Video of 20-Year-Old Mac Operating System Running on an Apple Watch - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Video of 20-Year-Old Mac Operating System Running on an Apple Watch

by

As an entire computer that fits on our wrists, the Apple Watch already seems like something out of a science fiction novel, but a new video from software developer Nick Lee demonstrates just how far computing has come in the last two decades.

Lee's hacked an Apple Watch running watchOS 2 to run a port of a 20-year-old Macintosh OS, System 7.5.5, using the Mini vMac Macintosh emulator.


When System 7.5.5 was released in 1996, it required a full PowerPC-based Mac to run, and in their smallest incarnation, those machines were clunky, heavy, and pretty far from the portable devices that we have now. Today, that same operating system can run on a tiny 38mm to 42mm wrist-worn computer.

Top Rated Comments

Menopause Avatar
Menopause
145 months ago
Am I a bad person to find this to be a pointless waste of time? Just my humble opinion.. why do people do this? Run haggy old OS on new devices and announce it? Yes, software is much more efficient today and hardware is minimalistic compared to 20 years back. Also, bears crap in the woods. So? Please feel free to join in and bash my existence if you disagree.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
AngerDanger
145 months ago
@Menopause, I'm a worse person for only being able to focus on the bloody portrait video!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
Dayv
145 months ago
Am I a bad person to find this to be a pointless waste of time? Just my humble opinion.. why do people do this? Run haggy old OS on new devices and announce it? Yes, software is much more efficient today and hardware is minimalistic compared to 20 years back. Also, bears crap in the woods. So? Please feel free to join in and bash my existence if you disagree.
Your existence is terrible.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ingot Avatar
Ingot
145 months ago
As an entire computer that fits on our wrists, the Apple Watch already seems like something out of a science fiction novel, but a new video from software developer Nick Lee ('https://twitter.com/nickplee') demonstrates just how far computing has come in the last two decades.

Lee's hacked an Apple Watch running watchOS 2 to run a port of a 20-year-old Macintosh OS, System 7.5.5, using the Mini vMac Macintosh emulator ('http://www.gryphel.com/c/minivmac/').



When System 7.5.5 was released in 1996, it required a full PowerPC-based Mac to run, and in their smallest incarnation, those machines were clunky, heavy, and pretty far from the portable devices that we have now. Today, that same operating system can run on a tiny 38mm to 42mm wrist-worn computer.

Article Link: Video of 20-Year-Old Mac Operating System Running on an Apple Watch ('https://www.macrumors.com/2015/06/22/apple-watch-runs-20-year-old-mac-os/')
Just to add to the pointless discussion, why do this? Because we can. The cool factor in my mind is through the roof. In a few years snow leopard will run on the watch.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Slix Avatar
Slix
145 months ago
While incredibly useless in practice, the idea of it is very cool. We've come a far way! :D
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Analog Kid Avatar
Analog Kid
145 months ago
Kudos on proper use of portrait video! Perfect for mobile viewing, ideally suited to the Watch's own portrait display, and elegantly showcasing the chosen strap style.
The chosen strap style remains the same from beginning to end. If something doesn't change, there is no reason to use video to capture it.

Capturing the strap wasted half of the available horizontal field of view even in portrait, and then wastes about 75% of the landscape viewing area on my display when played back.

Portrait video: always wrong
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

Apple 2026 Back to School Graphic

Apple's 2026 Back to School Offer Just Went Live in Select Countries

Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:48 am PDT by
Apple's annual Back to School promotion is now live in select countries in Asia, including China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The offer provides college students and educational staff with a free item with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad model. The exact offer varies by country, with options including a pack of four AirTags, AirPods 4,...
Read Full Article • 19 comments
iphone 17 cyber

Apple Closes Unlocked iPhone Loophole for T-Mobile and Verizon Financing

Wednesday July 15, 2026 3:20 pm PDT by
Carrier-financed iPhones purchased from Apple will soon be locked to the carrier, ending a workaround customers used to purchase an unlocked iPhone on a payment plan. Until the rule change, buying an iPhone from Apple and opting for financing through Verizon or T-Mobile meant you would get an iPhone not locked to either carrier's network. That's no longer the case, and now iPhones financed...
Read Full Article • 137 comments
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 12 New Features

Friday July 17, 2026 10:39 am PDT by
It is now mid-July, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are now just two months away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, ...
Read Full Article • 25 comments