Last updated on November 30th, 2025 at 10:07 am
ZX81 – Education Game Review
ZX81 is a Education/Action/Simulation game from Kevin Palser, first launched in 6th December 2016.
It’s rated 9+ and currently has 80+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes ZX81 Stand Out
Welcome to a taste of early 1980s home computing.
This app focuses on the Sinclair ZX81 experience and is loaded with example software.
Background:
In 1980 the British company Science of Cambridge (later renamed Sinclair Research) released the Sinclair ZX80 home computer. The computer was developed with another technology company, Nine Tiles, and manufactured in a Timex Corporation factory in Dundee, Scotland. Followed in March 1981 by the even more popular successor, the Sinclair ZX81, both models had a profound impact on home and hobbyist computing in the UK and many other countries. Timex Corporation and Sinclair Research continued their joint venture and released the Timex Sinclair 1000 (TS1000) and 1500 (TS1500) variants of the ZX81 for the US market in July 1982 and July 1983 respectively.
Meanwhile, another iconic British home computer, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, was under development and hit the market in April 1982… but that's another story.
Special thanks to Nine Tiles for granting permission to include the ROM code, to which they retain the intellectual property rights after all these years.
Additionally, many thanks to all the developers of the loaded ZX81 software who have all granted permission to include their titles in the app. We hope this list of software will continue to grow in future updates.
This Education game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, ZX81 is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 6th April 2024
Recent improvements include:
Enables ZX81/ZX80 program file loading (iOS/iPadOS 14+).
Download & Availability
ZX81 is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
We still have our Timex Sinclair 1000. We love having this app on our iPad and iPhone. It works wonderfully. Our hats off to you!! And please keep the new software coming. Lots of great stuff already out there.
Love this emulator. Next best thing to having an actual Sinclair machine. In someways better. Tons of software on hand. The author keeps updating and improving. Excellent work.
We had a ZX81 as a teenager and was eagerly awaiting an iOS emulator. This one hits it out of the park. The emulation is perfect and includes support for hires graphics and sound extensions. As other reviewers wrote, the user interface actually improves the usability of the original machine. Just as important, the app developer seems to have brought together the community of old ZX81 software developers who have contributed (and continue to contribute) a good number of classic programs from the good old days. Hats off to the developer. This is a true labor of love and it keeps getting better.
Motivates us to buy and install and replace the faulty keyboard on our old ZX81, but then Id also have to find some kind of RF signal solution this app may save us a lot of time and money good stuff.
And the games for it look awesome! Good luck on that new emulator release! When will it come out.
Its really nice. We hope you will make another emulator.
Our first computer was a TS1500.
We can't believe the quality and care this app's creator put into it. This doesn't just memorialize the ZX81 — which we bought and built in 1981, amazing memory — it actually improves it. This thing is more usable in our phone than the old Z ever was in person hooked up to our portable black and white TV. Respect and appreciation to the maker. You are an artist, this is just lovely.
Nostalgia-inducing. Highly recommended.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 1.13.5
- Size: 59.16 MB
- iOS: 12.0 or later
- Languages: CA, DA, EN, FR, DE, HU, IT, JA, PT, RU, ES
- Content Advisory: Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes, Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
- Developer: [Kevin Palser]()
Last updated: 6th April 2024 | Genre: Education, Action | Developer: Kevin Palser