Developer Skylar Taylor-Barrick has released an open-source project called gbos-vm, which enables the Googlebook OS to run on Apple Silicon Macs via a virtual machine. The project is available on GitHub and utilizes QEMU to load official recovery images originally intended for Dell Googlebook devices.
The software includes a graphics conversion mechanism that translates Android Vulkan calls to Apple Metal, allowing the virtualized system to utilize the Mac GPU for rendering. This enables the operation of the Chrome browser within the virtual environment. The project is not an official port and is not affiliated with Google or Dell.
System requirements for the virtual machine include an Apple Silicon Mac, at least 16GB of RAM, and 60GB of free storage. Users must also install Xcode command-line tools, Homebrew, Java, and the Android SDK. The installation script downloads a 9GB recovery image from Google servers to build the environment.
The current implementation has several limitations, including a 60Hz refresh rate cap and potential rendering issues with specific WebGL content. Audio stability, clipboard functionality, and Bluetooth pairing remain problematic. Furthermore, the virtual machine lacks hardware-based security features like TPM, making it unsuitable for daily use or sensitive tasks.
