Developer assembles 3D-printed handheld that runs on macOS Big Sur

It’s not the first Hackintosh to run macOS on a device that wasn’t intended for that at all, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. A developer has created a 3D-printed handheld that runs on macOS Big Sur, the latest version of the operating system.

The handheld was created by youtuber iketsj, who immediately says in the video description: “I know you can run macOS on UMPCs, but have you seen it on a DIY handheld?” He thinks this is the first macOS handheld.

The handheld PC is powered by a LattePanda Alpha single-board computer with an Intel Core m3-8100Y processor and 8GB of RAM. The handheld has a 240GB SSD on which he installed macOS with Dortania OpenCore, a WiFi card, an LCD and a modified battery so that it fits in the 3D-printed case.

The handheld also comes with a physical keyboard, a touchpad, an LED and two fans. These are connected to a homemade printed circuit board. He also designed a case and various mounting plates that he printed in pla+, which can withstand heat slightly better than regular pla.

For those who are critical that macOS wouldn’t be practical for a handheld, iketsj also has an answer: “Yeah, you’re right. I just wanted to make one for myself and basically just use it as a Mac mini.” He is aware that for that price he might as well have bought a real Mac mini M1. “But what’s nice about that?”