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Amazon this week is taking up to $52 off Wi-Fi models of Apple's 11th generation iPad. Prices start at $299.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi iPad, down from $349.00, which is a solid second-best price on this model. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Additionally, Amazon has the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad for $399.00 ($50 off) and the 512GB Wi-Fi iPad for $597.00 ($52 off). Free delivery estimates are placed around May 8-12 for most of these iPad models, but Prime members should be able to get same-day delivery in many locations. $50 OFF128GB Wi-Fi iPad for $299.00 $50 OFF256GB Wi-Fi iPad for $399.00 $52 OFF512GB Wi-Fi iPad for $597.00 If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week. Deals Newsletter Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2026? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season! Related Roundup: Apple Deals This article, "Get the A16 iPad for Just $299 This Week on Amazon" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple today highlighted four Distinguished Winners of this year's Swift Student Challenge, ahead of the WWDC 2026 developers conference next month. The annual Swift Student Challenge gives eligible student developers around the world the opportunity to showcase their coding capabilities by using the Swift Playground or Xcode apps to create an interactive "app playground." Apple said this year's 350 winners represent 37 countries and regions, and each of them received a certificate, AirPods Max 2, and a one-year Apple Developer Program membership. A subset of 50 Distinguished Winners with "truly exceptional" submissions were also invited to visit Apple Park in Cupertino, California during WWDC 2026. To learn about four of the Distinguished Winners named below, head to the Apple Newsroom. From left to right: Yoonjae Joung, Karen-Happuch Peprah Henneh, Anton Baranov, and Gayatri Goundadkar "The breadth of creativity we see in the Swift Student Challenge never ceases to amaze us," said Susan Prescott, Apple's Vice President of Worldwide Developer Relations. "This year's winners found remarkable ways to harness the power of Apple platforms, Swift, and AI tools to build app playgrounds that are as technically impressive as they are meaningful. We're incredibly proud to support their journey and can't wait to see what they create next." WWDC 2026 will kick off with Apple's keynote on Monday, June 8 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, and the conference will run through Friday, June 12. Apple is expected to unveil its latest software platforms, such as iOS 27 and macOS 27.Related Roundup: WWDC 2026Tag: Swift Student ChallengeRelated Forum: Apple, Inc and Tech Industry This article, "WWDC 2026 is a Month Away: Apple Highlights 'Distinguished Winners'" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

“AI agents will become the primary way we interact with computers in the future. They will be able to understand our needs and preferences, and proactively help us with tasks and decision making.“ Satya Nadella CEO of Microsoft Whether you are a software engineer, a product manager, or a designer, this quote should fundamentally change how we approach our daily routine. We are no longer just building interfaces; we are creating environments where agents can operate autonomously with minimal human interaction. What could be the fundamental requirement for such an environment ? In a single word: Isolation. A user interacting with traditional software is constrained by the actions it allows. But Agents are non-deterministic, and therefore prone to hallucination and prompt injections. Once you give an AI write access to your systems, there is nothing stopping it from executing a rm -rf to delete all your data. Of course, there are different ways to solve this problem, with one approach being sandboxing: an isolated, controlled environment used for experimentation and testing without affecting the surrounding system. So, I started exploring different strategies to sandbox the agents. Starting with a bare minimum setup and going all the way to setting up a cloud VM. Here is what I learned at each step. 1. Let’s Start with the Baseline Chroot has been the traditional way to achieve file system isolation. It works well when you want the process to think that a specific, restricted directory is the absolute root of the machine. However, there are two major caveats. If the process inside the chroot has root privileges, it could break out. While it offers file isolation, process isolation is still a problem. A malicious agent can still see other processes running on your system and try to kill them. As you can see above, doing an ls /proc still shows all the processes running on the host. This is when I learnt about systemd-nspawn, also called “chroot on steroids”. The difference between chroot and systemd-spawn is that the latter provides isolation at the network and process levels in addition to the file system. Now, when I do the same ls /proc in the systemd-nspawn mybox container, I just see the processes in the mybox container achieving process-level isolation. Pros Lightweight compared to other container processes like Docker, it offers faster startup times. Native support in Linux. Caveats systemd-nspawn is not very popular in the developer community unless you are deep into Linux. While this works for Linux, what if you need to run your agents on Windows? You will have to find alternatives depending on the platform. 