Soolra iPhone case doubles as retro controller: "Mobile gaming has been held back by touchscreens for too long"

• Soolra's cases support iPhone 13 to 15 as well as the 16 Pro.
• Users can input their own ROMs into the emulator, but Soolra doesn't condone illegal use.

Soolra has released a new emulator for iOS and a phone case designed to turn iPhones into retro controllers.

Whereas original 8-bit games were made to be played with controllers, their emulated versions on modern phones typically rely on touchscreens.

Thus, Soolra’s phone case has been designed so that the bottom half can slide off the back of an iPhone and be snapped onto the front.  This creates a faux portable console, complete with buttons and an eight-directional pad over part of an iPhone screen.

Tactile touch

Soolra founder Sagi Yatom was inspired to create the flexible phone case as a result of his own enthusiasm for retro games and a desire to address the challenges of playing them today.

The phone case also offers full controller support for Stardew Valley, Hyper Light Drifter, Jetpack Joyride and others modern mobile games, and is compatible with standard iPhone models 13 through 15 and Pro models 13 through 16.

Bluetooth connectivity allows the Soolra case to be used with current-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles, turning phones into a modern day controller, though at a $99 retail price.

"Mobile gaming has been held back by touchscreens for too long," Yatom said.

"We wanted to reimagine what is possible for retro gaming by putting physical buttons back in players’ hands with an iPhone case that transforms into a controller. Now, with real, responsive controls, gamers can enjoy a more engaging experience that gives the feel of nostalgic devices."

Soolra’s emulator itself, meanwhile, comes preloaded with games like Pong, Asteroid, Wizards, GBATactics and Nomads 2. Titles in its catalogue are all either open source, properly licenced or in the public domain.

As a retro emulator, Soolra does support a range of file formats and ROMs of many classic games too, which users can import themselves.

While this opens up new possibilities for playing classic Nintendo games, the case’s appearance does echo the original Game Boy, and its ad shows a glimpse of classic Mario. Soolra doesn’t condone the illegal use of ROMs and doesn’t host or distribute any copyrighted content without a license.

Players should only use ROMS they legally own.

Last year, the Delta emulator blew up in popularity on iOS with 4.4m Apple users having downloaded it in its first week. It topped download charts at the time, built specifically with emulating Nintendo handhelds and home consoles in mind.