ARMSX3 is the best PS3 emulator on Android, and it's now available on iOS

ARMSX3 isn’t the first PS3 emulator on Android, but it’s quickly become the best one on the platform thanks to a ridiculous stream of updates. The team isn’t  stopping at Android, though, as it’s revealed ARMSX3 for iOS.

The development team has just announced ARMSX3 for iOS, and it’s a sideloaded iOS app that uses the same RPCS3 core as the Android version. Graphics run using Vulkan via the MoltenVK translation layer.

Keen to try PS3 games on your iOS device? Then your phone or tablet needs an Apple A14 chip or better, iOS 17.4 or newer, and PS3 system software (obtainable via the PlayStation website).

The team didn’t issue a specific RAM requirement, but notes that more RAM opens the door to more games:

The more memory your device has, the more games run. On a device with 4GB, iOS may close a large game, and the app compiles more slowly there to use less memory.

There are two other big requirements if you want to run this PS3 emulator on your iPad or iPhone, though. For one, you’ll need the “Increased Memory Limit” entitlement, which can be enabled via the SideInstaller and iRAM Plus utilities. You’ll also need to enable Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation, which is critical to run more demanding emulators on iOS.

Otherwise, much like the Android app, the team cautions that the first boot of a game can take up to several minutes as the app compiles various caches. Subsequent boots should be much faster. Don’t get your hopes up in terms of compatibility just yet, though. The team cautions that some games run well but that many titles don’t.

Development of the Android app isn’t standing still. ARMSX3 v1.6.7 now offers faster game boots by keeping compiled SPU code after the first boot. That’s great news, as the SPU compilation screen before each game is a little annoying, though understandable.

Furthermore, ARMSX3 v1.6.6 brings support for Cardboard VR, allowing you to play games in 3D by sliding your phone into the Cardboard headset. That’s pretty neat in light of several PS3 titles supporting 3D TVs in the first place.