Clock Signal vs UAE4ARM

Clock Signal is a free emulator for running classic software on Linux and macOS without first having to learn the original machine or emulator controls. It supports systems including the BBC Micro, Apple II, Atari 2600, Commodore Vic-20, early Macintosh, MSX, Sega Master System and ZX Spectrum. When you provide disk, tape or ROM media, it can identify and configure a machine, issue the commands needed to start the software, and speed up loading where possible. It does not import or take ownership of your files. The emulator processes video signals such as composite video and generates audio at the emulated machine’s source rate before filtering it for host output. Its README gives typical audio latency as 5–10 ms; display latency depends on host hardware. It aims for cycle-accurate emulation, which it says it achieves in some cases. Acorn Archimedes, Commodore Amiga and early PC compatible emulation is less complete than for the other listed systems. A BIOS is required. The project is MIT licensed, with macOS releases using Cocoa and Metal and Linux builds available through Qt, OpenGL or SDL options.

UAE4ARM is a free Android port of an Amiga emulator. It supports AGA, OCS, and ECS Amiga models and reads ADF, ADZ, HDF, ISO, CUE, and RP9 disk images. Kickstart is not included. Audio support uses WinUAE’s paravirtual AHI driver for 16-bit sound through AHI. Graphics include RTG modes sized to the device screen and an option to preserve the 4:3 ratio. Input can use touch, on-screen controls, a Bluetooth mouse, or selectable joystick and cursor-key D-pad modes. File dialogs browse internal storage, SD cards, and readable USB volumes, including removable media connected through an OTG adapter. Save-state files and preview images stay together, and users can choose the save-state folder. Release notes identify version 1.0.5.5 as the latest release and add 16-bit AHI sound support. They also state that 32-bit Android devices are supported with JIT disabled; enabling JIT can freeze the emulator when returning to emulation. The project is GPL-2.0 licensed, free of charge, and provided without warranty.