Apple Watch is one of the most personal devices Apple has ever produced that is not only capable of showing notifications but can also read health data such as heart beat, exercise and more. Even though it is small in size, it packs a powerful processor, RAM and internal storage that can beat any high end computer of the past. The device is so powerful that some hacker decided to install and run Windows 95 on it, and succeeded.
Developer Nick Lee has taken the arduous task of putting an ancient desktop operating system on a brand new smartwatch, with some rather interesting results. The first thing you’ll notice, as noted by The Verge‘s new gadget-focused site, Circuit Breaker, is that it takes an hour to boot up completely. The overall result is that Windows 95 on an Apple Watch is slow, but that it’s actually pretty functional.
Lee points out on his own blog that technically speaking, the Apple Watch is a more powerful machine than what the original computers were outfitted with back when Windows 95 was a new operating system, so it does make sense that the Watch can run the software.
Not that that means Windows 95 should be anywhere near the Apple Watch, of course, as Apple would probably be more than happy to let anyone know. So, to make it happen, Lee tells the publication that he had to modify Apple’s development software in “rather unorthodox ways.” Doing that basically made Windows 95 a Watch app, which also doubles as an emulator for an environment for the operating system to function.
There’s an extra step that was necessary, due to the fact that the Apple Watch’s display wants to shut down when it isn’t in use. So Lee had to put to use a motorized tube that constantly rotates the Apple Watch’s crown.
If you have spare time and want to give this project a try, then go to Lee’s blog post where he has outlines steps that he followed to achieve this feat in addition to a github link with all the resources.