Delta Emulator iPhone and iPad Setup Guide 2026

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What Delta emulator is

Delta is a free, open-source emulator published on the Apple App Store since April 2024. It supports GBA (Game Boy Advance), GBC (Game Boy Color), GB (original Game Boy), NES, SNES, N64, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, and Nintendo DS — all from a single app. No jailbreak or sideloading is required.

Step 1 — Install Delta

1. Open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad and search Delta by Riley Testut.
2. Tap Get (free). Delta requires iOS 16 / iPadOS 16 or later.

Step 2 — Add your ROMs

Delta does not include games. You must supply ROM files dumped from cartridges you own.

• Option A — Files app: Copy your ROM files (e.g., .gba, .nds, .nes, .sfc, .n64) to your iPhone via the Files app from iCloud Drive, a USB cable + macOS Finder, or AirDrop from a Mac. Then in Delta, tap the + button → Files and navigate to the folder.
• Option B — iCloud Drive sync: Place your ROMs in the Delta → Games folder in iCloud Drive on your Mac/PC. Delta will discover them automatically the next time it syncs (Settings → Sync → iCloud).
• Option C — Direct URL import: In Delta tap + and paste a local file server URL if you're running one on your home network.

Platform-specific ROM formats Delta accepts

• GBA: .gba
• GBC / GB: .gbc, .gb
• NES: .nes
• SNES: .sfc, .smc
• N64: .n64, .z64, .v64
• Genesis: .md, .gen, .bin
• NDS: .nds

NDS note: Nintendo DS emulation requires the Nintendo DS BIOS (bios7.bin, bios9.bin, firmware.bin) dumped from your own console. In Delta: Settings → Nintendo DS → Import DS BIOS. Without these, DS games will not launch.

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Connecting a wireless controller

Delta supports any MFi-certified controller, DualSense (PS5), DualShock 4 (PS4), and Xbox Wireless controllers via Bluetooth.

1. Pair your controller: iOS Settings → Bluetooth → tap the controller's name after putting it in pairing mode.
2. Launch Delta and start a game. The on-screen buttons will disappear automatically when a controller is connected.
3. To remap buttons: Delta Settings → Controllers → select your controller → Customize Controls.

Touchscreen skin customization

The default touch controls are functional but customizable. Download community skins from skins.delta.codes (official skin repository). In Delta: Settings → Controller Skins → tap the + button → choose a .deltaskin file.

N64 and analog controls

N64 games require analog joystick input. The touchscreen N64 skin adds a virtual joystick. A physical Bluetooth controller is strongly recommended for N64 — analog precision is much better on real hardware.

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Syncing saves and ROMs across iPhone and iPad

1. In Delta: tap the menu (≡) icon → Settings → Sync.
2. Enable iCloud sync. Delta will upload your ROMs, save states, save files, and controller skins to iCloud Drive.
3. On a second device, install Delta from the App Store, sign in to the same Apple ID, and enable Sync → iCloud. Your library will populate within a few minutes.

Manual save backup

To export a save file (for use with another emulator or as a backup):

1. Long-press a game in Delta's library → Import/Export Save File → Export Save File.
2. The .sav file saves to iCloud Drive or Files, where you can share it or open it in a tool like PKHeX (Pokémon save editor).

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Game shows black screen or won't launch

• Verify the ROM file is not compressed in a .zip inside a .zip — Delta can open single zipped ROMs but not nested archives. Extract once if needed.
• For NDS games: confirm you've imported all three DS BIOS files (bios7.bin 8KB, bios9.bin 16KB, firmware.bin 256KB). Missing firmware = black screen on DS games specifically.
• Restart Delta by swiping it closed from the App Switcher, then relaunch.

Lag or slowdown

• Delta runs at near-native speed for GBA/GBC/NES/SNES on any modern iPhone (iPhone 12 and later). Performance issues are rare.
• N64 can lag on older models (iPhone XS and below). Close background apps and enable Settings → N64 → Sync Frame Rate with Screen to reduce stutter.
• NDS is more CPU-intensive than GBA on Delta. iPhone 14 and later recommended for full-speed DS emulation in all games.

Save state disappeared

• Delta uses both save states (manual snapshots) and save files (.sav, the in-game battery save). These are separate. Check that you're looking for the right type: in-game save = tap the game's save prompt; save state = the Delta quick-save overlay (hold the menu button).
• If iCloud Sync was enabled and a save appears missing, open Settings → Sync → iCloud → Force Sync to pull the latest backup.

Controller not working in-game

• Confirm the controller is connected in iOS Settings → Bluetooth (not just paired — it must show "Connected").
• Some MFi controllers require the Delta app to be in the foreground before the controller connects. Close the app completely, reconnect the controller, then reopen Delta.