What is appleiigs?

This project is an iPhone and iPad app that emulates the Apple IIGS, and the earlier Apple II, so you can run old software from those computers on a modern touchscreen device. It builds on an existing emulator engine called KEGS, with additions from a project called ActiveGS, and wraps it in a native Apple app made with SwiftUI. Rather than reuse the original emulator's graphics output as is, the author wrote a new renderer from scratch that reads the Apple II's own memory directly, so text and graphics come out sharp instead of blurry on a phone screen. The emulated machine supports six virtual disk drives covering both older 5.25 inch floppy disks and later 3.5 inch and hard disk style storage, and it boots the IIGS's own ROM firmware. The app leans heavily into making an old computer usable with just your fingers: it offers seven different touch input modes, including a virtual keyboard, joystick, D-pad, and even using the whole touchscreen as a mouse trackpad. It also includes save states so you can pick up where you left off, options for different screen colors like green or amber to mimic old monitors, and support for physical Bluetooth game controllers. To build the app yourself you need a Mac with Xcode and a tool called XcodeGen, which generates the actual Xcode project from a configuration file. The README warns that the very first build compiles the entire emulator core and is slow, while later builds are faster. Neither the Apple IIGS ROM file nor any disk images or software are included. You must supply your own and are responsible for making sure you are legally allowed to use them. The author describes this as a personal hobby project offered as is, with no warranty, and states it is not affiliated with Apple. It is meant for people interested in exploring or reliving classic Apple II and IIGS computing on an iOS device.