2. Are Containers Enough? Another technology that comes to mind when thinking about isolated environments is Docker. And unlike the previous concepts we discussed, Docker has a broader ecosystem and a strong community. With containers, you also get isolated file systems, network interfaces, and process trees. They also come with cross-platform support across Mac, Windows, and Linux. With all these advantages, creating and running agents across different platforms becomes very easy, which makes containers an obvious choice. However, the model becomes more complex when containers become a dev platform for agents. More often than not, agents need to execute generated code in separate environments, which in practice means spinning up new Docker containers on demand. This introduces a container-in-container pattern (Docker-in-Docker), where an agent running inside a container needs to build and run other containers. To make Docker-in-Docker to work, we would have to run the container in privileged mode (--privileged), which gives the container processes elevated permissions rights and dramatically weakens the isolation. At this point, the isolation guarantees are significantly diminished. As a result, complete isolation for agents using only containers becomes tricky. 3. Do Virtual Machines Help? As you might have already predicted, Virtual Machines (VMs) offer the strongest isolation. With a VM, you can get an entire OS, file system, and network of your own. For example, I currently run MacOS with lima – Linux VM to run Linux-specific workloads. However, the tradeoff is that spinning up a VM is expensive. And if this needs to be done for every agent, it is not scalable. Some stats that show how expensive spinning up a VM with system-nspawn looks like. Approach Per Agent Cost Boot Time 10 Agents VM (Lima) ~4GB RAM + 4 CPU 30-60s ~40GB RAM systemd-nspawn ~10MB RAM < 1s ~100MB RAM chroot 1MB RAM instant ~10MB RAM For example, in the below screenshot you can see the cost it takes to run a lima vm. 4. MicroVMs to the rescue A MicroVM (Micro Virtual Machines) felt like the perfect answer to the isolation story. So what is MicroVM, and what makes it better? MicroVM is a lightweight virtualisation technology that provides the strong security and isolation of a traditional VM, along with the speed of a container. Strong security and isolation are enabled because a MicroVM gets its own kernel, aka the Guest Kernel, unlike containers, which use a shared kernel. Because of this, any compromise inside the Guest OS does not directly affect the host or the other VMs. Speed: unlike traditional VMs, it is provisioned with minimal hardware (no USB or PCI buses) and bypasses BIOS/UEFI boot, significantly reducing device emulation overhead and startup latency. Amazon open-sourced Firecracker in 2018, which was the earliest adoption of the MicroVM architecture. While this helped catalyze the MicroVM architecture, Firecracker was restricted to Linux environments. And most of the agentic orchestration tends to happen on developers’ laptops which run MacOS and Windows as well. Docker addressed this gap with its Sandbox offering. The best part is their MicroVM-based architecture, which runs natively across macOS, Windows, and Linux, delivering better isolation, faster startup times, and a smoother developer experience. We will learn about this in a bit. 5. gVisor gVisor takes a unique approach to solving the isolation problem. While the previous strategies used the OS Kernel, gVisor creates its own Kernel called the “application kernel” running in the user space. When a standard containerized app wants to do something like open a file, allocate memory, or send network traffic, it makes a “system call” (syscall) directly to the host’s Linux kernel. With gVisor, your app is bundled with a component called the Sentry. The Sentry intercepts every single syscall your application makes. It processes that request in user-space using its own implementation of Linux networking, file systems, and memory management. If the Sentry absolutely needs the host kernel to do something (like actual disk I/O), it translates the request into an extremely restricted, heavily filtered, safe call to the host. However, it suffers from the same problem as systemd-nspawn. Not much broader community supports and only supports Linux. Docker Sandbox With Docker Sandboxes, AI coding agents run in isolated microVM environments. The performance is as seamless as it can be, identical to running on the host, but with significantly stronger isolation and security. This means you can run your autonomous agents without worrying about host compromise or unintended access to your local environment. Sandbox achieves this levels of security through three layers of isolation: Hypervisor Isolation: Every Sandbox has its own Linux Kernel. So, anything that affects the sandbox kernel will not affect the host or other sandbox kernels. Network Isolation Each Sandbox has its own isolated network. Meaning multiple sandboxes cannot communicate with each other or with the host. In addition, network policies can be enforced to allow or disallow traffic from a source. Docker Engine Isolation This is what made me fall in love with this new architecture. Every Sandbox gets its own Docker Engine. As a result, whenever the agent runs docker pull or docker compose, those commands are executed against the internal engine rather than the external Docker daemon. Because of this, agents running inside can only see Docker services within their sandbox and nothing else, adding an additional layer of security. Attribute Traditional VM Container Docker MicroVM Isolation Strong (dedicated kernel) Weak (shared kernel) Strong (dedicated kernel) Boot time Minutes Milliseconds Seconds (after the first image pull) Attack Surface Large Medium Minimal To demonstrate Docker Engine isolation, I created two Sandbox sessions, ran the Docker hello-world container image in one, and then ran docker ps -a in both. ​As