Amateur developers have launched iOS 16 on Android smartphones Redmi Note 12 and Nothing 3a. A video with Redmi Note 12, published on October 18, 2026, garnered over 2 million views on X. The open-source ios-sweet project uses Apple's XNU kernel and unmodified iOS 16.7.16 files on a Redmi Note 10 Pro smartphone with a Snapdragon 732G chip. Developers call it an "experimental build, not a usable mobile OS." The lock screen, home screen, Control Center, and Settings are achieved, touches and buttons work. However, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile data, audio, and camera do not work, the app exit gesture does not function, and without a graphics driver, the processor renders the screen at 20–30 frames per second.
The OOSexGang group claims that its HackiOS runs iOS 16.5 on Poco X5 Pro with custom UEFI and XNU kernel. The researcher notes: there is no public source code and independent verification. In the video, Safari downloads an APK from APKMirror and cannot open it – iOS has always behaved this way with Android apps.
Previously, Android was run on iPhone: iDroid did it in April 2010, and Corellium with Project Sandcastle repeated the feat on an iPhone with an A10 chip. The reverse direction had long been elusive – until now. Interest in running "where it doesn't belong" is fueled by AI and rapid code delivery: recently, Calif io hacked an iPhone 18 Pro on stage at Hexacon in Paris, and root persisted after reboot. The REA (Reverse Engineer Anything) tool allows AI assistants to dissect software – even demonstrating GTA V on iOS.
The practical ceiling for Redmi Note 10 Pro is the iOS home screen. The first boot takes 4–5 minutes on the Apple logo. Installation wipes Android data and leaves security mechanisms mostly disabled; developers advise not to store anything personal on the device.
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