Apple’s iPads and MacBooks have the same processors these days, and you can even run iOS apps on a Mac… but you cannot run Mac apps on an iPad or iPhone because Apple continues to draw a distinction between Macs (laptops and desktops without touchscreens) and iOS devices (touch-first tablets and phones).
But all of that only applies to Apple-made hardware. Folks who build Hackintoshes (DIY PCs that run macOS) have other ideas. And one of those folks has even made a handheld computer that runs macOS Big Sur, the latest version of Apple’s laptop and desktop operating system.
The handheld is powered by a LattePanda Alpha single-board computer with an Intel Core m3-8100Y processor and 8GB of RAM plus an SSD, wireless card, an LCD display, and a battery that’s been modified to fit inside a 3D-printed case.
The developer also added a physical keyboard and touchpad and equipped the system with a custom printed circuit board to connect all the hardware and allow everything to interact properly.
It also supports video output to an external display, allowing you to use the little computer either as a handheld or a tiny desktop computer.
You can find more information about the hardware, plus the assembly steps in the builder’s YouTube video… as well as the developers regrets for things that could have gone better in this DIY build.
Folks have been building Hackintoshes for years, making it possible to use Apple’s operating system on hardware that may be cheaper, more powerful, or just generally different than what you’d get if you bought the closest equivalent Mac.
But now that Apple has begun shipping Macs with its own processors and started down a path that will likely see the end of support for Intel chips in the coming years, it’s unclear what the future of the Hackintosh scene will be.
That said, if folks can disassemble a Nintendo Wii and convert it into a handheld game console, I’m sure someone will figure out ways to modify Macs to their liking… even if the operating system itself won’t necessarily run on third-party hardware.
via /r/UMPC
Has the keyboard fallen off yet?
If not then it’s technically not an Apple handheld, LOL
I am not one of the Einsteins in IT business but just an observer.
So I am highly curious about these questions:
— why Apple technical leaders cannot take over IT business?
They have everything: most liked mobile os, desktop os, (meh) internet infrastucture etc. People love their hardware and software. Rivals looking like fragmented (goog) and stuck (micrsft) on some businesses.
— People like native software. If I use a software within a browser so I don’t need a mac or ipad any more. Why they don’t encourage (by reducing app store commissions etc.) software devs to develop native featureful, good looking apps?
— Why they buid very big walls around their garden instead of openness?
— Why they don’t merge ipad/mac/iphone os to let people enjoy their harware/software every distinct needs? In order to sell some more ipads or macs? Hey! Multimedia/graphic companies will continue to buy powerful macs Timmy. Don’t worry!
— Do they think this closed business model will last for a long time? They think addictive customer behaviors will continue forever? I bet it will not. Then I can raise my bet evenly.
— Don’t they see or research whats happening around? Have they heard about Dartlang and Flutter? Dartlang is wide spectrum programming language nearly working everywhere and translating to javascript. Dartlang is a ECMA standard. Flutter is a gui platform produces web, desktop, mobile within same code base (mac,ios,chrome,android,linux,windows,iot, etc). They are really huge.
— I a software is based on same code, will people continue to buy fancy and pricey mac/ipads?
— Have they heard about Google Fuchsia Os? It’s a microkernel, secure, running everywhere operating system. When it comes I think it will blow everything.
I highly bet here, if something doesn’t change immediately, within a few years: there is no linux (yes), there is no windows and there is no mac/ipads etc. no more.
Google is just shown great engineering and openness can invade the world.
Since it is an unofficial DIY “Hackintosh”, I am not sure whether he would know he was the first in the world to make such a device.
I have seen handheld Hackintosh mini-laptops before but I am not sure whether they were GDP Pocket, One Mix, or both.
I can’t imagine why Apple wouldn’t want to make something so stylish /s