Apple fans can now try a taste of the Android operating system by using a special iPhone case that would allow them to run Google's OS on their smartphones.
The technological feat was once again done by Tendigi CTO Nick Lee, who managed to get the Windows 95 OS run on an Apple Watch. This time, he was able to run the Android OS on an iPhone, which is kind of ironic considering that the iOS and Android platform had been rivals for several years.
Lee was able to build an app for the iOS platform that allowed it to communicate with the special case, 9 to 5 Mac has learned. The case connects to the smartphone via the Lightning port.
The reference object that Lee used for the Android platform was a Nexus 5. The processor used was a 64-bit ARM Cortex A53 octa-core chip.
As expected, the performance of the iPhone running the Android platform was not much. However, the fact that it was able to run the OS at all is an impressive feat in itself.
Lee's iPhone case includes a small Android development board and a power supply, Engadget reported. The case housing itself was made using a 3D printer which he purchased just to move on with the project.
What essentially happens is that the case becomes the phone itself and the iPhone is just the display. All of the software activities happening inside the case is streamed to the iPhone's screen.
The concept was also made possible thanks to the open-sourced nature of the Android operating system. Lee explains in his blog post that the Android Open Source Project is a killer feature.
"The AOSP is the foundation of all device-specific flavors of Android shipped on phones from manufacturers like Motorola, HTC, LG, etc. For a platform of its scale, it's surprisingly easy to clone it out and build it on your local machine," said Lee.
There are no disclosed plans yet if Tendigi will be selling the Android iPhone cases. Lee's feat is impressive and he might not stop there. Fans are waiting for his next crazy project of making things run on other things.