- Once the iPhone/iPad is connected and paired, you don’t need to do anything else. Of course the iPad version Take full advantage of iPad’s larger screen (try it!). The screen appearance on an iPhone looks something like this:

eleven.- We close the “Devices and Similators” window and in Xcode we click on the place where the arrow indicates first and then in the upper middle part to select the “Release” version that we will install on our iPhone as the image shows on:

12.- There we will install the release version and the iPhone that we previously paired has been selected. If not, manually select it in the path from the previous step. Once this is done, you will see this error on the Signing and Features tab:

13.- That’s because we need to tell you which account to use to sign the app. From the drop-down menu, select the development account we installed earlier.

14.- You will still get an error message because you need to change the app’s “Bundle Identifier”. You can change the central part that says “Example” and put whatever you want. I typed “pedroaznar” but here you can put the word you like the most (is indifferent). Press enter and the errors will go away and everything is ready to install.

fifteen.- We go to the left and give the huge “PLAY” button so that Xcode generates the installation. Remember to keep your iPhone connected to your Mac with a cable at all times.

16.- The first installation will take some time, don’t worry and leave with confidence. After a while a “Build Succeeded” will appear and if you look at your iPhone… you will find the beautiful MAME icon! Now you can disconnect iPhone from Mac.

17.- Now we will send ROMs (the games) to the emulator. MAME has many ways to do it, including creating your own web server that we can open from Mac, but we’re going to make it even easier: with AirDrop. For example, let’s go to the MAME legal download ROMs page and download the ones you want from Mac. Now you can AirPlay them to iPhone directly. There you will be presented with a window asking you what you want to open it with: select “MAME4iOS”. After a few seconds, the games will appear in the MAME interface. If not, close and reopen the app:

Y we already have it! The only “but” in this process is that when using a free development account, signing the app only takes 7 days: that is, before seven days we must connect the iPhone, if we want to continue using the app on the Mac, open Xcode and just press the “PLAY” button again. You don’t have to do anything else. The app’s signature will be updated and we won’t lose a game we already have installed.

MAME for iOS works great

The latest version of MAME for iOS is very well designed. You will see how adding ROMs automatically downloads all the information of the game, screen, data, etc adaptability of the app is enormous: from screen filters, different types of touch controls, importing ROMs from iCloud (in case we don’t have a Mac handy), skins…

If you have one too external console control, You can connect it to your iPhone and MAME is fully compatible. Even if you use the popular controls attached to the phone, such as B. the Razer Kishi V2 that we analyzed a few months ago in Applesfera. It is fully MAME compatible and requires absolutely nothing to configure: plug and play.

I hope this little tutorial will help you. Learn more about Xcode (if you have never used it) and lose a bit of fear of Apple’s development environment, which we can use for small personal projects like this – while taking advantage of it to play those mythical games of yesteryear anytime.