It is a free upgrade for existing users with a valid license for version 9.0. Grab it from the downloads page as usual and install over the top of any existing installation.

Virtual Keyboard

• Completely redesigned virtual keyboard using high-resolution PNG artwork for the 48K, 128K/+, keyboard layouts, replacing the previous low resolution BMP images.
• Fixed an issue where the virtual keyboard was not visible.
• Virtual keyboard key states are now reset when the computer is reset.

Screenshots

• Screenshots can now be saved or copied to the clipboard at various sizes, with configurable
  scale factor and optional border, all driven from the Advanced preferences page.
• Added support for PNG screenshots, which is now the default format; BMP is still supported
  for compatibility with older applications.
• Added a Save Screenshot (F4) to the File menu that saves a screenshot directly to disk
  using the configured size and border settings. Repeated captures for the same program
  title produce an auto-incrementing sequence number.
• Screenshots are now generated directly from the Spectrum’s framebuffer rather than by capturing the Direct3D back buffer. Alt+PrtScn can still be used to capture the entire emulator window, including any visual filters.
• Fixed a stale-frame bug when resizing the window while emulation is paused; this also affected clipboard copy, which could previously produce images of the wrong dimensions.

Joysticks & Controllers

• Fixed a buffer overflow caused when certain controllers (flight sticks) report more than the hard limit of 32 buttons; unusable axes are now hidden and unmappable buttons are marked N/A.
• Added named button labels for The Quickshot II, and X52 H.O.T.A.S., replacing generic
  button numbers.
• Removed legacy UV-axis support that predated USB joystick POV hat support.
• Removed the default Up/Down/Left/Right mappings from the Right Stick, which conflicted with the X52 2nd Stage Trigger; analogue thresholds have been tuned.
• Backspace and Delete keys now clear a button mapping from within the joystick button mappings UI.

Debugger

• Added Fill Memory — fill any block of memory with a specified value.
• Added Export Memory — export a region of memory to a file.
• Added Edit → Paste File Contents to import binary data directly into memory.
• Added Undo support to the Memory Inspector.
• Memory Inspector now remembers its last-viewed address across restarts.
• Added a recent files list to the debugger for debugger projects.
• DEL key now deletes selected items in the Breakpoints and Watches inspectors.
• Reworked the unsaved-changes prompt for improved UX.
• Fixed the Memory Inspector not posting ZXNC_MEMORY_CHANGED notifications; fixed the
  Graphics Inspector not registering for the same notification. All inspectors now update correctly when
  memory changes, regardless of the source of the change.
• Added Edit → Export to the debugger’s main file menu.

Dialogs and UX

• Menus and menu items are now drawn with the correct theme colours on modern versions of Windows.
• Zoom calculations now correctly account for DPI settings.
• Fixed clipped text in the Switch Model dialog at 125% DPI.
• Increased the width of File New dialog to avoid the need for vertical scrolling.
• Removed the prompt to switch to +3 mode when loading +3 content.
• In full-screen mode, the menu bar is now only shown when the mouse cursor approaches it.
• Lots more refactoring to improve support on high-DPI displays.
• Fixed scrolling issues in the Advanced preferences page during in-place editing.
• Removed the obsolete Use default refresh rate (LCD panels) option.
• Removed the Scaling Mode option as it was never implemented in the Direct3D renderer.

File Handling

• File → Save As now remembers the last used file type for the duration of the session,
  resetting when Spectaculator is restarted.
• Files that cannot be opened (e.g. .bmp and .png files) are no longer added to the
  recent files list.
• You are no longer prompted to overwrite an existing file if that file is already open.
• Prompting for missing tape files when loading a snapshot is now optional, with a Don’t show this again option in the warning dialog.
• Ejecting media now correctly clears the active document for +3 disks, TR-DOS disks, Microdrive cartridges, Plus 3 disk images, and Plus D disk images.

