macOS Sequoia can run on Valve's Steam Deck with hacks

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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in macOS

A Hackintosh enthusiast has managed to get a version of macOS Sequoia running on Valve's Steam Deck handheld gaming device in an exercise they admit is "pointless."

A previous attempt got macOS Catalina partially running on a Steam Deck. Credit: Lampa183
A previous attempt got macOS Catalina partially running on a Steam Deck. Credit: Lampa183



The modder notes that they, with help from others, "figured out a way to make [macOS versions] newer than Catalina boot" on the Steam Deck handheld gaming device, creating what might be called a "Deckintosh." The Steam Deck normally runs its own SteamOS 3, a Linux distribution that supports Windows games and apps using a Proton compatibility layer.

This is not the first time a version of macOS has been ported to the handheld gaming device. Using SteamOS VirtualBox, a Reddit user was able to get macOS Catalina booted but not fully running about two years ago.

The current modification lacks GPU acceleration, and doesn't take full advantage of the Steam Deck screen real estate, but runs as a proof of concept. An updated tweet subsequently showed an image of macOS fully running on the Steam Deck.



The big stumbling block of supporting the Steam Deck's GPU acceleration could be overcome in due course, allowing the operating system to run at a usable speed. There is the possibility of using NootRX -- an unsupported AMD RDNA2 dedicated GPU kext -- to allow RDNA2 support, which is already included in macOS, according to Tom's Hardware.

If the modding efforts are successful and getting macOS to run with GPU support on the Steam Deck, it would provide a very price-friendly way to explore Apple's premier operating system without having to invest in a Mac first. Beyond a proof of concept, however, Apple would likely attempt to stop widespread distribution.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,158member
    Now if only Apple dropped a bag of cash at Valve to bring that ARM Proton port to macOS natively, so that Steam games "Just Work" on macOS...That's the dream. 
    elijahglam92103apple4thewinwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 6
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,731member
    > creating what might be called a "Deckintosh."

    Streamintosh? MacStream? DeckMac? MacDeck? Streammac? Toshstream? Toshdeck?
  • Reply 3 of 6
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,487moderator
    tipoo said:
    Now if only Apple dropped a bag of cash at Valve to bring that ARM Proton port to macOS natively, so that Steam games "Just Work" on macOS...That's the dream. 
    This is currently available to an extent due to Apple's Game Porting Toolkit, which uses Wine like Proton and has a DirectX to Metal translation layer.

    Valve's Proton has a DirectX to Vulkan translation layer (DXVK), which would need MoltenVK to convert to Metal as Mac doesn't support Vulkan directly.

    Crossover and Whisky integrate Apple's D3DMetal translation to run Windows games like Proton. It supports a lot of games, there are over 500 games tested on the following channel:

    https://www.youtube.com/@macprotips/videos

    It supports higher-end recent games like Horizon Forbidden West:



    The only problem with this setup is you have to install Steam inside the compatibility layers, then install the games inside this, sometimes with patches. It's not very user-friendly.

    If it was possible to use either the App Store or native Mac Steam and install a pre-wrapped version of each game that is already setup and tuned, that would be much easier and a license per install could be paid to the company that provides the wrapper if it's from a 3rd party.
    edited October 6 muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 6
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,158member
    Marvin said:
    The only problem with this setup is you have to install Steam inside the compatibility layers, then install the games inside this, sometimes with patches. It's not very user-friendly.

    If it was possible to use either the App Store or native Mac Steam and install a pre-wrapped version of each game that is already setup and tuned, that would be much easier and a license per install could be paid to the company that provides the wrapper if it's from a 3rd party.

    Exactly what I mean though. You can make it work, but each game takes some doing, and can be prone to breaking. 

    I wish Apple and Valve would get together and live up to It Just Works 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 6
    VisualEhrmanntrautVisualEhrmanntraut Posts: 2member
    The post on X was intentionally written in a manner of speech that is misleading for engagement bait.
    What was done on that Steam Deck is what has been always possible on any x86 PC, as long as they have a correctly-configured EFI that is. In fact, my Hackintosh community, ChefKiss, did this same exact thing in 2023. I replied to that post a few days ago but the author of the post on X blocked me, because of course they would: https://x.com/HeWhomCodes/status/1842155793501532255.

    The actual issue that the person was experiencing was likely the standard USB issue that is also present on several AMD laptops, for which the fix is documented on our website. For context, I am the developer of several kexts including NootedRed, which adds support for AMD Vega iGPUs on macOS, NootRX, which adds support for Navi 22 dGPUs (and Navi 24 in the future) and I am also developing a modern iPhone emulator. For some reason me and my community's achievements are being thrown under the rug. I have attached screenshots as proof.


    The real first person who's gotten their Steam Deck running macOS is Fusion360, and it was no thanks to the people mentioned in that X post or the poster. And it was one year ago.
    edited October 7 watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 6
    VisualEhrmanntrautVisualEhrmanntraut Posts: 2member
    running a macOS version newer than Catalina* is what I meant to say. I was sleep deprived while writing the comment.
    watto_cobra
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