AirPlay turns your Delta emulator into a full-fledged retro console

The introduction of Delta Emulator on iPhone is a big deal in many ways. But it is also fair to the users really great Here’s a great program that can emulate NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, GBA and Nintendo DS, allowing you to play classic games on a device you’ll always have with you. Even better: While there’s no Delta app for Apple TV (yet), it’s still very easy to play games on the TV.

That’s because Delta supports AirPlay, so you can stream video and audio from your phone to another Apple device like an Apple TV or computer. For Delta, this means the game itself plays on the big screen while your phone becomes a touch controller. If you connect a Bluetooth controller to your iPhone, you can also use it to play games.

I tested the setup using an iPhone, Apple TV, and PS5’s DualSense controller, and it was incredibly easy. (The longest part of the process was pairing the controller with my phone, which took a few seconds.) In my experience—which included playing a few NES, SNES, and GBA games—this process worked. The games looked great and there was no noticeable lag in the controls. I ran a quick test on a MacBook Air and the process was pretty straightforward Set the correct permissions.

This is the more natural way to play most games on these platforms. This is partly because they were originally designed for televisions, but an actual console is almost always preferred. Delta’s touch controls do a useful job, but they’re not like real buttons.

And it really is. This easily overlooked feature makes Delta much more useful than it might seem at first glance, and opens up new ways to use the app, especially in multiplayer. Considering how early we are in the life of iOS emulators, it’s exciting to see how good things actually are.