Hackintosh

A Hackintosh (ˈhækɪntɒʃ, a portmanteau of "Hack" and "Macintosh") is a computer that runs Apple's Macintosh operating system macOS on computer hardware not authorized for the purpose by Apple. This can also include running Macintosh software on hardware it is not originally authorized for. "Hackintoshing" began as a result of Apple's 2005 transition to Intel processors, away from PowerPC. Since 2005, many Mac computers have used the same x86-64 computer architecture as many other desktop PCs, laptops, and servers, meaning that in principle, the code making up macOS systems and software can be run on alternative platforms with minimal compatibility issues. Benefits cited for "Hackintoshing" can include cost (older, cheaper or commodity hardware), ease of repair and piecemeal upgrade, and freedom to use customized choices of components that are not available (or not available together) in the branded Apple products. macOS can also be run on several non-Apple virtualization platforms, although such systems are not usually described as Hackintoshes. Hackintosh laptops are sometimes referred to as "Hackbooks". Apple's software license for macOS only permits the software's use on computers that are "Apple-branded." However, because many still-supported Macintosh computers use Intel-based hardware, there are few limitations keeping the software from running on other types of Intel-based PCs. Notably, companies such as Psystar have attempted to release products using macOS on non-Apple machines, though many Hackintosh systems are designed solely by macOS enthusiasts of various hacking forums and communities. While commercial circumvention of the methods Apple uses to prevent macOS from being installed on non-Apple hardware is restricted in the United States under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), specific changes to the law regarding the concept of jailbreaking have placed circumvention methods like these into a legal grey area. In 2020, Apple began to move to ARM64-based Apple silicon processors.