BridgeOS

bridgeOS
bridgeOS
Developer	Apple Inc.
Written in	C; C++; Objective-C; Swift; assembly language;
OS family	Unix-like, iOS
Working state	Current
Source model	Closed, with open-source components
Initial release	October 27, 2016
Update method	FOTA (via Mac running macOS)
Platforms	T series (2016 MacBook Pro and later);
License	Proprietary software except for open-source components
Support status
	Supported

bridgeOS is an embedded operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. for use exclusively with its hardware. bridgeOS runs on the T series Apple silicon processors^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] and operates devices such as the OLED touchscreen strip called the "Touch Bar",^[5] TouchID fingerprint sensor, SSD encryption, and cooling fans.^[6]

At boot time, the bootloader executes the bridgeOS kernel, then the bridgeOS kernel passes off to the UEFI firmware.^[7]

bridgeOS is based on Apple's watchOS.^[8]

^ "10.15.4 Supplemental Update Bricking Small Number of T2 Macs". Mr. Macintosh. April 17, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
^ Davidov, Mikhail; Erickson, Jeremy (2019). "Inside The Apple T2" (PDF). blackhat.com.
^ Misha Davidov (November 20, 2018). "Secure Boot in the Era of the T2". duo.com.
^ Lianying Zhao; He Shuang; Shengjie Xu; Wei Huang; Rongzhen Cui; Pushkar Bettadpur; David Lie. "A Survey of Hardware Improvements to Secure Program Execution" (PDF). ACM Computing Surveys. 56 (12): 1–37. doi:10.1145/3672392.
^ Snell, Jason; Macworld | (July 8, 2020). "The switch to Apple silicon: Will the Touch Bar survive?". Macworld. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
^ "TinkerTool System 7, Reference Manual" (PDF). Marcel Bresink Software-Systeme (MBS). August 22, 2023.
^ Frazelle, Jessie (February 4, 2020). "Securing the Boot Process: The hardware root of trust". Queue. 17 (6): –60:5–Pages 60:21. doi:10.1145/3380774.3382016. ISSN 1542-7730. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
^ Pepijn Bruienne (May 2, 2018). "Apple iMac Pro and Secure Storage". duo.com.