You can now play Nintendo 3DS games on your iPhone — here's how

12 3DS games to buy
(Image credit: Nintendo)

With Apple opening up the App Store to emulators in April, we’ve seen a steady drip of emulator apps making their way into the iOS ecosystem. We’ve already seen emulators for the original Nintendo, the PlayStation 1, PSP and a Gameboy emulator (though the first one was quickly removed from the App Store). 

The latest one to catch our eye is the Folium app. Folium works with Game Boy Advanced and Nintendo DS. What makes it unique compared to other emulator releases is that Folium is the first emulator in the app store that works with Nintendo 3DS games, as seen by 9to5Mac

Folium says the app is a “beautifully designed, high performing multi-system emulator that allows you to play video games from retro consoles and handhelds, currently including cores for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS.”

It’ll be interesting to see how the 3DS screens translate to the iPhone. Android 3DS emulators have the option of using a split screen on some of the best foldable phones, like the Galaxy Fold 5 or the Google Pixel Fold. For non-foldable phones, emulators like Citra push the lower screen into a small corner of the app. Apple has been tipped to be designing a foldable something, iPhone or iPad, it’s not clear yet. 

Folium is iPhone only and costs $4.99. If you want to try it yourself, you’ll need to be running iOS 15 or later. Most iPhones should be there already, especially with iOS 18 coming out later this summer at WWDC 2024. If you’re interested in emulation on the Apple TV or an iPad Pro, check out the RetroArch emulator, which was the first one available to Apple TV.

The Folium app works with MFi controllers such as the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, PS4 and PS5 controllers. It also works with Xbox Series controllers or the BackBone One.

As a reminder, emulators on iOS do not come with games (or ROMs); they are just launchers for the various ROMs that they support. If you’re interested in getting a game into the emulator you’ll need to already have the ROM or download it. Once you have the file you’ll need to sideload the ROMs into the emulator front-end. For obvious legal and copyright reasons, emulators cannot actively provide ROMs to users.

More from Tom's Guide

TOPICS
Scott Younker
West Coast Reporter

Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him. 

Read more
iPhone 16 Pro Max gaming.
I ditched my Legion Go to game on the iPhone 16 Pro Max — here's what happened
Apple 13-inch iPad Air 2024 shown in hand
Best iPad games in 2025
Asus ROG Ally X running SteamOS
The best handheld gaming consoles in 2025
MCON mobile game controller with Samsung Galaxy Fold playing mobile game
The MCON gaming controller lets you turn your phone into a modern PSP Go — here's how
The Playdate handheld in hand at an airport with an airplane in the background
I finally tried the Playdate and it was so much fun I left my Switch at home for the first time in years
Apple Vision Pro on table
Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest gain access to thousands of games overnight — here’s what we know
Latest in iPhones
iPhone 17 Air render
New leaked iPhone 17 dummy units show off super-thin iPhone 17 Air with this surprising design tweak
iPhone 17 Pro render
iPhone 17 Ultra just tipped to replace Pro Max in new leak — with these key upgrades
RCS messaging on an iPhone
Forget green bubbles — iPhones will soon get encrypted RCS messaging to Androids
iOS 18 logo show on iPhone.
My favorite iOS 18.4 feature is ambient music — here's how to activate it
iPhone 17 Pro render
iPhone 17 Pro Max leak claims it’s ready for production — and seems to confirm its new design
iPhone 16e review.
iPhone 16e is facing Bluetooth problems — here's what's going on
Latest in News
NYTimes Connections
NYT Connections today hints and answers — Monday, March 17 (#645)
iPhone 17 Air render
New leaked iPhone 17 dummy units show off super-thin iPhone 17 Air with this surprising design tweak
Simone Ashley and Hero Fiennes Tiffin in "Picture This" now streaming on Prime Video
Prime Video top 10 has 3 must-watch movies — including a bubbly romcom starring 'Bridgerton's' Simone Ashley
(L-R) Josh Hartnett as Cooper and Ariel Donoghue as Riley in "Trap"
Netflix top 10 movies — here’s the 3 worth watching right now
NYT Strands on a cellphone
NYT Strands today — hints, spangram and answers for game #379 (Monday, March 17 2025)
iOS 19 logo on an iPhone
Apple WWDC 2025: iOS 19 and everything we know so far