Apple recently approved a new emulator app called UTM SE, which enables your iPhone or iPad (or Vision Pro!) to pretend to be PC hardware and run a real computer desktop operating system. A few of you asked how it works in the comments section of my last post – it’s a legitimate question, but one I couldn’t answer at the time. But now that I’ve tried it a little bit, I have the answer, and I can say this: it’s better than I expected, but I wouldn’t count on it too much.
This is because it does not use a just-in-time (JIT) compiler, which converts software into code that the device can understand before execution. The JIT compiler violates the Apple App Store’s software guidelines, so you must jailbreak your phone to install a version of UTM that uses this technology.
UTM SE is generally slow on the iPad and anything other than running an old operating system on old hardware, but XP runs surprisingly well – and UTM provides a wealth of documentation for getting started.
I tried it on my M1 iPad Pro, a device I always wished had more to offer. Making a virtual machine running Windows is especially easy if you use one of UTM’s pre-built machines (which can be downloaded and tuned). I grabbed this one and gave it more RAM and storage, but other than that just used it as is. I then pointed it to the Windows XP .iso file in the IDE drive options in the computer’s settings and launched it. and waited. so long.
It took two and a half hours to install on my iPad. But in the end, I enjoyed the old “happiness” desktop background and Windows XP startup sounds (which I didn’t realize I missed). Once everything loads, it’s slow; new windows take a few seconds to open; the same goes for nested Start menu items. None of this is too outrageous, though, and I really think it’s faster than the Compaq machines I had as a teenager. (Those old spinning platter hard drives really took their toll.)
Performance and nostalgia aside, using Windows XP on an iPad really highlights how far iPadOS still has to go when it comes to multitasking. Although iPadOS 18 has made some improvements to home screen customization, it still lags far behind Windows XP in terms of personalization. XP doesn’t mind at all if my title bar is pink, my text is neon green, or if every button, menu, or window uses a different font. The world is my terrible oyster! I miss destroying my computer; that’s the dream.
Apple allows the use of emulators on both iPhone and iPad, which has made a big difference with my iPad Pro. I’ve always loved using my iPad, but rarely used it wanted to; now, I don’t think I’ve ever picked it up again.
