Forget custom ROMs, you can now run iOS on Android phones

Most popular Android skins now tend to copy iOS in terms of aesthetics. But what about real, actual iOS running on Android devices? I thought I was dreaming when I first heard claims that developers were porting iOS to Android devices. But over the last couple of days, I’ve seen countless reports of Apple’s proprietary operating system booting on a range of Android devices.

It’s part of a new movement called “Hackios,” inspired by the iconic Hackintosh, which runs macOS on non-Apple hardware. The idea comes from an enthusiast’s GitHub project called “iow-sweet,” which replaces Android’s stock Linux kernel with XNU, Apple’s custom kernel for iPhones and iPads. A kernel is the core program of any operating system that dictates how hardware interacts with the software running on it. Here’s a detailed explainer on kernels if you’d like to read one.

What does it take to run iOS on Android devices?

While most of iOS remains closed source, Apple open-sources its proprietary XNU kernel for macOS. The project backports this to run iOS.

A dedicated website explains how this works. When an Android device boots up, it hands the kernel a device tree, a description of the phone’s hardware components. For a standard Android device, this device tree is written for the Linux kernel to identify and use. However, ios-sweet relies on a new device tree spoofed from an iPhone X, and this is used to fool XNU into believing it’s booting an iPhone instead of an Android device.

The developer says it’s only possible to use an iPhone X since it’s the last phone from Apple without a security feature called pointer authentication (or PAC). Qualcomm chipsets, including the Snapdragon 732 in the Redmi Note 10 Pro, don’t use PAC, while iPhone XS and later require it to function. That’s why the iPhone X is used to create a replica of iOS.

The booting process uses a “shim image” that loads onto the phone’s bootloader and enables the transition to XNU. Once the XNU believes it’s booting into an iPhone, a partition formatted to simulate an iPhone’s storage runs a copy of iOS 16.7.16, the last version supported by iPhone X. The whole thing boots up to an iOS lock screen, which can be unlocked to access parts of the OS.

What works and what doesn’t

The home screen loads up with the built-in apps; touch works and so do swipe gestures for home and multitasking. Physical buttons such as power and volume also seem to work. Enthusiasts can also open system apps such as Settings or access the Control Center.

Now, coming to what doesn’t work, and this list is much longer. Wireless connections, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or mobile data, don’t work. Neither do speakers, cameras, or other sensors such as the fingerprint or face unlock. Several system apps, including Messages, Phone, and Photos, return a black screen.

The developer also notes that Apple’s encryption systems don’t work, so it’s not advised to store anything personal on it.

Which devices are supported?

While the project initially ran iOS on the Redmi Note 10 Pro, it has since been ported to a large number of devices. Since the original instructions were written for Snapdragon, other forks also only work on Snapdragon-based devices. However, efforts have been made to boot the program on a Pixel 6 with a Tensor chip as well as the decade-old Galaxy S7 running an Exynos 8890. Those efforts have not yet resulted in a working iPhone X clone.

Currently, the GitHub repo has been officially forked for the Redmi Note 12 Pro and LG V60. A wide range of other devices are being supported, and that list includes the OnePlus 7T, Redmi 5 Plus, and Galaxy S23 Ultra, but the code for those remains close.

The developer behind the Redmi Note 12 fork claims to have gotten sound, Wi-Fi, and wallpaper working, though the system still remains very unstable. The screen also refreshes very slowly and appears visibly jittery.

Another thing to note is that the NOTES.md file attached to the original repo lists instructions for AI agents, including Claude Code, ChatGPT Codex, and Gemini, which suggests a lot of these ports rely on AI. That means we can expect a lot more ports to spring up soon in the next few days, though it will be interesting to see which one gets closer to actually being useful.

I also hope the developers’ interest doesn’t fizzle out as it usually does with other vibe-coded projects.