What is this?
macPad lets you run full macOS GUI applications on a jailbroken iPad or iPhone, turning the touchscreen into a trackpad and multitouch input for macOS windows.
macPad lets you run full macOS GUI applications on a jailbroken iPad or iPhone, turning the touchscreen into a trackpad and multitouch input for macOS windows.Is this a virtual machine like VirtualBuddy?No, macPad runs macOS natively via chroot using the iPad's own CPU and GPU drivers, instead of a hardware hypervisor with GPU translation. It is closer to a native boot environment than a VM.
No, macPad runs macOS natively via chroot using the iPad's own CPU and GPU drivers, instead of a hardware hypervisor with GPU translation. It is closer to a native boot environment than a VM.How do I get macOS running on my iPad with this?First prepare a macOS rootfs installation, then build macPad on a Mac, and finally run the built macPad binary on your jailbroken iPad or iPhone.
First prepare a macOS rootfs installation, then build macPad on a Mac, and finally run the built macPad binary on your jailbroken iPad or iPhone.Does my iPad need to be jailbroken first?Yes, you need a jailbroken iPad or iPhone (the author used the Dopamine jailbreak) plus a prepared macOS rootfs, and you need a Mac available to compile the macPad binary.
Yes, you need a jailbroken iPad or iPhone (the author used the Dopamine jailbreak) plus a prepared macOS rootfs, and you need a Mac available to compile the macPad binary.Will this work on any jailbroken iPad?It has only been tested on an iPad Pro M1 11-inch on iPadOS 16.3 with the Dopamine jailbreak and macOS 13.4; many parts of the code are hardcoded for that specific device and OS version, though it should theoretically extend to other M-series and A18 jailbroken devices.
It has only been tested on an iPad Pro M1 11-inch on iPadOS 16.3 with the Dopamine jailbreak and macOS 13.4; many parts of the code are hardcoded for that specific device and OS version, though it should theoretically extend to other M-series and A18 jailbroken devices.Which chips does it support?It targets Apple Silicon M-series iPads and A18-chip iPhones/iPads that can be jailbroken, since it relies on native Apple CPU and GPU drivers rather than emulation.
It targets Apple Silicon M-series iPads and A18-chip iPhones/iPads that can be jailbroken, since it relies on native Apple CPU and GPU drivers rather than emulation.Does it run macOS as its own window or fullscreen only?Both: macPad has a Window Mode that shows macOS apps as resizable or auto-sized iOS-style windows, and a Fullscreen Mode that runs the macOS desktop across the whole screen.
Both: macPad has a Window Mode that shows macOS apps as resizable or auto-sized iOS-style windows, and a Fullscreen Mode that runs the macOS desktop across the whole screen.What touch gestures does macPad support?It maps multitouch to Mac input: hold-to-scroll for right click, drag to move/resize windows or select text, two-finger pinch to zoom/rotate, two-finger tap for right click, and three-finger swipes for Mission Control and desktop switching.
It maps multitouch to Mac input: hold-to-scroll for right click, drag to move/resize windows or select text, two-finger pinch to zoom/rotate, two-finger tap for right click, and three-finger swipes for Mission Control and desktop switching.How good is the performance compared to a VM solution?Because it uses native CPU/GPU drivers instead of a hypervisor, the author reports near-native Geekbench 6 scores on an iPad Pro M1: 2293 single-core/8156 multi-core CPU, and 32359 GPU.
Because it uses native CPU/GPU drivers instead of a hypervisor, the author reports near-native Geekbench 6 scores on an iPad Pro M1: 2293 single-core/8156 multi-core CPU, and 32359 GPU.Can I share files and clipboard between iOS and the macOS session?Yes, macPad supports sharing files and clipboard content between iOS and the running macOS instance, including dragging files over with a two-finger hold-and-drag gesture.
Yes, macPad supports sharing files and clipboard content between iOS and the running macOS instance, including dragging files over with a two-finger hold-and-drag gesture.What are similar projects?AirCard, Wind-Waker-Recomp, d2r-mobile, opendisplay, backburner, AirCard-macOS, TrollStore, ANE
AirCard, Wind-Waker-Recomp, d2r-mobile, opendisplay, backburner, AirCard-macOS, TrollStore, ANEWhich topics is it in?ipad, iphone, touch, cpu, jailbreak, objective-c, virtualization, hacking, apple, macos-app, hardware, reverse-engineering
ipad, iphone, touch, cpu, jailbreak, objective-c, virtualization, hacking, apple, macos-app, hardware, reverse-engineering