iDOS 2 Emulator For iPad Is On Borrowed Time, So Download While You Can

The creator and developer of the iDOS 2 emulator for iPad has indicated to users that it probably won't be long before it vanishes from the App Store. Chaoji Li announced today that Apple has found iDOS 2 to violate the App Store's rules, giving him 14 days to correct the issues or face its removal. However, according to Li, bringing the app back in line with App Store rules would require removing "critical functionalities" of the emulator, which is something he isn't willing to do.

For those who may not be in the loop, iDOS 2 is an emulator for iPad that – as the name suggests – emulates DOS and allows iPad users to run DOS games on the device. On his personal website, Li shares the full notice he received from Apple after attempting to push a recent update for the emulator. Apple apparently takes issue with the fact that the app "installed or launched executable code" during a review of the update, noting that it violates Guideline 2.5.2 of the App Store's rules.

Li has been updating iDOS 2 for the better part of a year and including a note to App Store reviewers in which he states that while the app enables Document Browser mode, it doesn't download code from the internet or provide a storefront for content and that it "only runs emulation in a small portion of the screen." In that note, Li also states that there is no security risk because "user code is running inside emulator within the app sandbox."

While that note was apparently enough to help iDOS 2 pass review every time an update was pushed, Apple has seemingly shifted course, telling Li to push an update compliant with App Store rules in the next 14 or else it will be removed from sale. "The bottom line is that I can not bring myself to cut the critical functionalities of iDOS2 in order to be compliant with Apple's policy," Li wrote on his blog. "That would be a betrayal to all the users that have purchased this app specifically for those features."

Li explains that those who already purchased iDOS 2 should still be able to download it after it's removed from the App Store. If you don't already own it and want to buy it before Apple pulls it down (it costs $4.99 on the App Store), now is the time to do so, because Li doesn't think it'll be around for much longer. Here's hoping that Apple changes its rules to be a little more flexible, because it would be a shame to lose an emulator that helps run retro software on modern platforms like the iPad permanently.