iPhone 18 Pro Max Runs PC Version of GTA V at Up to 80 FPS

The computer version of Grand Theft Auto V, one of the best selling games of all time, has been shown running on Apple's new iPhone 18 Pro Max at up to 80 frames per second (FPS). The test was done with Vapor, a new app still being built, which lets games made for Windows PCs and Macs run on the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. The results were shared on September 27, 2026 by the app's developer, who is known online as StephenDev0.

GTA V has never been released as an iPhone game. In this test, the full PC game ran on the phone itself. It was not streamed from a computer somewhere else over the internet.

What the Test Showed

The developer used the benchmark that comes inside GTA V. This is a short test that plays the same scenes every time, so results can be compared fairly. During the part where a car drives through the busy city, the iPhone averaged 66 FPS. In the other scenes, it averaged about 80 FPS.

Most gamers treat 60 FPS as smooth, so both numbers are above that line. FPS simply means how many pictures the screen shows every second. More pictures means the game looks and feels smoother.

The game ran at 1080p (Full HD) using DirectX 11. Textures were set to High, and FXAA and 16x anisotropic filtering were turned on to make edges and surfaces look sharper. Population density was at 75 percent and distance scaling at 50 percent, with sharp shadows. MSAA was switched off and every other setting stayed on Normal. Reports say no upscaling trick was used. In simple words, these are middle level settings, not the highest the game offers.

How Vapor Makes It Work

A PC game is built for Windows computers that use Intel or AMD chips. The iPhone uses Apple's own chip and its own software. So the game cannot run on the phone as it is. Vapor translates the game's instructions while the game is running, using a method called JIT, which stands for "just in time". This translation takes extra power, so a game made directly for the iPhone would normally run better.

The developer first announced Vapor on September 12. He said it would support iOS 17.4 and newer versions. On September 17, the Vapor account posted pictures of GTA V running on iOS 27. On September 22, it showed the Steam version of LEGO Marvel Super Heroes running on an Apple TV 4K at 1080p and 60 FPS, even though the app had only about 2 GB of memory to use there.

There is one important catch. Apple does not normally allow JIT in App Store apps, saying it is a security risk. Because of this, Vapor is not coming to the App Store. It is planned for StikStore, another app by the same developer that lets people install apps from outside Apple's store, a practice known as sideloading. His earlier app, StikDebug, was removed from the App Store earlier this year and his Apple developer account was closed, according to reports at the time.

Is the iPhone Now as Strong as a Gaming PC?

The iPhone 18 Pro Max, announced by Apple on September 9, uses the new A20 Pro chip. Several tech websites have compared its GTA V result with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1650, a basic desktop graphics card that came out in 2019. One report went further and estimated that the phone chip does the same work using a small part of the power.

These comparisons should be taken carefully. The test did not measure power use, and it was not a proper side by side test on equal terms. Apple has also given the new phone a larger cooling system, called a vapor chamber, to help it keep up speed for longer. Even so, the benchmark only lasts a few minutes. Some reports warn that during long gaming sessions the phone could heat up and the frame rate could drop. The developer himself said small problems still need fixing, so these numbers are not final.

Vapor is also not the first project of this kind. Earlier this year, another app called XeniOS ran the old Xbox 360 version of GTA V on iPhone, but the game ran poorly. An open source project called Madeira has also managed to run games such as Stray on iPhones. Vapor stands out because it runs the newer PC version at much higher speed.

What It Means for Gamers in Pakistan

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is now officially on sale in Pakistan through iSelect by Airlink and GNext, with PTA approved units. The 256GB model costs Rs 603,999, the 512GB model Rs 688,999, the 1TB model Rs 858,999 and the 2TB model Rs 1,113,999. At these prices, a PC or a game console is still the practical choice for most people in Pakistan who want to play GTA V.

Pakistani iPhone users who want to try Vapor should also know that it is not available yet. There is no release date for Vapor or StikStore. Apps installed from outside the App Store do not go through Apple's checks, so people should only use trusted sources. PC games are also very large, and the developer has said Vapor will support external storage drives at launch, along with an easy way to move games onto the device. Support for game controllers is also being looked at.

What Happens Next

The developer has said he will not release Vapor until he feels it is ready. For now, the test shows that the newest iPhone chip is powerful enough to run a big PC game at playable speed, even with the extra load of translation. Whether it can do the same in long sessions, and for ordinary users, will only be clear once the app is actually released.