you can see from the screenshot below, one session has the hello-world container and the other does not. This is possible because both of them are running two different Docker engine daemons. More on the Sandbox architecture here: https://www.docker.com/blog/why-microvms-the-architecture-behind-docker-sandboxes/ Conclusion If there is one takeaway; it’s this: isolation plays a major role when building autonomous AI agents because the blast radius of a security mistake is significant. Each approach we explored till now solves a different piece of the isolation puzzle. Containers improve portability and developer experience, but inherit the risks of a shared kernel. Virtual Machines deliver strong isolation, but the overhead doesn’t scale when you’re spinning up dozens of agents. gVisor sits in an interesting middle ground, though compatibility and community trade offs might slow you down. Among all these, what makes Docker Sandbox with MicroVMs compelling is how it unifies these dimensions: VM-level security, container-like startup speed, and a workflow developers already know. Per-sandbox Docker Engines and strict network boundaries make it a strong foundation for running untrusted, autonomous workloads at scale. So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and try it out today. For macOS: brew install docker/tap/sbx For Windows: winget install Docker.sbx View the full article

Apple is considering dropping the cheapest MacBook Neo configuration as one possible response to the rising cost of building the popular laptop, according to Taiwan-based tech columnist and former Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan. The Neo currently starts at $599 for a 256GB model, with a 512GB version at $699. Writing in his latest Culpium newsletter, Culpan says cutting the entry-level 256GB model is among the options Apple is weighing as component costs climb. Such a move would push the Neo's effective starting price up by $100 without raising the price of any individual configuration. Apple recently made a similar move with two of its other Mac models. Apple stopped offering the Mac Studio with 512GB of RAM in March, and it dropped the Mac mini's lowest 256GB storage option last week, making the latter's starting price increase from $599 to $799 in the United States. The moves were made due to higher-than-expected demand and a worldwide shortage of memory chips bumping up costs as AI data center build-outs squeeze supply. Culpan says the pricing strain around the Neo is tied to Apple's push to ramp up manufacturing. Shipping estimates on Apple's website currently sit at two to three weeks across the lineup following stronger-than-expected demand, and the company is said to have instructed suppliers to increase production capacity to 10 million units, roughly double the original forecast of 5 to 6 million. To meet its revised production goal, Apple needs a new supply of A18 Pro chips from TSMC. The Neo uses the same chip as the iPhone 16 Pro, but existing inventory was reportedly depleted by the early demand. TSMC is also said to have limited spare 3nm capacity, with AI-related orders consuming much of its output. Apple's costs are being further complicated by the fact that the initial Neo batch used lower-bin A18 Pro chips with one GPU core disabled. However, a fresh production run would produce more fully functional chips, increasing the per-unit cost even before any expedited manufacturing premiums are applied. If Apple ultimately decides against dropping the $599 MacBook Neo configuration, Culpan says the company is alternatively considering introducing new color options for the current-generation Neo to cushion a potential price hike.Related Roundup: MacBook NeoBuyer's Guide: MacBook Neo (Buy Now)Related Forum: MacBook Neo This article, "Apple May Drop Base $599 MacBook Neo as Chip, DRAM Costs Climb" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple is considering adding new colors to its MacBook Neo lineup as a way to cushion customers against a possible price increase, according to Taiwan-based tech columnist and former Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan. Writing in his latest Culpium newsletter, Culpan says that the runaway success of the entry-level laptop has left Apple paying more for the components inside it. As a result, he says new finishes are one option being weighed by Apple to keep enthusiasm high if those costs end up getting passed on to buyers. Starting at $599, the Neo is currently sold in Citrus, Blush, Indigo, and Silver. Apple does not appear to have settled on which colors might join the lineup, and the report does not name any specific shades the company may be considering. The pricing pressure is said to stem from Apple's decision to dramatically scale up production. After Neo demand outstripped initial expectations, Apple has reportedly asked suppliers to prepare capacity for 10 million units of the debut model, up from an earlier target of 5 to 6 million. Shipping estimates on Apple's website currently sit at two to three weeks across the lineup in the U.S. and many other countries, with Quanta and Foxconn said to be racing to fill orders from factories in Vietnam and China. However, meeting the doubled production target requires a fresh batch of A18 Pro chips from TSMC. The Neo uses the same system-on-chip as the iPhone 16 Pro, and Apple quickly exhausted its existing inventory filling early orders. The original run was made on TSMC's N3E process at least two years ago, and it is believed that TSMC has no spare 3nm capacity to allocate, as AI customers are sucking up much of the available output. What's worse for Apple is that the first batch of A18 Pro chips were "binned" versions with minor defects that, rather than scrapping, were repurposed