Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

iPhone Not Running OS X

Posted by kdawson on from the but-but-steve-said-it-was dept.

rochlin writes "We know that Steve Jobs has said the iPhone won't accept third-party apps. The iPhone looks to be running on a Samsung provided ARM core processor. That means it's not running on an Intel (or PPC) core. That means it's not running OS X in any meaningful sense (Apple can brand toilet paper as running OS X if they like). Darwin, the BSD based operating system that underlies what Apple has previously been calling OS X, does not run on ARM processors. The Darwin / Apple Public Source licensing agreement says the source would have to be made available if it is modified and sold (paraphrased; read it yourself). A Cingular rep has said the iPhone version of the OS source will not be made available. It will be closed, like the iPod OS and not like Darwin. So if it ain't Darwin, it ain't OS X (in any meaningful way). An InfoWorld article on an FBR Research report breaks down iPhone component providers and lists Samsung as the chip maker for the main application / video cpu. So, that leaves the question... What OS is this phone really running? Not Linux or the source would need to be open."

7 of 476 comments (clear)

  1. Well, considering... by Bin_jammin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    it's a microkernel, why not just drop aqua onto whatever kernel they feel like? If it's not a gpl or other open licensed kernel, there's no requirement to publish code, and Apple still retains the right to call it OSX. Unless I am missing something, It's always been called OSX running on BSD, I'm assuming this means the look and feel of the GUI, the window manager, the kernel, and several other things are what make up an operating system. In the case of a kernel swap it might not be UNIX or BSD any longer, but won't it still be OSX?

  2. Re:Should be obvious it's not by nacturation · · Score: 4, Interesting

    First, if it was really OSX, why would they need Google's help to implement Google Maps? It's possible that the "Google helped with maps" line is more of a marketing move than any real technical requirement. It benefits Apple to say that Google backs their phone. It benefits Google to say that Apple chose them over any other map supplier. A good win/win even if it turns out to be a little white lie.
    --
    Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
  3. It's Mac OS X: MACH - I/O Kit engeneers wanted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just search for "iPhone" in jobs.apple.com:

    Bluetooth/Wifi SW Engineer - iPhone

    [...]
            MacOS X / IOKit driver development experience
            Mach IPC and/or Mach Server design experience
    [...]
            Solid understanding of embedded hardware platforms (ARM processors, SDIO, UARTs, etc

    (http://jobs.apple.com/index.ajs?BID=1&method=mExt ernal.showJob&RID=4241&CurrentPage=1)

  4. Stripped down OS X by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm friends with some of the people on the iPhone team. Before I knew about the iPhone, i constantly heard about radical ways to strip down OS X to make it run meaner and leaner and make sure it runs on "limited hardware". I assumed they were working on some sort of PVR or something, but clearly I was wrong. I'm fairly sure that lots of the code written is in CoreFoundation and they ARE using Mac OS X frameworks (stripped down to have only the functionality they need) - but the kernel may something completely new.

    1. Re:Stripped down OS X by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No, they're still using Darwin/MACH/I/O Kit.

      From http://jobs.apple.com/index.ajs?BID=1&method=mExt ernal.showJob&RID=4241&CurrentPage=1:

      Bluetooth/Wifi SW Engineer - iPhone
      [...]
      - MacOS X / IOKit driver development experience
      - Mach IPC and/or Mach Server design experience
      [...]
      - Solid understanding of embedded hardware platforms (ARM processors, SDIO, UARTs, etc)

  5. Re:Doesn't Apple hold the copyright? by rvw · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Even if they would have to release it, the iPhone is not out yet, so why would they release any code now? I bet they are still working on it.

  6. Re:I can exclusively reveal by galimore · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Agreed...

    The keynote very specifically listed:

    Syncing, Networking, Multi-tasking, Low power, Security, Video, Cocoa, Core Animation, Graphics, and Audio...

    Some of the above is very "duh", but having Cocoa, and Core Animation are two things that I would consider to be part of OS X... so even if the thing doesn't run the Darwin kernel, if it's compatible at the application layer I'd consider it OS X enough. ;)

    Seems like people are splitting hairs here...

    Maybe Apple is misleading us, maybe not... Hard to say with a closed platform.