Tape & Media

• Hardened TAP file parsing against malformed input.
• Fixed a crash when loading malformed TAP files containing 1-byte or 0-byte blocks.
• Fixed the Cassette Recorder holding a stale value for the RZX recording state. This fixes
  the issue where flash loading became disabled after recording an RZX.

Sound

• Refactored the GS128, Covox, Plus D, SpecDrum, uSpeech, and Interface 1 plugins to use
  the platform-agnostic sound manager, replacing direct DirectSound usage.
• Fixed crash when no sound card is present on the host machine and the Interface 1 is enabled.

Miscellaneous

• Miscellaneous
• The uSpeech ROM is now mirrored at 0x0800.
• A custom ROM can now be loaded for the Scorpion ZS-256.

… and finally

My thanks as always to everyone who took the time to report bugs, share feedback, and support the project.

Jonathan Needle, May 2026.

Highlights

This release focuses on modernising the Android build and distribution pipeline, improving compatibility with the latest Android and Google Play requirements, and restoring Dropbox integration.

New & Improved

Dropbox Support Restored

• Updated the Dropbox SDK to 7.0.0
• Dropbox integration is now working again
• See the Dropbox announcement for more details

Android 15 Compatibility

• Fixed overlapping ActionBar issues on Android 15
• Added fullscreen immersive mode in landscape orientation

Google Play Compliance Updates

• Migrated to Google Play App Signing
• App updates are now distributed as Android App Bundles (.aab) instead of APKs
• Added updated launcher icons and artwork to meet new Google Play guidelines
• Updated Google Play Billing Library to 8.3.0

Platform & Build Improvements

• Upgraded target SDK to Android SDK 35
• Updated NDK version to support 16KB memory pages

Important Changes

Minimum Android Version Increased

Due to Google Play Billing Library requirements, the minimum supported Android version is now:

• Android 6.0 Marshmallow (API 23)

Devices running:

• Android 4.4 KitKat
• Android 5.x Lollipop

will no longer receive updates.

… and finally

My thanks as always to everyone who took the time to report bugs, share feedback, and support the project.

Jonathan Needle, May 2026.

Although not officially supported, it does run well (although can be a bit fiddly as it is designed for touch screens). It is suitable for playing games with a physical keyboard and/or joystick.

You can add your own games and artwork much the same as the iOS version, except the folder to copy to is here

~/Library/Containers/Spectaculator/Data/Documents

Open a Finder window, Press Cmd+Shift+G and type the path above.

Installing and configuring Wine is beyond the scope of this document but this simple quick guide assumes a Debian derivative such as Ubuntu or Linux Mint.

You must be familiar with the Linux terminal and run the following commands:
(ignore lines with #s, these are comments)

# Install Wine
sudo apt install wine
# Optional configuration
winecfg

Install Spectaculator

# Install Spectaculator (assumes Spectaculator90.msi is in the current folder)
wine Spectaculator90.msi

Running Spectaculator

# Run wine explorer
wine explorer

Navigate to the Spectaculator folder and double-click SpecStub.exe to start it.

Spectaculator will now run:

Further customisations are possible, such as creating applet on a Cinnamon panel to start it.

• Spectaculator 8
• Spectaculator 8 with lifetime free upgrades
• Spectaculator 7.51 and older

If you have lost your serial number, contact support and we can recover it for you.

I’m excited to announce that Spectaculator 9 is now available for Windows. It’s been a long time coming but worth the wait!

Updated for modern hardware and Windows

Spectaculator now supports high DPI (4K) displays and multi-monitor setups.

You can now drag Spectaculator to whichever monitor you want to use and go full screen on that monitor.

The display is now crisp and sharp again on modern versions of Windows with 4K displays. Overlays in particular benefit greatly from high DPI screens.

Previously, Windows would just scale the low-res window manually, causing a blurry effect and ruining any display enhancements such as scan lines and overlays.

More information here.