for the Neo by switching off one of the six GPU cores. That means a new production run will result in top-tier chips rather than defective ones, which means a higher per-unit cost that Apple will have to pay even before TSMC adds a premium for expedited production. DRAM prices have also climbed sharply since the Neo first went on sale -- again driven by AI data center build-out -- which has pushed the laptop's bill of materials higher still. Culpan reports that Apple has not ruled out raising the Neo's price as a response. Related Roundup: MacBook NeoBuyer's Guide: MacBook Neo (Buy Now)Related Forum: MacBook Neo This article, "MacBook Neo Could Get New Colors to Cushion Potential Price Hike" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Google is updating its AI search results to incorporate a "preview of perspectives" sourced from public online discussions and social media. The results sourced from places like Reddit and online forums are sometimes labeled as "Expert Advice," per Google's screenshots. Google says that the section could have different titles like "Community Perspectives" depending on the query and the response, so not all responses will have the Expert Advice labeling. The section includes the creator's name, handle, or community name for reference. There are several other changes coming to AI Mode and AI Overviews in Google Search. When exploring a topic, AI results will include suggestions on what to look into next in a "Further Exploration" section. Links from news sites that a user subscribes to will now have a "Subscribed" label in results across AI Mode and AI Overviews so that they show up first. Google is also making links easier to see in AI responses, with links shown next to relevant text. Hovering over a link on the desktop version of Google search will now provide a preview of the website with the name of the website or the title of the webpage, so users will have a better idea of the site before clicking through. Google says that users hesitate to click inline links when unsure where a link leads. Google says that improving the visibility and helpfulness of links in AI Search will help users connect directly with sources and creators.Tag: Google This article, "Google Search AI Mode Gets 'Expert Advice' From Reddit and Social Media" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Energizer today announced the launch of new Energizer Ultimate Child Shield coin lithium batteries that are available in the 2032 size used in Apple's AirTags. The Child Shield batteries do not cause ingestion burns if swallowed, and they also include an element that turns the mouth blue when exposed to saliva. Energizer says this will allow caregivers to be alerted when ingestion has occurred, so they can act quickly. The batteries also have a bitter coating to deter children from ingesting them. When AirTags launched in 2021, a concerned retailer in Australia stopped selling them because the back of the tracker can be opened up to remove the battery inside. Opening the AirTag requires pressing down and twisting, a two-step process that Apple said met international child safety standards. After the situation sparked public interest, Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission warned parents to keep AirTags out of reach of children. The ACCC said it was concerned the press and twist motion did not do enough to keep the battery away from children. In the U.S., Apple added a warning label to the ‌AirTag‌ box that says the coin-cell battery in the ‌AirTag‌ should be kept out of reach of children due to the risk of injury or death should the battery be ingested. Apple also added a warning about coin-cell battery risks in the Find My app when the ‌AirTag‌ battery is changed. Apple put the warning on ‌AirTag‌ labels after the U.S. adopted "Reese's Law," named for a toddler that died in 2020 after swallowing a coin-cell battery that was inside a remote control. Coin-cell batteries can get stuck in a child's esophagus, with saliva triggering an alkaline reaction that can lead to burns in under an hour. Energizer's new battery could alleviate fears for parents who want to use an ‌AirTag‌ while also making sure their children are safe from accidental ingestion, and they are available for purchase at stores across the U.S. Apple has warned against using batteries with non-toxic bitter coating, because these batteries may not work with ‌AirTag‌ depending on the alignment of the coating in relation to the battery contacts.Related Roundup: AirTagBuyer's Guide: AirTag (Buy Now) This article, "Energizer Launches AirTag-Compatible Batteries That Prevent Ingestion Burns" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

The Android operating system for Pixel smartphones is not going to take design cues from Apple and adopt a Liquid Glass aesthetic, Google Android president Sameer Samat said recently (via 9to5Google). In response to a social media mockup of an Android device with a Liquid Glass design, Samat said, "Not happening! Y'all are wild." The mockup was in response to a teaser video for The Android Show: I/O, which depicted the Android mascot pulling a light switch and turning translucent. The teaser led Android users to believe that Google would adopt an iOS-like design for Android. Google's Pixel devices use its Android operating system, but Google also allows other smartphone makers to use Android. Companies like Oppo and Xiaomi have variants of Android that have been updated with similarities to Apple's Liquid Glass, and even Samsung has mimicked some of Apple's design elements. Apple introduced the Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26, with a unified design across all of its software platforms. The new design has been a major change for Apple users, and it is