The instantiation of Apple’s mobile operating system within a virtualized environment, typically facilitated by VMware products, allows for running the platform on hardware not natively designed for it. A practical application might involve developers testing applications destined for iPhones or iPads without needing physical devices for each iteration.
This approach provides several advantages, including resource consolidation, enhanced security through isolation, and cost savings by reducing the need for multiple physical devices. Historically, this type of implementation has been pursued for development, testing, and security research, circumventing limitations imposed by Apple’s hardware ecosystem.