Debugger Enhancements

There are a huge number of improvements to the debugger in this release and was the main focus:

• Debugger projects for saving and loading debugger sessions (breakpoints, watches, labels, comments, bookmarks).
• Complex breakpoints
• Watches
• Inline Assembler
• Bookmarks
• Comments
• Memory Inspector
• Call Stack window
• Screen Inspector
• Graphics Inspector
• … and many more

List of Changes

For a complete list of changes, see the documentation.

Does my existing serial number work with Spectaculator 9?

Spectaculator 9 is a free upgrade for users that purchased version 7.5 and older and those that purchased 8.0 /w lifetime free upgrades:

• Spectaculator 8
• Spectaculator 8 with lifetime free upgrades
• Spectaculator 7.51 and older

If you have lost your serial number, contact support and we can recover it for you.

…And Finally

Seasons Greetings to everyone still playing with the rubber keyed wonder!

Jonathan Needle, December 2025.

Normally the user is responsible for selecting the correct controls (Keyboard, Kempston, Interface II etc.) and pressing various keys to start the game (which vary from game to game).

Spectaculator automates all of this via a process known as Autoconfig: The correct controls are automatically selected and locked so the user doesn’t accidentally change them. Pressing the red button (or button A on a gamepad) starts the game.

However, if you want to use a Bluetooth keyboard to play these games, disable Autoconfig in the Settings section and reload the game – the controls will now be unlocked.

After refreshes for Android and iOS last month, Spectaculator 8.0 for iOS is the first major update in 5 years!

Since it’s inception, one particular feature has been requested more than any other. Thanks to a recent change of Apple’s policies regarding emulation, we can finally bring this to iOS.

Add your own games!

Supported formats include .tap, .tzx, .dsk, .szx and .z80.

Controls and artwork can be fully customised for each game. Further information can be found in the FAQ:

• How can I add my own games to Spectaculator for iOS?

External (Physical) keyboard support

In previous versions, this was always limited to Adventure type games as iOS didn’t provide key up/down events which are a must for playing most Spectrum games.

With iOS 13.4, Apple introduced this feature. It’s now possible to use an external keyboard to play games and write BASIC programs. For older devices running iOS 12 and below, this is still limited to playing text adventure type games.

Two images can be added for each game. Both must be in PNG format:

1. A smaller thumbnail used in the games and programs list. This should be 90 pixels wide, 138 pixels tall and must be named [game filename].icon.png.
2. A larger version used on the game details screen. This one should be upto 280 pixels wide (although generally 233px for a standard cassette box), 357 pixels tall and must be named [game filename].artwork.png.

Place both in the same folder as the game itself (you will need to perform a pull refresh on the games list screen if Spectaculator is already running).

In the example below, artwork has been added for Quazatron by Hewson (available from WoS since Rebellion® have granted free distribution rights):

Supported file formats include .tap, .tzx, .dsk, .szx, .z80. It’s recommended to use tape images (.tap, .tzx) and Spectrum +3 disk images (.dsk) for the best experience.

macOS

Adding a game is straight forward:

• Connect your iOS device to your Mac using an appropriate cable.
• Trust your device, if asked.
• In the Finder, locate your device in the left menu and click it.
• Click the Files tab to show your apps and locate Spectaculator.
• Drag the game you want to play from another Finder window and drop it on Spectaculator.
• The game will be uploaded to your device.
• If Spectaculator is already running on your device, perform a pull refresh on the games list screen.

NOTE: You can uploaded multiple games at the same time.

Windows PCs

On Windows, you will first need to install the Apple Devices app from the store, if you don’t already have it.

• Connect your iOS device to your Windows PC using an appopriate cable.
• Trust your device, if asked.
• Start the Apple Devices app.
• In the Apple Devices app, locate your device in the left menu and click it.
• Click the Files item to show your apps and locate Spectaculator.
• Drag the game you want to play from a Windows explorer window and drop it on Spectaculator. Alternatively, click the Add File… button and select the game to upload.
• The game will be uploaded to your device.
• If Spectaculator is already running on your device, perform a pull refresh on the games list screen.

NOTE: You can uploaded multiple games at the same time.