not universally popular. Google has been using its Material Design since 2014, though it has been updated several times since then. Google introduced Material 3 Expressive in 2025, adding more natural, springy animations and dynamic color themes. Though Samat said Google is not adopting Liquid Glass, rumors suggest it is going to embrace translucency. Google is rumored to be adding more blur in Android 17, offering a flatter, more frosted glass look. Google will reveal more about Android 17 on May 12.Tag: Google This article, "Google Says Pixel Phones Won't Get Apple's Liquid Glass Design" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Samsung today reached a valuation of $1 trillion for the first time, reports Bloomberg. Samsung's value has been climbing sharply due to increasing demand for the memory chips it manufactures, and stock increased 14.4 percent today. Samsung is the second Asian firm after Apple supplier TSMC to reach a $1 trillion valuation. Last week, Samsung's semiconductor manufacturing business wildly exceeded analyst expectations, reporting operating income of $36 billion instead of the $24.4 billion expected. Just yesterday, rumors suggested Apple was speaking with Intel and Samsung about taking on some processor manufacturing for Apple devices. Apple is looking to diversify its supply chain due to chip shortages. During Apple's earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said iPhone 17 shipments were constrained because Apple could not get enough of the A19 and A19 Pro chips that TSMC makes. Samsung said it plans to "secure flagship SoC design wins" in the second half of 2026. Development of Samsung's 1.4nm node is on track, and it is "pursuing the expansion of large-scale 2nm customers." Apple is preparing to make the jump to 2nm chips soon, and the iPhone 18 models could be the first to have chips built on the new node. Samsung also said that it expects server memory demand to remain strong in the latter part of 2026, so the company is in a good position to see further growth in the coming months. At a $1 trillion valuation, Samsung trails Apple's more than $4 trillion valuation and TSMC's $2 trillion market cap. Samsung's mobile unit has not been faring as well as its chip business because of increasing material and component costs.Tag: Samsung This article, "Samsung Hits $1 Trillion Valuation Amid Apple Chip Diversification Talks" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple objected to a European trademark filing from a Chinese keyboard maker because the logo the company wanted to use was too close to Apple's own logo. The EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) partially refused to grant a European Union Trade Mark after Apple opposed the filing. The company, Yichun Qinningmeng Electronics Co., makes mechanical keyboards and keycaps, according to its website, though it also seems to sell solar panels. The logo the company uses is a citrus fruit with the bottom segments turned into keyboard keys, with a green leaf angled to the left at the top of the fruit and a missing section on the right side. Part of the company's name translates to a citrus fruit, which is likely the reason behind the design. Apple argued that the logo resembled an apple with a detached leaf and a bite, which the EUIPO did not agree with. It found the perfectly round shape of the logo did not track with the shape of an apple, and that it looked more like an orange. The opponent argues that the figurative element of the contested sign also consists of an apple device with a detached leaf and a bite. However, the body of the figurative element consists of a circle (despite the missing part) and apples are not perfectly round. Furthermore, apples are not normally depicted in such a shape which is, in any case, more akin to an orange or other round-shaped fruits. Therefore, while the Opposition Division agrees that the figurative element of the contested sign is likely to be perceived as depicting a fruit of some sort and that the detached oblong shape is therefore also likely to be perceived as depicting a leaf, in view of its round shape together with the relatively generic leaf shape, it will not be immediately associated with any fruit in particular but rather with a round-shaped fruit in general. It follows from the above that, in the present case, the relevant public will perceive the contested application as a highly stylised round-shaped fruit bearing additional fanciful figurative elements. In particular, the triangular shapes, due to their arrangement, may be seen as segments. Furthermore, the square and rectangular figures in the lower part, again by virtue of their arrangement, may evoke a keyboard. The EUIPO did acknowledge that there were some "minor commonalities" between the two designs, but also noted numerous differences. Overall, the two logos were found to be "visually similar, albeit to a very low degree," and the EUIPO concluded that the "signs are not conceptually similar." Even though the EUIPO did not feel that the citrus fruit logo looked like an apple, it largely decided in Apple's favor because of the strength of Apple's reputation in the EU and the potential for customers to "establish a mental 'link' between the signs." Apple claimed the citrus fruit logo would take unfair advantage of Apple's reputation, and the EU agreed. Apple's argument: Given the immense reputation of the Opponent's Earlier Mark, it is hard to believe that the Applicant's intention was not, at the very least, to bring the Opponent's Apple Logo to mind in some way. More likely, the Application represents a deliberate attempt to take advantage of that reputation to offer identical and highly similar goods. As a result, the addressed public, when confronted with the Applicant's