iOS core successfully ported to a Nokia N900, might we see iOS running on more non-Apple gear?

A developer known Winocm has managed to get the “XNU Kernel,” the foundation of OS X and iOS, running successfully on a 2009 era Nokia N900.

You remember the N900 right? It was Nokia’s Maemo OS running device which made a splash with a fully functional browser that had flash support and smooth multitasking. It was really a very small tablet that also happened to make phone calls.

In the case of Winocm, the port of this core element of Apple operating system does not include any user-interface features, and it does not run as a functional OS. In fact, the developer that went through all the hard work to make the N900 run this kernel has no plans to work on any UI support, only the core OS, “after all, that’s what’s truly important right?”

This does not mean that Apple is about to start licensing out its OS to other OEMs, but this does provide a proof of concept. Beyond the N900, Winocm has outlined other hardware that is capable of booting up this system.

What the future holds beyond this is unknown. The work has been open-sourced, and if this type of thing is your cup of tea, check out the source link to get in on the action.


sources: Winocm via Redmond Pie and 9to5Mac.com