OMG! Android Running On The iPhone (No, Seriously)

by Quentyn Kennemer on April 21st, 2010 at 9:38 pm

Today has just been unreal! Three new Dell Android phones leaked within a couple of hours of each other, and now we’re given a treat that we never thought we’d see: Android has been ported to the iPhone. I came across this link thanks to fabled Android ROM developer Cyanogen, who simply pasted the URL to the blog posting in a tweet on his Twitter account.

The catch is that this only works on 2G iPhones for now, but this is a huge break through in Android development! Everything isn’t smooth, and not everything works (some things will  need special drivers) but WiFi is confirmed to be working, and it seems functional enough to make this a notable achievement for the developer who managed to scrap this together. The developer has stated that a port to the 3G should be fairly easy, and while a 3GS port would require a bit more work, it should be doable as well.

androidperfection-google-android-theme-for-iphone

Rob has always told me “we need someone manning the ship even in the late hours. What if the iDroid with Android 3.0 gets announced?”. Turns out, he was right (partially, anyway) and I’m just stoked to see that this is even possible. What about you guys? Do you want to see continued development for Android’s iPhone 2G port? Would you try this out on your own old iPhone (he provides detailed instructions on his blog)?

  • Handler

    Nice!!

  • Ban

    awesome night.

  • BoogerEater

    Sorry brown, while this is interesting, I would:
    A. Never buy an Apple product
    B. Never pay for an iPhone just to put Android on it when there are other Android phones out already that are better than the iPhone.
    C. See A. and B.

  • BoogerEater

    Bro* pffffttt auto correction. :’(

  • Paris

    So now the iPhone does too!………too darn late haha but it would be cool if I could put that on my iPod touch

  • http://technogeni.us momo

    Eh, it’s a novelty thing. I mean, it’s cool but nothing groundbreaking. Now, I would like to see Steve Jobs reaction :)

  • Craig

    Hey, would this work for an iPod Touch?

  • XxICEMAN720xX

    Nicely done “fabled Android ROM developer Cyanogen”, I am currently using HTC Incredible- my previous phone was the iPhone 2G jailbroken/unlocked on the T-Mobile network. I would love to see your Android port on my iPhone 2G. Do you have plans to write an instruction manual or guide for us novices?

    Cheers mate,

    ~Iceman

  • bill

    Head.Will.Explode………….

  • Anon

    Simply Awesome! I’d ‘almost’ be willing to pick up an old 2G off eBay or CraigsList just to do this. LMAO. Perhaps the best thing about it would be that Apple wouldn’t get the money spent either! Love it, just love it. Well Done! The dark side of this may be that I would be perceived as an AppLet myself by the casual observer. Keep up the great effort!

  • Chris

    maybe on iPhone 4 and not on AT&T…otherwise no thanks.

  • brian1972

    finally a real purpose for the Iphone has been found

  • Dexter fichuk

    How about a port to the touch 2g because they are cheap and I would like to use mine as a android device

  • http://www.aseaofdeals.com Shawn

    is it just me or does the iphone/android combination look ugly?

  • Bill_J

    Is this another April Fools joke?

  • scott4fire

    So you can have freedom of choice on your iPhone… just get rid of Apple’s operating system!

  • polarbear42

    Just in from Steve Jobs, new update to IPhone OS. If it detects another os it will explode :-).

    Not a reason for buying an iphone, but good to know if you can get one for free.

  • StevO

    Porting anything is a very hard task. This is absolutely great news. If I had an iphone I would be porting it now. I would donate but I dont have an Iphone.

  • mihaelb

    I’m mixed on this…on one hand, Jobs would go nuts with all the ‘porn’ that will be available on his priestly product…on the other hand, I would never support Apple by buying any of their products again.

  • 2FR35H

    This is groundbreaking but what VERSION of android is it?

  • SnOOK

    Android+Iphone= Ugly

    Its like seeing a Ohio State fan and a Michigan fan kissing… it just doesnt look right…

  • Mvumo

    NICE!!,

    I would definitely try it on my 3GS

  • Jose G.

    I’d be very interested in this for an iPod Touch. Wouldn’t it be cool to have an iPhone with the Android OS in it as just a media entertainment device? Besides, I think this is the ultimate in Apple defense, thanks to the inspiration of Star Trek. Assimilation of the iPhone. “Resistance is futile.”

  • http://moonlight42.com Moonlight42

    We are involved in the mobile development industry and develop apps for android, blackberry and iPhone. Please look at the following link: http://bit.ly/bYAUCp

  • Mental

    @2FR35H

    It is Android 1.6

  • Marcos

    I’m really curious about the button layout. iPhone does not have enough physical buttons… does anyone know how they’re mapped?

  • Biffy

    F***king awesome! I’ll be trying this on one of the iPhones I have lying around as soon as I get home!

