You will often see these two terms used interchangeably. Technically, the RTL8188CUS is a later revision with slightly better power management and integrated USB interface, but for the end-user, the drivers and functionality are identical. When researching drivers, looking for "RTL8188CUS" usually yields better results.
Apple never natively supported this chip. For Hackintosh builds (High Sierra to Monterey):
At its core, the Realtek RTL8188CU is a highly integrated, single-chip wireless LAN (WLAN) USB interface controller. Released in the early 2010s, it was designed to bring affordable 802.11n connectivity to devices lacking built-in Wi-Fi.
You won’t typically buy this chipset directly; instead, it is embedded in countless USB dongles from brands like TP-Link (TL-WN723N, TL-WN725N), Edimax (EW-7811Un), Linksys, D-Link, and generic "no-name" adapters. If you see a tiny, often blue or black, thumb-drive-sized Wi-Fi adapter from the last decade, chances are it runs the RTL8188CU or its close cousin, the RTL8188CUS.
Official macOS drivers do not exist. Community projects like chris1111/Wireless-USB-Big-Sur provide patched drivers for Realtek chips, but expect instability. For a reliable macOS experience, buy an adapter with native Broadcom or Intel chips.
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