Nine years after the launch of the first iPhone, Android OS on iPhones has finally become a reality, thanks to the cybersecurity startup Corellium.
After years in development, a group of developers today rolled out the first beta of “Project Sandcastle.” The project enables users to run Android on the Apple iPhone 7, 7 Plus, and iPod Touch, via the Chekra1n jailbreak.
While it could be called feat of the year, there are a few things iPhone users should know.
First, the full Android experience is yet to be achieved, given it’s only the first build. Camera, audio output, Bluetooth, GPU, Cellular modem are the only things known not to be working with Project Sandcastle. There are probably more issues and glitches that could show up every now and then.
If this isn’t bad enough, the system storage is just read-only as of now, and you cannot install Google Play Store apps on the iPhone.
Despite the issues, and the fact that developers customized the build with Open Launcher and it’s not precisely stock Android, it is a phenomenal feat and a big win for tech enthusiasts.
This isn’t the first time the team has managed to run Android on the iPhone. David Wang, one of the founders of Corellium, installed Android on the first generation iPhone, ten years back.
Apple, on the other hand, isn’t too excited about the fact that one should run Android on iPhones.
To build Project Sandcastle, the developers used their own iPhone virtualization platform over which Apple sued Corellium last year. According to Apple, creating software versions of the iPhone is a copyright breach.
Meanwhile, Corellium stands firm on its belief that Apple users should be able to do whatever they want with their hardware.
“Apple’s dominance allows it to decide everything from what apps will be allowed in the market to the commission it charges from developers. Corellium’s solution to run Android on iPhone will finally provide customers with a viable alternative to Apple’s App Store and iOS.” Corellium CEO Amanda Gorton told Forbes.
