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Comment by big_chungus | Hacker News Reader

How will hackintoshing work without kexts? I'm no expert but have built a few, and they make extensive use of them to make non-apple hardware work properly and to add functionality.

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If kexts are completely removed, they'll probably just move back towards custom kernels.

Was wondering the same thing. I'm guessing you'll always be able to install them as long as System Integrity Protection is disabled.

Kexts will be completely removed, as long term plan.

It goes into two steps.

1 - A new user space API for what was previously kernel API gets introduced

2 - There is one OS release where the kernel API gets deprecated

3 - The release thereafter removes the kernel API

Long term roadmap is to make macOS into a proper micro-kernel OS.

Do you have any official references for this roadmap? There are several comments on this page alone that try to debunk the 'road to microkernel' plan. If you don't have any reference, please edit your comment and insert 'I think' into proper places.

If you are relying on the ability to develop and load specific types of kext in macOS in future, I recommend getting in touch with Apple DTS. (Note that communications with DTS are unfortunately typically under NDA.)

The official references are a mix of actually watching the WWDC 2019 session videos, reading Apple documentation and forum discussions, and thinking what having a kernel where all drivers are only allowed in user space means in OS architecture.

I am not going to edit anything.

Hmm I just checked and I have far fewer 3rd party kexts than i thought.

8 hackintosh related kexts, out of which one is for the temperature sensors that i can live without.

What worries me is stuff like Paragon NTFS, intel haxm for Android emulation, osxfuse used by pCloud...

I checked my Hackintosh and I had like 32 kexts, although a few of them were immediately noticeable as unrelated to Hackintoshing. However, there does appear to be quite a number, so this is a bit worrisome of a development.

Hopefully people will find new ways to support macOS on PC hardware, since Apple doesn't really seem interested in the prosumer desktop market.

Oh, I do have more 3rd party kexts but they're not related to hackintoshing and most of them are for usb stuff; Apple seems to have provided a migration path for those.

I might need to get a new Creative Labs audio thingy because they're not known for updating drivers for old products...

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