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Public progress / Reviewed September 19, 2026

What works. What remains.

Current Status: Partial firmware, client-build and utility-test results. Every product acceptance flag below remains false. Test counts describe specific checks; they are not a percentage of product completion.

Target State: Working macOS 27, functional Metal graphics and a complete Installation Utility on qualified real Intel Macs. Each deliverable requires its own execution evidence.

Current execution boundary

Early firmware only. Product acceptance remains unverified.

The latest real-media boot stops during firmware initialization. Metal clients cross-build; utility planning and read-only inspection run in an internal OVMF research profile. No verified macOS 27 installation, working Metal driver or qualified real Intel Mac is available.

Six milestones, with separate gates

The firmware, graphics and utility tracks can advance independently. Completing a test or generating an ISO does not complete any other milestone.

01Firmware stage only

Reach early firmware

Real macOS 27 media reaches an early firmware stage, then stops during initialization. The current real-media result is firmware-stage execution only.

Observed: Early firmware execution has been observed. This does not establish macOS kernel or userspace startup.

Next: Resolve the initialization failure and demonstrate a repeatable transition to the target macOS kernel.

Acceptance: macOS boot remains unverified.

02Unverified

Start macOS and reach a desktop

No verified macOS 27 kernel-to-userspace boot, installed-system reboot or interactive desktop on a real Intel Mac is available.

Observed: Earlier experiments and authored tests cover individual components. They do not satisfy the current macOS 27 acceptance target.

Next: Verify the target OS version, kernel and userspace in one boot, followed by installation, reboot and visible interaction on identified real hardware.

Acceptance: Boot and physical desktop acceptance are false.

03Client builds only

Run Metal work in the guest

Metal test clients cross-build successfully. Those clients are prerequisites for testing; they are not a working graphics driver.

Observed: Client builds and contract checks exist. A guest-visible Metal provider connected to a functioning driver has not been demonstrated.

Next: Create an actual guest Metal device and command queue, submit work, observe completion and verify rendered or computed results.

Acceptance: Metal acceptance is false. No performance target is required.

04Internal OVMF tests

Inspect a disk and review a plan

The internal utility exercises explicit target selection, planning and read-only GPT inspection under OVMF with 512-byte and 4096-byte sectors.

Observed: Read-only firmware checks and 36 EFI core tests cover this increment. Planning review, cancellation and inspection do not install anything.

Next: Connect the reviewed plan to independently verified firmware operations while preserving exact target identity and unrelated disks.

Acceptance: The public default release-policy preview is non-installing. Internal research results do not qualify its use on hardware.

05Disposable-image tests

Apply and verify an installation

37 host tests pass for disposable disk-image creation and transaction handling. They exercise host tools, not physical disk installation from EFI.

Observed: Disposable-image tests cover bounded writes, verification and transaction recovery checks. EFI runtime apply and installed-system recovery remain unfinished.

Next: Implement exact-target confirmation, firmware writes, readback, interruption handling and applicable boot-entry setup; qualify Recovery and DFU separately where the hardware supports them.

Acceptance: Installation, Recovery and DFU acceptance are false.

06Unverified

Qualify real Intel Mac hardware

No real Intel Mac has completed product qualification. There is no supported model list for this preview.

Observed: The exact downloadable preview ISO entered the default release-policy utility under QEMU/OVMF and refused the virtual machine without disk or NVRAM writes. A VM refusal test does not establish reliable real-Mac authentication.

Next: Validate admission and each claimed operation on identified real Intel Macs, including negative controls, installation, reboot and usable output.

Acceptance: Real-hardware qualification is false. Model strings alone are not proof of Apple hardware.

Acceptance status

  • macOS boot: false. Target-matching kernel and userspace execution are not verified for the current macOS 27 path.
  • Physical desktop: false. No verified installed-system reboot and interactive desktop on a real Intel Mac.
  • Metal: false. No demonstrated working guest driver with device creation, submitted work and correct observable results.
  • Installation: false. The utility does not perform a qualified physical installation.
  • Recovery: false. Hardware-specific preparation and recovery are not qualified.
  • DFU: false. Native DFU is hardware-dependent; ordinary Intel EFI Recovery is not Apple-silicon DFU.
  • Real-hardware qualification: false. No Intel Mac model has completed qualification.

September 19 update

The utility now has a reviewed target-planning flow and read-only GPT inspection tested in OVMF with both 512-byte and 4096-byte sectors. Its 36 EFI core tests are separate from the 37 host tests for disposable-image writing and transaction handling. These results establish bounded engineering behavior, not EFI disk installation or a supported computer.

Metal test clients cross-build successfully. The outstanding work is the actual guest driver connection and observable execution. The latest real-media boot remains at an early firmware initialization failure; no new macOS boot success is claimed.

The engineering preview packages the default release-policy utility as an ISO and EFI ZIP with notices. The internal OVMF research profile is distinct. Release builds refuse unsupported or unqualified platforms, and no real Intel Mac has yet been qualified.

How to read these results

Observed describes a completed check or execution. Next describes unfinished work. Acceptance states whether the product behavior has been demonstrated. Public summaries deliberately omit raw research traces and internal implementation details; they remain readable without private links.

Machine-readable public status · Preview files and limitations · Hardware qualification