Provenance App vs SameBoy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Provenance App
This application allows users to play classic games from a wide variety of vintage arcade and console systems. It supports numerous platforms, offering a comprehensive retro gaming experience.
- Multi-console emulation
- Supports Atari systems
- Supports Nintendo systems
- Supports Sega systems
- Supports Sony PlayStation
- Supports arcade and console games
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Provenance EMU is a multi-console emulator for many vintage arcade and console systems. Systems: - Atari - Atari 2600 - Atari 5200 - Atari 7800 - Atari 8bit Computer - Atari Jaguar - Atari Lynx - Bandai - WonderSwan - CBS - CBS ColecoVision - Enterprise - Enterprise 128 - IBM - IBM PC DOS - Magnavox - Magnavox Odyssey2 - Mattel - Mattel Intellivision - NEC - PC98 - PCFX - SuperGrafx - TurboGrafx-16 - TurboGrafx-CD - Nintendo - 3DS - DS - Famicom Disk System - Game Boy - Game Boy Advance - Game Boy Color - GameCube - NES - Nintendo 64 - Pokémon mini - Super Nintendo - Virtual Boy - Panasonic - 3DO - Philiips - CDi - Sega - 32X - Dreamcast - Game Gear - Genesis - Master System - Saturn - Sega CD - SG-1000 - Smith Engineering - Vectrex - SNK - Neo Geo - Neo Geo Pocket - Neo Geo Pocket Color - Sony - PlayStation - PlayStation Portable - Various - Game Music - Watara - Supervision - ZX - ZX Spectrum ----- Legal Notice ----- Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://provenance-emu.com/privacy/
SameBoy
Experience classic handheld gaming with this powerful emulator. Enjoy accurate emulation, save states, controller support, and unique features like rewind and fast forward. Play your favorite Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles on your Apple devices.
- Accurate Game Boy emulation
- Save states with gesture support
- Controller support (MFi, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox)
- Fast forward, rewind, and slow motion
- Game Boy Camera and Printer emulation
- Interface themes
- No ads or tracking
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SameBoy is a user friendly, powerful and open source Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Super Game Boy emulator. Features: - World's most accurate Game Boy emulation core - Save states, with gesture support for quick saving and loading - Rumble support, even for games without a Rumble Pak - Play on your Apple Watch - A wide range of scaling filters - Game Boy Camera emulation - Motion controls emulation - Fast forward, rewind, and slow motion - Game Boy Printer emulation - Use cheat codes - Support for MFi, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox controllers - Interface themes - No ads, no tracking - A lot more! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sameboy.github.io/privacy/ SameBoy is in no way affiliated with Nintendo. Game Boy is a trademark of Nintendo.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SameBoy at 4.5 against Provenance App's 3.3. SameBoy also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 46%) and device support (4 vs 2). Provenance App's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (754 vs 110). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Provenance App sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and SameBoy sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SameBoy holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Provenance App has 754 ratings behind it against 110, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Provenance App's written reviews are positive against 83% of SameBoy's.
Provenance App ships an update every 3 weeks, SameBoy every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Provenance App | SameBoy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (754 ratings) | 4.5 (110 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 45.9% of reviews | 83.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 754 — better | 110 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2.4 GB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Joseph Mattiello | Lior Halphon |
Customer experience
Provenance App
SameBoy
User reviews
Provenance App
From 754 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Smooth emulation
- 🎮 Supports many systems
- 👍 Great app overall
- 🎉 Finally on the App Store
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🤯 Confusing UI/layout
- 🔌 Performance issues
- 🤖 Compatibility problems
SameBoy
From 110 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 No ads or intrusive monetization
- 🎮 Highly accurate Game Boy/GBC emulation
- 💡 Innovative gesture controls (swipe to save/load/fast-forward)
- 🎨 Beautiful, authentic design with multiple themes
- ⚙️ Extensive customization and emulation options
Room to improve
- 💰 Apple Watch support requires paid subscription
- 🐛 iPad portrait mode menu bug
- ❌ No Game Boy Advance emulation despite claims
- 🎮 Small button sizes for large hands
- ⚠️ Cheats feature limited or non-functional
Bugs and requests
Provenance App
Reported bugs
4 issues- 3DS games crashing
- Dreamcast/PS2 ROMs not working
- Screen shrinking when switching orientation
- Inability to load local game files
Requested features
4 requests- Controller support
- Gyroscope/motion controls
- Improved 3DS emulation
- GameCube/Wii emulation
SameBoy
Reported bugs
12 issues- iPad portrait mode triggers menu on A button/Up arrow press
- Game Boy Camera crashes on iPhone 17 Pro Max when switching cameras
- Rewind function causes game data loss in some titles
- 200% and 400% speed boost settings don't work
- Cheats don't function properly for certain games
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- ROM import fails with .zip files
- GBA ROM files show 'not in ROM archive' error
- Auto-save/auto-load switches between emulator cores unexpectedly
- Turbo feature doesn't work without screen swiping
- Tips popup appears too frequently during gameplay
- PS4 controller recognized but non-functional in games
- ROM sharing from Files app doesn't always work
Requested features
18 requests- Game Boy Advance emulation support
- Cheat code functionality
- Multiplayer/wireless linking for Pokémon games
- Online multiplayer support
- Adjustable screen and button sizes
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Separate save/load toggle options
- Slow-motion feature (free version)
- Game Boy Printer output to photo gallery
- iCloud synchronization
- Retro achievements system
- One-time theme purchase option instead of subscription
- Apple Watch complication support
- Turbo button hold functionality
- ZIP and 7z file format support
- Fullscreen mode with scaling options
- Language selection for interface
- Super Game Boy border display
- PS4/Backbone controller improvements
In-app purchases
Provenance App
- Provenance Plus$3.991 Month
- Provenance Plus$39.991 Year
- Provenance Plus$99.99
SameBoy
- Supporter$0.991 Month
- Supporter Plus$2.991 Month
- Supporter Premium$7.991 Month
- Lifetime Theme Access$4.99
- SameBoy for Apple Watch$4.99
