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

The launch of the Delta emulator on iPhones is a big deal in many ways. But for users, it is also fair truly amazing. Here's an excellent program that can emulate NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, GBA, and Nintendo DS so you can play classic games on a device that's always in your pocket. Even better: Even though there's no Delta app for Apple TV (yet), it's still very easy to use to play games on your 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 that the game itself plays on the larger screen while your phone becomes a touch controller. Or, if you connect a Bluetooth controller to your iPhone, you can use it to play.

I tested the setup using an iPhone, Apple TV, and the PS5's DualSense controller, and it was incredibly straightforward. (The longest part of the process was pairing the controller with my phone, which takes a few seconds.) In my experience — which included playing a few NES, SNES, and GBA games — this process worked. Games look great, and there was no noticeable lag in the controls. I also ran a quick test on a MacBook Air, and the process was quite straightforward when I did it Correct permission set.

For most games on these platforms, it's also a more natural way to play. This is partly because they were originally designed for television, but also because a real console is almost always preferred. The Delta's touch controls do a useful job, but they're not the same as real buttons.

And that's really it. This easy-to-miss feature makes Delta much more useful than it might initially seem, opening up possibilities for what you can do with the app, especially when it comes to multiplayer. Considering how early we are in the life of iOS emulators, it's exciting to see how good things actually are.