GBA Emulator iPhone 2026 — Play Game Boy Advance on iOS

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Install Delta from the App Store

Search for Delta (developer: AltStore LLC / Riley Testut). Tap Get — it is free with no ads or in-app purchases. Delta supports GBA natively in its built-in GBA tab.

Get your GBA ROM file

Delta does not include game files. You must supply .gba ROM dumps of cartridges you own. The legally cleanest method is to dump your own cartridges using a GB Operator by Epilogue or a GBxCart RW device connected to your PC.

Transfer the .gba file to your iPhone

Place the .gba file in iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Google Drive, then open it through the iOS Files app. Or AirDrop the file directly from a Mac.

Import into Delta and launch

1. Open Delta and tap the GBA tab at the bottom.
2. Tap the + button (top right).
3. Choose Files and select your .gba file.
4. Delta imports it and shows the game tile. Tap to launch.
5. Delta uses a built-in GBA BIOS replacement — no external BIOS file is required.

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Delta ships with a GBA BIOS replacement, so the vast majority of GBA games run without any additional files. A small number of games with unusual startup animations or AGB boot-logo checks may behave differently, but this affects fewer than 1% of the library.

If a specific GBA game fails to start:

1. Check the game title on Delta's compatibility list at delta-emulator.app/compatibility — most issues are game-specific bugs, not BIOS-related.
2. Verify your ROM file is a clean .gba dump. Corrupted dumps are a common cause of black screens.
3. Some GBA games are distributed as .zip archives — Delta does not auto-extract. Unzip to get the bare .gba before importing.

GBA games that use the Game Boy Player (for GCN connectivity) or ereader features may show warnings inside Delta — this is expected, not a BIOS issue.

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Delta supports any MFi, Xbox, or PlayStation controller via Bluetooth for a console-like GBA experience.

Pair a controller:

• Xbox Series controller: Hold the pairing button until the Xbox logo blinks. In iPhone Settings → Bluetooth, tap Xbox Wireless Controller.
• PS5 DualSense: Hold Create + PS button until the light bar flashes. Tap DualSense Wireless Controller in Settings → Bluetooth.
• Backbone One / Razer Kishi: Plug into the Lightning or USB-C port — recognized instantly, no Bluetooth pairing needed.

Once paired, open Delta with a GBA game running. Delta auto-maps A/B/Start/Select to the physical buttons. The on-screen GBA overlay disappears automatically when a physical controller is connected.

Remap buttons: Delta → Settings → Controllers → tap your controller → choose Game Boy Advance to customize any button mapping.

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Delta supports both in-game battery saves (.sav files) and save states. Both are backed up via Delta Sync.

Save states inside a GBA game:

1. While playing, tap the Delta menu icon (three horizontal lines, upper-right corner).
2. Tap Save State → name it or tap the thumbnail to overwrite.
3. To load a state: same menu → Load State.

Battery save compatibility: GBA games that save internally (e.g. Pokémon) use Delta's battery save system. After closing a game, the save is written automatically. No manual step needed.

Enable Delta Sync to back up saves to Dropbox or Google Drive:

1. Delta → Settings → Sync → choose Dropbox or Google Drive → Sign In.
2. Enable Sync Enabled and check Save Files and Save States.
3. Saves sync automatically after each session. If you reinstall Delta, your GBA saves restore as soon as you re-import the ROM files and sign in to the same sync account.

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