The Best Apple II Emulators

The Apple II is one of the grandfathers of microcomputing that helped propel Apple to become a leading brand in the age of colour computing.

Like with many vintage microcomputers, it can be quite tricky to find an emulator which is both easy to use and full of useful features, especially for those not overly familiar with systems like the Apple II which can be tricky (but fun!) to use.

We recommend the best Apple II emulators for PC, Mac & Android to help you experience this piece of microcomputing history, without breaking the bank trying to pick up an original Apple II on eBay!

Best Apple II Emulator For PC, Mac & Linux

MicroM8

The best Apple II emulator for PC, Mac & Linux users as it stands is microM8. MicroM8 offers a wide range of features that make it both really accessible for beginners as well as enough functionality and authenticity for experienced Apple II users.

MicroM8 provides a solid emulation of a wide range of Apple II series computers, including the 48k Apple II, the 64k Apple II+, as well as the standard and enhanced 128k Apple IIe. This wide compatibility ensures that users can experience a majority of the Apple II software library.

Emulation quality aside, microM8 has a few quirky treats up its sleeves including the This includes 3D and HD graphics rendering with user-movable camera views, essentially giving Apple II games a 3D angled perspective, which is so cool to see!

Throw in peripheral card emulation, online screen sharing, live rewind functionality, monochrome tint and scanline controls, and some bonus ZX Spectrum emulation, microM8 is perfect for Apple II fans new and old!

MicroM8 offers up a huge range of features including:

• Leading emulation of the 8-bit Apple II series computers
• Support for a variety of Apple II models, including the 48k Apple II, the 64k Apple II+, and both the unenhanced and enhanced 128k Apple IIe
• Support for various peripheral cards, such as the Mockingboard, Serial, Printer, Mouse, Disk II, SmartPort, and CP/M cards
• 3D and HD graphics rendering with user-movable camera views offering a unique new perspective on Apple II games
• PVR-style memory state recording with a “live rewind” feature
• An integrated cloud-based disk library
• Apple-compatible BASIC and LOGO interpreters re-written in native Go
• Screen sharing over local networks and the Internet

Best Apple II Emulator For Android

KEGS IIgs Emulator

it is very slim pickings unfortunately for Apple II fans who want to play Apple II games on their Android device.

There is an Apple II emulator for Android called KEGS IIgs Emulator, by James Sanford. The only issue is that it will only work on older versions of Android, so if you have a reasonably new Android device that is fully up to date, KEGS IIgs will not install on your device.

a2ix

Another previously popular Apple II emulator for Android is a2ix. This emulator is no longer available on the Google Play Store, but can be obtained via APK download site, APKPure.

A2ix requires sideloading to your device, so only do so if you are comfortable with downloading APK files outside of the Google Play Store.

List of Apple II Emulators

Looking for a bunch of Apple II emulators to test and decide what’s right for you? Then check out this comprehensive list of Apple II emulators and try them out for yourself.

Matt James

A lifelong avid gamer and computing enthusiast, Matt has decades of Retro Gaming experience. Now over 40 years old, Matt now even considers himself retro, but fortunately, nobody has developed a Matt emulator (not yet at least!).