Azahar 2127.0: the 3DS emulator finally gets fast on iPhone, without JIT
By Tgames · · 2 min read
2026 update: on the console side, Silent Hill 2 has been ported natively to 3DS, playable through all six endings; the full story is in our news story Silent Hill 2 ported natively to 3DS, playable through all six endings.
Azahar 2127.0 Alpha 1 replaces the 3DS emulator’s interpreter: iPhones, as far back as the iPhone XS, run games at full speed without JIT.
A new interpreter, FastInterp
On iPhone and Apple TV, Apple forbids apps from generating code on the fly (“JIT”). An emulator therefore has to interpret every instruction, which was far too slow for the 3DS. Version 2127.0 Alpha 1, released on 10 October 2026, replaces the old DynCom interpreter with FastInterp, written by warmenhoven. According to the team, games run on iPhones as far back as the XS, sometimes above 200% of normal speed.
How to try it on iPhone
Azahar has no iOS app of its own. To allow this testing, the 2127.0 pre-releases will also be published as a RetroArch core, two to three days later: this is an exception, as Azahar does not normally plan to distribute its test builds through this channel. See our RetroArch guide to install a core.
Other new features
Should you install it?
It is an alpha: it is not considered stable, and it invalidates the shader cache, which rebuilds as you play. On PC and Android, stick with version 2126.2, which fixes a security flaw, unless you want to test. To get started, see our Azahar tutorial. Games must come from your own cartridges.
Sources: Azahar 2127.0 Alpha 1 (GitHub)
Azahar 2127.0 Alpha 1 replaces the 3DS emulator’s interpreter: iPhones, as far back as the iPhone XS, run games at full speed without JIT.
A new interpreter, FastInterp
On iPhone and Apple TV, Apple forbids apps from generating code on the fly (“JIT”). An emulator therefore has to interpret every instruction, which was far too slow for the 3DS. Version 2127.0 Alpha 1, released on 10 October 2026, replaces the old DynCom interpreter with FastInterp, written by warmenhoven. According to the team, games run on iPhones as far back as the XS, sometimes above 200% of normal speed.
How to try it on iPhone
Azahar has no iOS app of its own. To allow this testing, the 2127.0 pre-releases will also be published as a RetroArch core, two to three days later: this is an exception, as Azahar does not normally plan to distribute its test builds through this channel. See our RetroArch guide to install a core.
Other new features
- The audio echo and delay effect, missing in HLE, is now in place: the echo is back in New Super Mario Bros. 2, and the music in Shinobi 3D no longer stutters.
- Vulkan: the black square around defeated enemies in Shin Megami Tensei IV is gone. Texture filtering in Minecraft New 3DS Edition is fixed.
- Texture decoding is optimized, which improves performance in general.
- FFmpeg is integrated for video recording.
- The licence changes from GPLv2 to GPLv3.
- On Windows, the MSYS2 build is dropped in favour of MXE. The Anime4K filter now only works in OpenGL.
Should you install it?
It is an alpha: it is not considered stable, and it invalidates the shader cache, which rebuilds as you play. On PC and Android, stick with version 2126.2, which fixes a security flaw, unless you want to test. To get started, see our Azahar tutorial. Games must come from your own cartridges.
Sources: Azahar 2127.0 Alpha 1 (GitHub)
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