Democracy Dies in Darkness

Apple banned this app for years. It’s now America’s No. 1 iPhone app.

Antitrust crackdowns on Apple are already changing your iPhone for the better

By
April 30, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. EDT
Mario jumps out of a phone with a victory #1 foam finger.
(Illustration by Elena Lacey/The Washington Post; iStock)
5 min

The hottest iPhone app in America may owe its popularity to government crackdowns on Apple.

That app, Delta, lets you play old-school video games like “Super Mario Bros.” on an iPhone.

Apple had banned apps like it for years but un-banned them this month without much explanation. Delta’s creators say growing anti-monopoly pressures were responsible for Apple’s flip-flop.