iOS on an Android phone in 2026: launchers, emulators and real ports (HakiOS, ios-sweet, UniXNU)

For years the honest answer to "how do I run iOS on my Android phone?" was "you can't". In late 2026 that changed: open-source projects now boot Apple's real iOS on a handful of Android phones. But most things you'll find with this search are still launchers or scams. Here are the three kinds, side by side.

Three very different things called "iOS on Android"

| | What it is | Real iOS? | Risk | | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | | iOS launchers / themes | An Android app that copies the iPhone home screen, icons and control center | No, it's still Android | Low (ads, permissions) | | "iOS emulator" apps for Android | Apps claiming to run iOS apps on Android | No; there is no working iOS emulator on Android | High (malware, scams) | | Real ports: HakiOS, ios-sweet, UniXNU | Apple's XNU kernel built from source, new drivers, iOS user space on top | Yes, on specific phones | Medium (flashing, data loss) |

If iOS "appeared" on your phone after installing an app from Google Play, it's a launcher: the operating system underneath is still 100% Android.

The real ports

These projects build Apple's open-source XNU kernel, write drivers for the phone's hardware and run the system files from Apple's own firmware. Nothing is emulated and no Android runs underneath.

• HakiOS (HackiOS) — POCO X5 Pro 5G (Snapdragon 778G), iOS 16.5. GPU-drawn interface, Wi-Fi, sound and cameras work; Metal partly. Boots from RAM, so Android stays on the phone. Also runs in QEMU on a PC. Source: github.com/oosexgang — see our HackiOS GitHub guide.
• ios-sweet — Redmi Note 10 Pro (Snapdragon 732G), iOS 16.7.16. Boots to the home screen with touch, buttons and all 8 cores; the CPU draws everything. Installs into the user data partition.
• UniXNU — Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2), iPadOS 17. Boots through UEFI with Metal running on the Adreno GPU; home screen, Settings and touch work.
• Community ports — the first Google Pixel, Pixel 4, Pixel 6a, Redmi Note 12, POCO M8, LG V60 and a Galaxy S7 (Exynos), mostly built on ios-sweet.

Will it work on my phone?

Think in chip families, not models:

• Snapdragon: best chance; every official port so far is Qualcomm.
• MediaTek: mostly not, with rare community exceptions (an Infinix Hot 20 port exists).
• Exynos / Tensor: a few community experiments only.

Even on a supported chip, each phone model needs its own device configuration and drivers. There is no one-click installer for "any Android phone".

What you still can't do

• No phone calls on most ports, and cellular data is partial at best.
• No Apple ID, no App Store downloads, no iCloud: only the stock apps.
• iOS security features are switched off or stubbed. Don't put personal data on it.
• Bluetooth isn't working yet on HakiOS.

Try it without a phone

HakiOS runs in QEMU on a Linux PC. The README script downloads the iOS 16.5 firmware from Apple, builds the system image on your machine and opens iOS in a window, with the mouse acting as your finger. It is the safest way to see real iOS boot on non-Apple hardware.

Is it legal?

Apple's software license only allows iOS on Apple-branded hardware, so running it elsewhere may break that license. The projects don't distribute iOS for this reason: you generate it from Apple's own download. We're not lawyers; the rules differ by country. Flashing also carries the usual risk of bricking a phone.

FAQ

Can I run iOS on an Android phone? Only on a few specific phones, through research projects like HakiOS, ios-sweet and UniXNU. For everything else, "iOS on Android" means a launcher theme.

Is there an iOS emulator for Android? No working one. Apps that claim to emulate iOS on Android are fake or malware.

Which Android phone runs iOS best? Right now the POCO X5 Pro 5G with HakiOS (GPU, Wi-Fi, sound and cameras work) and the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro with UniXNU (Metal on the GPU).

Can I install iOS apps from the App Store? No. None of the ports support Apple ID or App Store downloads.

Is there a HackiOS APK? No. HakiOS only publishes source code; any APK is fake.

Related: Supported phones · Release status · HackiOS GitHub