sign, will wrongly assume that the Application indicates a connection to Apple (i.e. that the Applicant is a supplier or manufacturer). Yichun Qinningmeng Electronics Co. is not able to continue with the trademark process for keyboards or any other related computer goods, but the application to use the logo for solar panels will proceed. The company is able to file a notice of appeal in the next two months. Apple and Yichun Qinningmeng Electronics Co. also had a trademark dispute in the U.S., but the trademark application was terminated after the Chinese company failed to respond in opposition proceedings. Apple has objected to fruit-related logos several times in the past. It sued the developers behind an app named Prepear because the app used a pear-shaped logo that had a leaf, and it objected to an apple logo used by a Norwegian political party. Apple opposes dozens of trademark applications every year in the U.S. and other countries.Tags: European Union, Trademark This article, "Apple Wins EU Challenge Over Keyboard Maker's Citrus Logo" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple has agreed to pay $250 million to settle a U.S. class action lawsuit over delayed Siri features, and eligible iPhone users could receive up to a $95 payout. Below, we have answered some key questions regarding the lawsuit. Why Was Apple Sued? In June 2024, Apple previewed new Siri capabilities powered by Apple Intelligence, including understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps. Apple advertised those Siri features in product presentations, on its website, in a TV commercial starring actor Bella Ramsey, and elsewhere. In March 2025, Apple delayed the launch of the personalized version of Siri, leading to the company being hit with a class action lawsuit alleging false advertising. In a statement, Apple touted a range of other Apple Intelligence features it has already released. Nevertheless, Apple agreed to settle the lawsuit "to stay focused" on "delivering the most innovative products and services to our users." Am I Eligible? To be eligible to submit a claim, you must reside in the U.S. and have purchased any iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 model between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025. The full list of eligible iPhone models: iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 16 iPhone 16e iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max It is unlikely that individuals who submit a claim will still need to have physical possession of an eligible iPhone model. However, there is a possibility that proof of purchase or other information will be required, such as the device's serial number. Exact requirements will be outlined on the forthcoming settlement website. How Much Will Apple Pay Me? According to the terms of the settlement, each person who files an eligible claim will receive a per-device payment of $25, but this amount could increase up to $95 if the total number of claims submitted is lower than anticipated. Where and When Can I Submit a Claim? Within the next few months, a settlement website should go live with an online claims form. Eligible class members will be notified by email within approximately 45 days, according to court documents. Even if you are not notified but are a U.S. resident who purchased one of the above iPhone models within the above dates, you should still be eligible. Keep an eye out for the settlement website within the next few months. When Will the Siri Features Launch? On an earnings call last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the personalized version of Siri will be released this year. It is expected to be part of the upcoming iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 updates for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Apple is reportedly planning to launch a dedicated Siri app too.Tags: Apple Intelligence, Apple Lawsuits, Siri This article, "Siri Lawsuit: Apple Agrees to Pay Owners of These iPhone Models" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple proactively chose to delay the standard iPhone 18 as a deliberate market strategy, the leaker known as "Fixed Focus Digital" claims, with the move said to extend the iPhone 17's sales window while lowering production costs and improving Apple's competitive position against Android rivals. In two new posts on Weibo, Fixed Focus Digital said that a downgrade to the ‌iPhone 18‌ standard model was largely inevitable due to global supply chain shortages, and that Apple made the deliberate choice to delay the device rather than rush it to market. By extending the ‌iPhone 17‌'s production cycle and launching a large-scale manufacturing ramp, Apple is said to be using the additional time to let the ‌iPhone 17‌ consolidate market share at the mainstream price tier before its downgraded successor arrives. The leaker said Apple has targeted sufficient ‌iPhone 17‌ supply to participate in China's Double 11 shopping event later this year. Double 11, also known as Singles' Day, is one of the world's largest annual retail sales events and a significant battleground for smartphone market share in China. The leaker framed the approach as a "remarkably clever market adjustment mechanism," suggesting that shipping a lower-specced ‌iPhone 18‌ will be easier to absorb commercially if it arrives some 18 months after the ‌iPhone 17‌, by which point the previous generation will have already dominated the mainstream tier for an extended period. Fixed Focus Digital described the strategy as simultaneously lowering production costs and boosting market share against Android rivals. The posts add a strategic dimension to what has become a series of downgrade rumors for the device. The leaker first reported that Apple is implementing