“But can it run Doom?” Is a question often asked of many computing platforms. Back in the 1990s, there was even a hidden version of a game similar to Doom presented as an Easter Egg in Excel 95. But it turns out Doom can run on devices that we don’t even think of as being computers.
Apple’s Lightning to HDMI adapter suffers from some hardware limitations that don’t all video to be processed natively. To overcome that challenge, the adaptor is made with a System on a Chip (SoC) that can process the video data so it can be correctly displayed on your TV or monitor. That SoC, as it turns out, runs a heavily pared back version of iOS.
The developer who made this work, who goes by the handle ryan_satan on X, has published his notes with everything he knows about Apple lightning. He managed to hack the chip in the adapter and install the classic game Doom on the chip.
You can watch it here.
While this is a very clever piece of engineering, I do prefer playing Doom on my Nintendo Switch or on my Mac.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.