Some developed have been taking advantage of the latest iOS bootrom exploit to turn the iPhone 7 into an Android device. But one developer decided to try something different and turn the iPhone 7 into a Linux device.

At this point, the project seems to be very much a work in progress — but it is at least possible to boot a version of the Linux-based postmarketOS on Apple’s 2016-era smartphones.

PostmarketOS is an operating system that was originally designed as an open source operating system that could extend the lifespan of older Android smartphones by letting you replace the operating system with an OS that would be supported for many years to come.

Recently we’ve also seen a growing number of smartphones designed to run Linux, which means postmarketOS could become a first-class citizen on devices like the Pinephone or Librem 5 rather than just a replacement for pre-existing software.

Still, the idea of replacing iOS with Linux to breathe new life into older iPhones is intriguing… but it’s still mostly just an idea at this point.

You can find details in a blog post at project-insanity.org, but in a nutshell the idea is to use the checkra1n jailbreak utility to flash a custom Linux kernel to the iPhone. So far the developer has only managed to get a command line version of the operating system up and running… which severely limits the utility of an iPhone running the operating system.

But hey, you’ve got to start somewhere, right?

via Hacker News

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4 replies on “Hacker ports Linux-based postmarketOS to the iPhone 7 (sort of)”

  1. I want the opposite.
    Install iOS v12 to a Samsung S8+.

    Semi-Native/Optimised Apps 😀

      1. True.

        But I like to daydream how using iOS (more optimization) plus using the Apple A13 (fastest SoC available)…

        …when combined could allow people to play via emulation some Nintendo WiiU or Switch games.

  2. Why can’t they port to Windows phones? Loads of great hardware that can basically only be used for texting and calling now

Comments are closed.