The macOS on the iPad remains a dream at this stage, but folks over in the jailbreak community are working their best to port the Mac’s software to Apple’s overpowered tablets. If you are one of those who wished for a touchscreen Mac, a new jailbreak tool will allow you to control and navigate macOS on the iPad, making it a first. What once sounded like a wild “hackintosh” fantasy is now finally materializing, all thanks to the efforts of jailbreak enthusiasts.
Jailbreak community brings macOS to the iPad in a work-in-progress project, bringing the Hackintosh dream closer to reality
In the process, developer Duy Tran has made significant headway in managing to launch a rudimentary version of Terminal, Disk Utility, Activity Monitor, and even Xcode on the iPhone hardware via a project called MacWSBootingGuide. Take note that this is not an easy feat to achieve, but requires a creative spirit that would push Apple devices beyond their intended limitations. The test runs on the iPhone, but since iOS and iPadOS are similar, it could easily be ported to the iPad.
At this point, the state and availability of jailbreak remain uncertain, but tools like palera1n and Dopamine still exist for older devices with an A11 Bionic chip or older. This is because all older devices that fall under the category featured a hardware-based checkm8 exploit, which Apple was not able to patch via software updates. This allowed compatible devices to break free from Apple’s walled garden, allowing users to install tweaks that do not play by Apple’s rules. However, it did not come without various security threats and technical risks.
macOS on iPhone running Activity Monitor and Xcode pic.twitter.com/wPGvNRtD6P
— Duy Tran (@khanhduytran0) August 11, 2025
Coming back, why does the macOS port on iPad matter? Well, it is not about replacing iPadOS with macOS, but about expanding what iPads can become. Craig Federighi, Apple’s software chief, has said before that the company does not want to run macOS on iPads because it would turn the device into a “spork,” something that tries to do two different jobs but is not great at either. Apple wants the iPad to stay focused on being a touch-first tablet and the Mac to stay focused on being a desktop or laptop experience.
For developers and enthusiasts, the MacWSBootingGuide is not a proof of concept, but a statement that platform limitations are not always final. While the majority of the audience would continue to use iPadOS as Apple intended, these deep experiments will inspire new features or perspectives on hardware modularity. Steve Troughton-Smith suggests on Mastodon that the term “hackintosh” may soon refer to an iPad running macOS and not a Mac clone. He writes, “Apple may not bring macOS to iPad, but it looks like we’re getting to a point where people can hackintosh it together on a jailbroken device anyway.” Duy Tran has shared a series of posts on X, showcasing images of a broken but working instance of Terminal and other tools. We will keep you updated on the matter, so do stick around.
About the author: Ali Salman is a technology reporter for Wccftech mobile section with a specialized focus on Apple and the intellectual property that drives mobile innovation. He has cultivated a unique expertise in analyzing and deconstructing complex technology patents, translating dense legal and technical documents into clear, insightful reports on future products.
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