Is it possible to download iPhone apps without a real iPhone? Surprisingly, yes! You can use emulators to run iOS apps on your PC. Whether you want to play Apple Arcade or test OS-specific apps as a developer, these will come in handy. However, not all platforms are reliable or secure. Save yourself the hassle: here are the best options for bringing the Apple experience to your computer.
Best iOS Emulators for PC
1. Sauce Labs
Price: 1 hour free test and later you need to upgrade to any subscription plan. Paid accounts start from $49 per month per user for the Live testing plan.
Sauce Labs is a leading mobile application testing and distribution platform. You can access it as a web application on any popular web browser. This often saves you time that you would otherwise invest in setting up the tool on the PC. Its simple interface is also easy to navigate.
This iOS emulator is intended for Manual testing, Automated testingAnd Visual tests. So, it lets you choose from a range of iOS devices to start your testing. Beyond that, it lets you create a library of iPhone or iPad apps for testing purposes. Apps can be downloaded directly from your PC as IPA files, mimicking the sideloading process on a real iOS device. Additionally, you can import test projects from cloud repositories containing iOS apps.
If you only want to play iOS games or use apps exclusively available on the App Store, you can use these app testing features. However, the UX is not as extensive as an Android emulator. You are limited to mouse navigation on SauceLabs. However, you can use other useful features in this virtual iOS emulator, like Set GPS location, Camera download, Biometric authentication, Voiceover, AudioAnd Performance Mode.
| Benefits | Disadvantages |
| No upfront payment is necessary; you can try and buy later if you want. | No full-screen option for an immersive iOS experience. |
| Credit card without free trial. | Does not support external game controllers out of the box. |
| Easy-to-use interface, suitable for new users with no prior application testing experience. | There is no app library in this iOS emulator. |
| Launches virtual iPhones and iPads very quickly. | Does not support iPods. |
| Minimum lag when browsing the virtual device. | The free trial only lasts one hour. |
2. Appetite
Price: You can try it if it meets your needs by signing up for a 30-minute free trial that allows up to two active virtual iOS devices. If you like it, you can purchase a paid plan. Paid subscriptions from $59/month.
Appetite is another web-based mobile app testing and live preview platform. And since it’s a web app, all you need to do is sign up with a business or personal email address to create a free account. Then you can download your own apps from a PC or Mac and test them in a fully web-based iOS emulator. It is also a no-code application testing platform that requires little to no manual setup.
The Appetize iOS emulator is suitable for both lightweight consumer applications and games. It is Device sandbox is the emulator hub that hosts independent virtualized iPhones (iPhone 8 to iPhone 16 Pro Max) and iPads (iPad Air, iPad Pro, iPad and iPad Mini).
| Benefits | Disadvantages |
| Free trial available without any credit card. | It’s not a practical choice for heavy gaming; You can play lightweight gaming apps compatible with mouse-based controls. |
| Offers most application testing and feedback collection features, such as AppRecorder, network logs, and debug logs. | Does not support any external game controller. |
| It also allows you to insert your own media into the device for screenshots or screen recording purposes. | No ability to use virtual input-output sensors, like GPS, gyroscope, compass, etc. |
| It does not allow dragging with the mouse. |
3. Lambda testing
Price: 1 iOS parallel virtual test is free. You can subscribe to a paid subscription from $19/month to get more parallel testing and functionality.
LambdaTest is a comprehensive iOS and Android mobile app testing platform accessible online on most popular browsers, e.g. Firefox, Chrome, Edge and Safari. Its abilities include online application testing on any browser, test management, Selenium test, real device cloud, accessibility testingiOS emulator for PC, and more. Additionally, it offers detailed technical documentation for its testing platform and API.
The best thing about LambdaTest is that it has a huge collection of virtualized iPhones and iPads in different iOS and iPadOS versions. So if an app or game only works on a specific iPhone and iOS, check out LambdaTest and see if it meets your needs.
LambdaTest’s iOS emulator allows you to upload your own IPA file or import it from a cloud app development project storage. Once imported, the virtual iPhone or iPad automatically installs your IPA file. Most of the time, swipe navigations on the virtual iPhone work with mouse clicks and swiping. However, there might be a bit of slowness since the emulator works from a remote cloud server.
| Benefits | Disadvantages |
| You can try it for free without signing up with a credit card. | You can switch between portrait and landscape views for the virtual iOS device. |
| Offers a wide range of virtual device controls, such as volume, device lock, shake, on-screen keyboard, rotation, etc. | No options for external game controllers. |
| Allows geolocation-based apps since you can easily adjust the time zone in the Settings section. | The overall performance and responsiveness of the device is not enough for high-performance gaming. |
| Offers many app development integrations, like Jira, Mantis, DevRev, Github, etc. | Suitable primarily for development purposes and not for individual use. |
| Virtual iOS devices load quite quickly compared to other web-based iOS emulators. | |
| Mouse swipe movements are also fast and responsive. |
4. Smart face
Price: It offers subscription offers on a case-by-case basis.
You can also try Smartface to use virtual iPhone and iPad devices on Windows PC. This is a desktop IDE, so you need to install and configure the tool before you can get started application testing, manage application development lifecyclesAnd preview iOS apps on iPhone and iPad.
Its virtual iOS devices are available in different screen sizes, models and iOS editions. Therefore, don’t worry whether some apps will be installed or not. Simply switch to the appropriate iOS edition and device model. Virtual iOS devices are mostly accessible from a premium subscription, such as enterprise or higher tier licenses.
| Benefits | Disadvantages |
| Includes a built-in iOS emulator for previewing and running apps. | No free trial. |
| Offers different types of devices and IOS editions. | Subscriptions are expensive. |
| Includes many tools for developing, testing, and deploying iOS applications. | There are no standalone Smartface iOS emulators that you can use just to create virtual devices. |
| The learning curve is steep. |
So, here are some of the best and most reliable iOS emulators for PC. You can use these platforms primarily for developing, testing, collecting feedback, and deploying iOS apps. If you really like emulators, you might want to explore GBA emulators that you can run without jailbreaking.
