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Can you play Genshin Impact on an iPhone?

Genshin Impact is a mobile phenomenon, offering a vast amount of exploration, customization, activities, and more — with relatively light microtransactions for its free-to-play model. It also gets excellent updates that continue to add new characters and content to experiment with.

All that said, if you have an iPhone, you may be wondering if Genshin Impact is compatible with it. Not all mobile games are, and even if yours is, it may not have the performance level you’re looking for. Let’s take a look at playing Genshin on an iPhone, plus everything else you should know.

Can I play Genshin Impact on my iPhone?

Yes, you can. In fact, you can visit the App Store and download it for free right now. One of the handy things about Genshin is that you can play it on pretty much anything. Since the game was designed with mobile in mind, it functions particularly well on mobile devices, and your iPhone is no exception. You will need enough space, though — around 15GB is required on mobile devices, but this can vary a bit and increases with updates.

Genshin Impact characters in front of a dragon.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What’s different on an iPhone?

Not much. If you are moving from a PC, Switch, or another device, then you’ll have to get used to the new mobile control layout. Some things are easier: Navigating menus, for example, is lightning fast. Some things are a bit harder, like aiming and attacking. Overall, you shouldn’t struggle too much to make the transition.

Can I move from playing on another device to an iPhone?

Yes, Genshin Impact supports seamless syncing over basically everything. If you are playing on a PC, you can quit out, log into the game on your iPhone, and start exactly where you left off. You don’t need to worry about having to start a new account with new characters or even missing out on game progress you made from another device.

An archer shooting fire arrows at an android.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Does Genshin Impact have cross-play with iPhones?

Yes, cross-play is enabled with iPhones and all other compatible mobile devices. That means you can log on and partner up with friends who are playing on devices like their PCs or PlayStations. Of course, the multiplayer rules all still apply, so joining friends is typically only possible when they’re at a similar World Level and Adventure Rank (or lower).

Will I miss out on any Genshin Impact features playing on an iPhone?

No. Genshin updates generally apply to all devices sooner or later (PC and Mac do lag behind on updates), and there haven’t been any cases of iPhones missing anything just because they’re iPhones. In fact, the opposite has been true: Back in October 2021, it appeared that Genshin’s 2.2.0 update added 120 frames-per-second support to iPhones first, before other devices. It took Android devices more than half a year to get the same capability.

Genshin energy amplifier event.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Do Genshin Impact transactions cost more on iOS?

We know Apple has been a bit snippy with online game stores before, but there’s nothing to worry about here. Genshin Impact prices are maintained across platforms so that syncing and crossplay work. You’ll pay the same in the Genshin store no matter where you play from. If you do play on an iPhone, you can even purchase using your Apple Wallet.

Which iPhone is best for playing Genshin Impact?

Genshin Impact isn’t especially demanding for iPhones. As long as you have an iPhone model from the past few years, you should be able to play it without trouble. But there’s a big difference between handling the game and actually having the best experience possible. If you want the best model for Genshin, we recommend the iPhone 13 Pro Max, with its extra-large 6.7-inch screen and powerful chipset. If you want an even larger screen, the game works well on iPads, too.

Tyler Lacoma
Former Digital Trends Contributor
If it can be streamed, voice-activated, made better with an app, or beaten by mashing buttons, Tyler's into it. When he's not…
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