In theory, macOS was designed to work exclusively with Macs. However, there are many ways to install Apple’s operating system on other computers, a process that has become known as Hackintosh. But one user did something rather unusual recently by installing macOS Catalina on a Steam Deck gaming console.
Running macOS on a game console
The story shared on Reddit (via The Verge) shows a photo of a Steam Deck running macOS Catalina 10.15.3. In the comments section, the user identified as “Lampa183” explains that the process was only possible through VirtualBox, which is software for running virtual machines.
Steam Deck runs a SteamOS, which is based on Linux. This makes it easy for developers to modify the system to run any apps they want, not just those offered by Steam.
Unfortunately, there’s no video showing how well macOS runs on the device, but the user says that the “performance is normal,” although some animations are laggy – probably because macOS has no graphics acceleration when running on virtual machines. Still, it’s quite interesting to see Apple’s desktop operating system installed on a portable device like the Steam Deck.
At the same time, macOS doesn’t seem the ideal operating system for a game console since there aren’t many popular games available for it. And ironically, while you can run macOS anywhere these days, Apple still insists on not bringing it to the iPad. At least it’s now proven that Steam Deck can have better app management in windows than iPad with Stage Manager.
More about Steam Deck
For those unfamiliar, Steam Deck is a portable gaming console created by Steam that lets users play a variety of games, including “AAA” titles, on the go. It is powered by an AMD CPU and GPU with 16GB of RAM and an internal SSD with up to 512GB of storage. Steam Deck is designed with a gamepad built into the sides of the 7-inch screen that makes it ideal for gaming.
Prices for the Steam Deck start at $399 and range up to $649 depending on the storage configuration. More details about the console can be found on Steam’s official website.
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