13 KiB
Old iPad — iOS 9.3.5: IPA Sources & App Shortlist
Date: 2026-09-21 Device target: iPad 2 / iPad 3 / iPad mini 1 / iPhone 4S (iOS 9.3.5–9.3.6 max) Status: research complete, sources verified, nothing downloaded yet
1. Where the IPAs actually are
| Source | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
archive.org → iOSObscura |
17,652 IPA | iPhoneOS Obscura Project. Real files, HTTP 206 works. Primary source. |
archive.org → legacyiosapparchive |
680 IPA | Smaller, older-version-first naming |
archive.org → ios-ipa-collection |
~10k | DISCONTINUED upstream, but files still served |
| mtmdev.org | Momentum Store | Forum-gated. Installer webapp only works for iOS 4/5/6 — not useful for 9.3.5 |
| ipatool (github qnblackcat gist) | — | Needs an Apple ID that owns the app. Gets last-compatible version. Cleanest legal path. |
Warning: network pitfall on this Mac
archive.org does not resolve on the home network — the router DNS (192.168.1.1) blocks it.
dig @1.1.1.1 returns an IP, but the system resolver fails → curl: Could not resolve host.
Workaround used successfully:
# metadata list
curl -s --resolve archive.org:443:207.241.224.2 "https://archive.org/metadata/iOSObscura"
# downloads 302 to dn####.ca.archive.org - that host must ALSO be pinned
DN=$(curl -sI --resolve archive.org:443:207.241.224.2 "$URL" | grep -i ^location | sed 's/^[Ll]ocation: //')
HOST=$(echo "$DN" | sed -E 's#https://([^/]+)/.*#\1#')
IP=$(dig +short "$HOST" @1.1.1.1 | tail -1)
curl -L --resolve archive.org:443:207.241.224.2 --resolve "$HOST:443:$IP" -O "$URL"
Verified: DM1 IPA returns HTTP 206, file → iOS App Zip archive data. Downloads are live.
Ready-made downloader: scripts/fetch-ios935-ipas.sh
— curated 25-file shortlist (all music picks + utility), handles the double --resolve,
validates each file is a real zip. Run: bash scripts/fetch-ios935-ipas.sh ./ipas935
Download URL form (note the %20 for spaces — URLs contain literal spaces otherwise):
https://archive.org/download/iOSObscura/<iOS N>/<bundle-id>/<App>-(<bundle-id>)-<ver>-(iOS_x.y)-<hash>.ipa
Warning: install requirement
These IPAs are unsigned/cracked. Installing on a non-jailbroken iOS 9.3.5 device needs AppSync Unified (Cydia) — i.e. the iPad must be jailbroken. iOS 9.3.5 jailbreak: Phoenix (32-bit). Without it, only the App Store "download last compatible version" route works.
2. MIDI / music apps present in iOSObscura
All paths below are relative to https://archive.org/download/iOSObscura/.
Synthesizers
| App | iOS build in archive |
|---|---|
| Korg iMS-20 | iOS 4/jp.co.korg.iMS-20/…-1.5.2-(iOS_4.2)… ← best version |
| Korg iELECTRIBE | iOS 4/jp.co.korg.iELECTRIBE/…-1.5.2-(iOS_4.2)… |
| Korg iPolysix | iOS 5/jp.co.korg.iPolysix/…-146-(iOS_5.1)… |
| Korg iKaossilator | iOS 5/jp.co.korg.ikaossilator/…-2.3.0-(iOS_5.1)… |
| Moog Animoog | iOS 5/com.moogmusic.animoog/…-2.1.1-(iOS_5.0)… |
| Moog Filtatron | iOS 5/com.moogmusic.filtatron/…-1.2.0-(iOS_5.0)… |
| Arturia iMini | iOS 5/com.arturia.imini/…-1.1-(iOS_5.1)… |
| Sunrizer | iOS 5/com.giku.Horizon/…-3.0-(iOS_5.0)… |
| Yamaha TNR-i (Tenori-on) | iOS 4/jp.co.yamaha.emi.tenopad/…-1.2.1-(iOS_4.3)… |
| PulseCode Modular | iOS 6/com.pulsecodeinc.ModularSynthesizer/…-1.04-(iOS_6.0)… |