  • nexxus

    Wow I forgot how ugly iPhones are :/

  • http://hottesttechupdates.blogspot.com Hottest Tech Updates

    I like the iphone hardware. i just like the android os better. so huge plus for me. If they can get it smooth as Iphone os that be great. although a big part is because of multitask. iphone 4g with froyo would be nice ^^

  • http://www.mobilematt.net Matthew Chapman

    Been using Android on my Verizon TouchPro 2 for quite some time now and I’m in line to get the Incredible next week. Sorry Fanboys, your a little to late in the game for me to be impressed….

  • Ben

    interesting here is a snippet from
    http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=30761

    AT&T’s first-quarter integrated-device growth included 2.7 million iPhone activations, with more than one-third of the activations for customers who were new to AT&T ( worldwide of course IPhone leads with 8.8 million sales)

    now assuming 60K activations per day for android phones in Q1 as reported by google, that comes to about 5.4 million, and I am pretty sure that more than 50 percent of this comes from US(just an educated guess), so I think android phones are already outselling Iphones in Q1 in US atleast(50 percent of 5.4 million comes to 2.7), android is unstoppable, go android.

  • Cpt. K

    “Using an iPhone 3GS to record this because I’m not exactly made of money”

    He’s only the owner of one of the most expensive phones on the market and has his older version to hack around on instead of selling it.

    I wouldn’t exactly say he’s skint

  • DannyB

    While the hack is very cool, I don’t see any practical reason to do this. It would be like buying a Mac in order to run Linux on it. Cheaper hardware can be had for that purpose.

  • Gunner

    Would love to borrow one of my friends iphones and hand it back to them w/Android running…”Here, I fixed this for you.”

  • hazydave

    I wouldn’t attend an Apple event without one. The angrier this makes Steve Jobs, the more popular it will become.

  • RoyalWitCheese

    “While the hack is very cool, I don’t see any practical reason to do this. It would be like buying a Mac in order to run Linux on it. Cheaper hardware can be had for that purpose.”

    Or buying a Mac to run Windows on it …

  • http://esm.logic.net/ Ed Marshall

    There’s a very practical reason for this: if you already own, say, a 3G (like myself), especially if you’ve been experiencing significant buyer’s remorse at supporting Apple and AT&T since originally signing the contract (in the wake of Apple’s most recent anticompetitive behavior).

    Android and T-Mobile, here I come, without needing to replace the phone I already have. :)

  • Isthmus

    I bet this developer gets a nasty cease and desist letter from apple trying to scare him into submission (much like they did with Cyanogen). Cute trick, but unless you have an old Iphone laying around to do it on, I see no practical reason for porting Android into it.

  • Abrown

    Um, yeah, not really making me want an iPhone at all. I get the desire to do stuff that hasn’t been done. But this just sounds like WAY too much work for what its worth.

  • Mark

    This is quite cool! Gonna try it on my iPod Touch 1G, although its missing the volume buttons that he said where home and hangup? But well, lets see what happens!

  • rolandroid6917

    i like the new idroid phone does it have flash

  • IllYo

    would be fun to go around porting android on all the iphone display models in stores. but porting android to an iphone is like polishing a turd in my opinion… you can port android on it but its still just a turd that now runs android.

  • Grandmaster Ethel

    “I don’t see any practical reason to do this. It would be like buying a Mac in order to run Linux on it.”

    Sounds like my situation…
    I don’t like Steve Jobs, and I don’t like Apple’s marketing strategy, but there’s no denying that the build quality on the macbook pro is unparalleled by anything else in the same form factor, and like it or not, they just don’t break. The iphone 2G is the same imo, although they scrimped a little for the 3G and the 3GS.

  • Kelton

    What can android do with 2 buttons and no navigation?

  • Gen. Lee

    And now Mr.JOBS can enjoy the PORN with iPhone.

  • http://peebleslab.com Andrew

    This isn’t a “treat” it totally sucks. Now iPhone users are gonna get flash as soon as we do.

  • http://peebleslab.com Andrew

    And they can play all of our games and use our apps but we can’t use any of theirs? How is this good in any way?

  • http://www.clanhood.com Nikademus

    @andrew ,bah, it looks like Android 1.5 and only works so far on the 2g iPhone(apps need SD card to work properly, see Droid Incredible, so android may never run properly). this is awesome just for the sheer novelty sake and so i can do this and then finally run into Steve Jobs and ask him why his phone is not working properly, then watch his head explode when he sees android on his beloved pile of silicon.

  • HD

    Why would you want to put a good OS like Android in such limited slow device?
    Even the 3GS is only a little better than the G1 which while awesome was slow as molasses. I bet the 3GS can’t handle 2.2. Also, I hate the one-button-is-enough Apple philosophy. A proper mouse has two buttons and a wheel, and a proper phone has at least 3 buttons and a pointing device (trackball).

    So you can keep the Android iPhone.



Phandroid Newsletter

Get weekly news recaps, access to exclusive contests and giveaways, invites to beta applications, promotions/coupons and more!

We respect your privacy. We'll never share your Email address and you can always unsubscribe.