certain manufacturing downgrades to the ‌iPhone 18‌ as a cost-cutting measure, before adding that display specifications and the chip will both be affected. Apple could be planning to tweak the name of the A-series chip used in the device to obscure the extent of the chip change. Engineering Validation Testing of the ‌iPhone 18‌ and iPhone 18e is said to be taking place simultaneously in June, which aligns with the idea that the two devices now share significant engineering overlap. Most recently, the leaker said certain parts are interchangeable between the ‌iPhone 18‌ and the lower-cost iPhone 18e, indicating that some specification convergence between the two devices is real and measurable at the supply chain level. "Take it from me: The standard ‌iPhone 18‌ model has been downgraded and its launch delayed-this decision is final and will not change," they added. The ‌iPhone 18‌, iPhone 18e, and iPhone Air 2 are all expected to launch in spring 2027, with the iPhone 18 Pro, ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max, and foldable "iPhone Ultra" anticipated in the fall of 2026. A split launch strategy separating the Pro and standard models has been widely reported since last year, with Ming-Chi Kuo and Nikkei among those to have corroborated the plan. Related Roundups: iPhone 17, iPhone 18Tag: Fixed Focus DigitalBuyer's Guide: iPhone 17 (Neutral)Related Forum: iPhone This article, "Leaker: This Is Why Apple Is Delaying the iPhone 18" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Last month, Amazon introduced a few new discounts on the M5 MacBook Air and these deals have expanded this week, with every model of the new computer on sale at record low prices. You can get the 512GB 13-inch M5 MacBook Air for $949.00, down from $1,099.00, available in all colors. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. You'll find $150 off every model of the M5 MacBook Air on Amazon, with free delivery around May 7-8 for most models. In terms of other 13-inch models, Amazon also has the 24GB/1TB model for $1,349.00, down from $1,499.00. Both of these represent a match for the record low prices for each configuration. $150 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (512GB) for $949.00 $150 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (16GB/1TB) for $1,149.00 $150 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (24GB/1TB) for $1,349.00 Regarding the 15-inch models, you'll also find $150 off the M5 MacBook Air, with multiple color options on sale for each configuration. Prices start at $1,149.00 for the 512GB model, down from $1,299.00, and also include both 1TB models on sale. $150 OFF15-inch M5 MacBook Air (512GB) for $1,149.00 $150 OFF15-inch M5 MacBook Air (16GB/1TB) for $1,349.00 $150 OFF15-inch M5 MacBook Air (24GB/1TB) for $1,549.00 If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week. Deals Newsletter Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2026? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season! Related Roundup: Apple Deals This article, "Amazon Takes $150 Off Every M5 MacBook Air, Starting at $949" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

The leaker "Instant Digital" today revisited their February design report on the foldable iPhone, claiming the device's internal design will make it the easiest-to-disassemble and easiest-to-repair foldable phone in the industry. In a new post on Weibo, Instant Digital said the device's "incredibly rigorous underlying engineering logic" has "truly paid off," and predicted that teardown videos will vindicate the earlier claims once the device ships. The leaker described the internal component stacking as "logical yet elegant," and said the design eliminates the complex ribbon cable routing that typically complicates disassembly in competing foldables, achieving instead what they called "a truly high level of modularity." The comments appear to be a callback to Instant Digital's February 2 report, which offered several design details about the foldable iPhone, including volume buttons relocated to the top edge of the device, Touch ID and Camera Control on the right side of the device, an iPhone Air-style camera plateau, a single punch-hole front-facing cameras, and just two color options. That report also touched on the device's internal design language, which the leaker now suggests is even more significant than readers initially appreciated. At that time, Instant Digital explained that the device's motherboard is apparently located on the right side of the device. As to not run cables across the screen to the left side for the volume buttons (where they are located on all other iPhone models), Apple is said to have decided to run them directly upwards, which maximizes internal space. The internal structure purportedly features an innovative stacked design, with the space being almost entirely dedicated to the display and battery. It is also said to feature the biggest battery ever used in an iPhone. Instant Digital has reported on the foldable iPhone for quite some time. The leaker previously claimed the device will be around $2,000 at launch, that it will be eSIM-only, that Apple's foldable displays were nearing production in March, and that the device will ship in three storage capacities. Most recently, the leaker said Camera Control is seen internally as a key feature of the foldable iPhone. The foldable iPhone, rumored to be called the "iPhone Ultra," is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max in the fall. The device is said to feature a 7.8-inch inner display and a 5.5-inch cover screen, the A20 chip and C2 modem, ‌Touch ID‌, and two rear cameras.Related Roundup: iPhone FoldTags: Foldable iPhone, Instant Digital, iPhone Ultra This article, "'iPhone Ultra' Could Be