| NLog PRO | iOS 4/com.temporubato.NLogPro/…-3.4-(iOS_4.0)… |
DAWs / sequencers / drum machines
| App | Build |
|---|---|
| GarageBand | iOS 8/com.apple.mobilegarageband/…-3417.29-(iOS_8.0)… ← best (Apple, iOS 8) |
| Steinberg Cubasis | iOS 8/com.steinberg.cubasis/…-2.2.0.8-(iOS_8.3)… ← best |
| Intua BeatMaker 2 | iOS 5/net.intua.beatmaker2/…-2.5.4-(iOS_5.0)… |
| Fingerlab DM1 (drum machine) | iOS 8/net.fingerlab.beat/…-01-(iOS_8.0)… |
| Fingerlab Musyc | iOS 6/net.fingerlab.musyc/…-017-(iOS_6.0)… |
| Propellerhead Figure | iOS 7/se.propellerheads.figure/…-341-(iOS_7.0)… |
| Blip NanoStudio | iOS 5/co.uk.blipinteractive.NanoStudio/…-1.43-(iOS_5.0)… |
| Seline Ultimate | iOS 5/com.amidio.seline.hd/…-2.2-(iOS_5.0)… |
| Beatwave | iOS 7/com.collect3.beatwave/…-2.6.1.2-(iOS_7.0)… |
| Patatap | iOS 7/com.patatap.iphone/…-1.1-(iOS_7.1)… |
| iZotope iDrum | iPhoneOS 2/com.izotope.iphone.idrum.* |
Audio routing / live / guitar
| App | Build |
|---|---|
| Audiobus (inter-app audio routing) | iOS 5/us.audiob.Audiobus/…-1.0.2.5-(iOS_5.0)… |
| Traktor DJ | iOS 6/com.native-instruments.traktordj/…-1.3.3.383-(iOS_6.1)… |
| AmpliTube (many variants) | iOS 7/com.ikmultimediaus.amplitubefull/…-35-(iOS_7.1)… |
| ThumbJam | iOS 5/com.sonosaurus.thumbjam/…-2.4.2-(iOS_5.0)… |
| iGrand Piano | iOS 5/com.ikmultimediaus.igrandpadfull/…-1.0.1-(iOS_5.1)… |
| Galileo (organ) | iOS 5/com.bodunov.galileo/…-2.5.2-(iOS_5.0)… |
Best picks if you only take 5
- Korg iMS-20 — the killer app for this era, full MS-20 patchable semi-modular
- Moog Animoog — best-sounding iPad synth of its generation, expressive touch
- GarageBand (iOS 8 build) — DAW, still Apple, most stable
- Audiobus — glue that lets the above talk to each other
- Fingerlab DM1 — drum machine, instantly fun
3. General-purpose top picks for an old iPad
The archive also has the utility media stack. Relative paths under iOSObscura/:
| Need | App | Build |
|---|---|---|
| Video player | VLC / VLC Streamer / ProPlayer / AVPlayerHD | VLC-v2.6.6--iOS6.1…, iOS 4/ProPlayer/, iOS 4/AVPlayerHD… |
| Local media + file manager | Documents | iOS 4/com.EZYPages.USBFlashDisk/Documents-…-4.0-(iOS_4.3)… |
| Browser | Puffin (cloud-rendered, still fast on old HW), Dolphin, Mercury | Puffin-v4.7.3--iOS6.0…, iOS 5/com.cloudmosa.puffin/…-10265 |
| Remote desktop | VNC Viewer, TeamViewer, RDP | VNC Viewer-v2.3.5--iOS5.1.1…, TeamViewer-v10.0.37492… |
| Kodi control | Kodi Remote | Kodi Remote-v1.5.5--iOS5.1.1… |
| Comics / PDF | Comic Zeal, Comic Touch, GoodPlayer | iOS 4/Ff2lqVpcZ2.ComicZeal4/… |
What still works / doesn't (community consensus, 2023–2025)
- Works: Puffin, Alook, Snowbunny (browsers, shared WebKit), Byline (RSS), Readder (Reddit), iBooks/PDFs, VLC, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, YouTube via Safari, Flipboard
- Dead: Netflix app, YouTube app, most streaming apps, anything updated past 2019
- Trick: Google
site:apps.apple.com ios 9.0 <keyword>to find still-compatible App Store apps - App Store route: if you ever purchased the app, iOS offers "download last compatible version" automatically
5. Ableton Live — подключается ли современный
Короткий ответ: да, но не как «Ableton на iPad». Live на iOS нет и не было. Реально только три роли, и все три работают с Live 12.
