iOS95 Lets iPhone Users Give Their Devices a Windows 95 Makeover

Have you ever wished that you could run Windows 95 on your iPhone? No? Well, a Swedish developer made that idea a reality anyway.

This is, of course, assuming that you know what Windows 95 is. Basically, it was the operating system many of us used back in the 90s — long before iOS and Android were even concepts. And while it defined how many of us used computers back then, it certainly hasn’t aged well.

And while you still may not be able to run Windows 95 on your iPhone that easily, you can apply a theme that will mimic the look of the retro OS.

Stockholm-based developer Emil Avara created the iOS theme, which he appropriately dubbed iOS95. It’s available to download as a skin for free, but Avara has also made a “theme pack” available for $1.50 that includes more than 50 icons and various redesigned widgets.

Pictures of the iOS theme are equally funny and nostalgia-inducing. It imagines various iOS apps, like Snapchat and Photos, in a Windows 95 design context.

Avara also has a request form on his website where users can ask for certain app icons to get the Windows 95 makeover.

To be clear, Apple doesn’t let users change the “theme” of their iPhones — so using iOS95 requires jailbreaking your device. We don’t recommend that, as it voids your warranty and can ruin other aspects of your device.

But if you are the jailbreaking type, you can now relive the Windows 95 days in all of their glory on your iPhone.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that someone got the idea to try giving an Apple product the 90s Windows treatment.

Back in 2016, developer Nick Lee figured out how to actually run Windows 95 on his Apple Watch. Sure, it didn’t look very usable or user-friendly, but it was pretty amazing to see.

There’s also a macOS “app,” created by Slack developer Felix Rieseberg, that lets users run a Windows 95 environment on their modern-day Mac devices through Electron.

As with any outdated tech, the general design and “feel” of Windows 95 just proves how far technology has come in a relatively short amount of time.