Both the a hackintosh and VM solutions are very hard if you want full app store & I message support. Getting the OS running is fairly easy, but passing all the security checks is very hard.
It sounds like it's a been a while since you've played around with Hackintosh. I have an AMD/OpenCore system running with full App Store, iMessage, handoff, continuity, etc working flawlessly. Assuming you find a serial number that is not already in use, it should all be functional on first boot.
Yep! There are even tools (mentioned in the OpenCore install guide) that automate finding serial numbers and board IDs and all of the other parameters required for that functionality to work. Even though I couldn't get my graphics card working at first boot on my computer, it still logged me into iMessage automatically.
Not true anymore for "modern" Hackintosh with OpenCore or Clover. Of course you need to set some parameters correctly, but it is way, waaay more easy and stabile than in the old days.
