Malcolm Owen

Mon Nov 24 2025, 02:57 PM EST · 1 minute read

Hackintosh is living on borrowed time with macOS Tahoe

Hackintosh users are successfully running macOS 26 Tahoe on their devices, in a battle that's taking place as Intel Mac support enters its final year. 

Apple declared during WWDC 2025 that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the last macOSversion to include support for Intel Macs. While the end of that support obviously affects Mac users, it also impacts users of Hackintoshes. 

With it being the last generation of macOS to work with Intel Macs, this means that macOS Tahoe will be the last that can be made to work on non-Apple hardware. Since a Hackintosh is a computer that isn't a Mac but still runs macOS, and are chiefly x86-based, that will effectively end the ability to update to macOS 27 or later versions. 

Despite this dire outlook, users are still managing to get Hackintoshes running under macOS Tahoe.

The last dance

Following the WWDC introduction, users were able to install beta versions of macOS 26 Tahoe on their Hackintoshes. However, doing so required a fair bit of work.

After the release of macOS 26 Tahoe to the general public, those same Hackintosh users are still managing to get things working. 

In posts to the r/Hackintosh subreddit, users write about their success in installing macOS Tahoe on their hardware. Some are also doing so with point release versions of the operating system, showing they will also work. 

Not everything is completely functional though, as audio, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi issues are frequently brought up in comments. 

As for the process of getting it working, there are mentions of the Dortania OpenCore Guide, which now includes sections for macOS Tahoe prerequisites. There's also OpCore Simplify that helps to automate the process.

Some have also managed to get it working in a virtual machine, giving users who don't have the right hardware the opportunity to use the operating system. 

Evidently, Apple hasn't done much to lock out Hackintosh users, considering the loss of Intel Mac support just around the corner. 

For Hackintosh users, this is the last generation they can enjoy running macOS on their hardware. With macOS 27 supporting only Apple Silicon, that leaves little chance for anyone to create a workaround.