Роль A — MIDI-контроллер (главный сценарий, проверено)
iPad шлёт MIDI по Wi-Fi, Live его слушает. Канал — RTP-MIDI / Network MIDI Session, встроен в macOS (Audio MIDI Setup → Window → Show MIDI Window → двойной клик «Network»), в Live появляется порт «Network MIDI» в Link/MIDI Preferences. Ableton рекомендует свой виртуальный MIDI-нетворк напрямую. Source: https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209071169-Setting-up-a-virtual-MIDI-network
TouchOSC 1.9.3 МОЖНО поставить на iOS 9.3.5 — verified:
https://archive.org/download/iOSObscura/iOS 4/net.hexler.TouchOSC/TouchOSC-(net.hexler.TouchOSC)-1.9.3-(iOS_4.3)-05de0867bd95aa0ef230bf4604b48414.ipa
HTTP 206, валидный IPA. TouchOSC — самый лёгкий вариант, UI + коммуникация, без хостинга плагинов; именно его советуют для древнего железа в r/ableton. Шлёт OSC, не MIDI — чтобы Live понял, нужен мост.
Мост для TouchOSC → Live:
- Osculator (macOS, платный) — Ableton официально называет эту связку
- на Mac OSC→MIDI можно и без Osculator: OSCulator альтернатива / Max for Live / IAC-шина
Роль B — генератор звука, синхронизированный по Link
Ableton Link = tempo/timing по сети, встроен в Live и в кучу iOS-приложений. Но: все Link-совместимые сборки в архиве — это iOS 5–8, всё что новее требует iOS 10+. Workaround: MIDI Clock через Network MIDI (Ableton: «если приложение умеет Link — используй Link, иначе MIDI clock»). Или обновить iPad до чего-то с iOS 10+, чего он не может.
Роль C — тяжёлые фирменные контроллеры (НЕ на iOS 9)
Ableton официально перечисляет: LK (ex-LIVKONTROL), TouchOSC+Osculator, V-Control Pro, Knobbler (Live 12 + Max for Live), touchAble, DAW Control, 7III Tap. Source: https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209071989 Ни один не поддерживает iOS 9. touchAble в архиве только версия 1.3.3 (iOS 3.2, 2010) — это прадед текущей, вряд ли совместим по протоколу с Live 12.
Вердикт
| Сценарий | Реально? | Чем |
|---|---|---|
| iPad как лёгкий контроллер (слайдеры, кнопки, XY, transport) | Да | TouchOSC 1.9.3 + Osculator/OSC-MIDI мост |
| iPad как MIDI-клавиатура / пэды в Live | Да | TouchOSC или любой CoreMIDI-app + Network MIDI |
| iPad гонит звук в Live синхронно | Криво | только MIDI Clock, Link невозможен (iOS 9 < 10) |
| Тяжёлые контроллеры (LK, touchAble Pro, V-Control) | Нет | требуют iOS 10+ |
| Запустить сам Ableton на iPad | Нет | не существует |
Риск, который надо принять
r/ableton: «A program like that will smoke an iPad 2», «trying to get one of these apps on my old iPad mini — so slow I decided it wasn't worth it». Железо iPad 2 (512 МБ RAM) на пределе. TouchOSC — единственный, который заведомо не сожрёт всё. Практический выбор: если iPad это iPad 2 — только TouchOSC и очень простой лейаут. Если iPad 3 (1 ГБ RAM) — терпимо.
Проверено vs требует проверки
- ✅ Проверено: TouchOSC 1.9.3 скачивается из iOSObscura (HTTP 206)
- ✅ Проверено: Ableton официально описывает Network MIDI + TouchOSC/Osculator
- ⚠️ НЕ проверено: факт запуска TouchOSC 1.9.3 под iOS 9.3.5 на конкретном девайсе
- ⚠️ НЕ проверено: живой ли Osculator под текущую macOS (проект старый) — надо тестить
6. Open questions / next steps
- Is the iPad jailbroken? (determines whether IPA route or App Store route)
- Which model exactly (iPad 2 vs 3 vs mini 1 — affects RAM, iMS-20 stability)
- Bulk-download script for a chosen shortlist →
scripts/fetch-ios935-ipas.sh(written, not yet run) - Check
ios-ipa-collection+legacyiosapparchivefor anything missing above
5. Session log
2026-09-21 — initial research pass. Enumerated iOSObscura via
curl --resolve archive.org:443:207.241.224.2 https://archive.org/metadata/iOSObscura | jq -r '.files[].name'.
Two keyword sweeps over the 18,332 unique IPA filenames (music/MIDI terms, then
utility/media/browser/remote terms) produced the shortlists in sections 2 and 3.
Verified a live download end-to-end on DM1 (HTTP 206 + valid zip header).
Nothing downloaded to disk; no config touched.
Discovery order that worked (reuse for the other collections):
curl --resolvethe/metadata/<identifier>endpoint → JSONfiles[].namejq -r '.files[].name'→ one filename per linegrep -iE '<terms>'the filename list — filenames carry bundle-id + iOS version, so version targeting needs no extra API calls- URL =
https://archive.org/download/<identifier>/<path>with spaces →%20 curl -Ifirst to catch the redirect host, then pin it