Industry's Most Repairable Foldable" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple is expected to finalize OLED panel approvals for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max this month, with Samsung Display and LG Display likely to dominate panel supply, reports The Elec. This year, China's BOE has reportedly been closed out of the premium tier supply chain, despite having landed some panel orders for the iPhone 17 Pro models. The setback is said to be down to quality and yield issues with its lower-temperature polycrystalline oxide-plus (LTPO+) technology compared to its South Korean counterparts. Indeed, it's the key upgrade at the center of the supply shake-up. South Korean publication ETNews previously reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models will use LTPO+ display technology, which would likely be more power efficient than the current LTPO technology in the iPhone 17 series. Such an upgrade could also contribute to longer battery life, since LPTO+ enables finer control of OLED light emission, potentially allowing the display to optimize its operation based on environmental conditions. The ETNews report from January also mentioned that the iPhone 18 Pro models will use under-screen infrared technology from Samsung, which could enable some Face ID components to move under the display. That could allow Apple to shrink the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 18 Pro models -- but whether it will do is seemingly still up for debate. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro models in September.Related Roundup: iPhone 18 ProTags: Samsung, The Elec This article, "iPhone 18 Pro's LTPO+ Display Upgrade to Come From Samsung, LG" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

New alleged CAD renders of Apple's iPhone 18 Pro are doing the rounds on social media, offering the latest twist in the to-shrink-or-not-to-shrink Dynamic Island saga. An X user called @earlyappleleaks has posted the above image, claiming that "the new CAD confirms the smaller Dynamic Island of the iPhone 18 Pro." CAD renders are often leaked from factories and represent the technical schematics that phone manufacturers share with case makers and accessory companies months before a phone launches. Whether this particular one is kosher is unknown, since the leaker is relatively new to the scene and needs time to build a reputation. The last notable image they shared was of an alleged iPhone 18 Pro prototype with a smaller Dynamic Island, and what appears to be a Face ID sensor visible under the display. Under-display Face ID components would allow for a slimmed down Dynamic Island. Over the past year, there have been mixed rumors about whether the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ models will continue to feature a ‌Dynamic Island‌ or have a hole punch camera with under screen Face ID and no ‌Dynamic Island‌, but the latest information suggests it's too early to say goodbye to the ‌Dynamic Island‌. Along with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, several prominent leakers on Weibo and other social media sites have said Apple will make the iPhone 18 Pro's Dynamic Island smaller, but won't eliminate it. We heard similar rumors about a smaller iPhone 17 Pro ‌Dynamic Island‌ last year, but it ended up being the same size. Most of the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ rumors about under-display Face ID and no ‌Dynamic Island‌ circulated earlier in 2025, so Apple either considered the feature for the 18 Pro lineup and pushed it back, or those rumors were off-base. There also may have been confusion over what's moving under the display and what isn't. More recently, Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station claimed the iPhone 18 Pro won't have a smaller Dynamic Island at all, with the slimmed down Dynamic Island delayed until the iPhone 19. We'll know for sure in a few months. Apple is expected to announce the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ models alongside its first foldable iPhone this fall, with the standard ‌iPhone 18‌ arriving early next year as part of a new split-cycle launch strategy.Related Roundup: iPhone 18 ProTag: Dynamic Island This article, "iPhone 18 Pro CAD Leak Reignites the Dynamic Island Debate" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple's iPhone 17 was the best-selling smartphone globally in the first quarter of 2026, capturing 6 percent of worldwide unit sales, according to Counterpoint Research's latest Global Handset Model Sales Tracker. The iPhone 17 series dominated the top three spots, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max in second place and the iPhone 17 Pro in third. The previous-generation iPhone 16 also held on at sixth place, suggesting there's still strong demand for the model, following its blockbuster sales run throughout last year. Counterpoint senior analyst Harshit Rastogi credited the iPhone 17's success to upgrades that brought the base model closer to the Pro variants, including higher 256GB base storage, improved cameras, and a faster 120Hz display refresh rate. Not only did the iPhone 17 post double-digit year-over-year growth in China and the U.S., it also tripled its sales in South Korea for the quarter. Samsung's Galaxy A series filled the remaining five spots, led by the budget-friendly Galaxy A07 4G as the best-selling Android phone of the quarter. Xiaomi's Redmi A5 filled out the list in tenth place. Taken together, the top 10 devices accounted for 25% of global smartphone sales -- the highest first-quarter concentration ever recorded, according to Counterpoint. In the meantime, the standard iPhone 17 is set to enjoy a six-month-longer flagship run than usual, with the iPhone 18 expected to see a launch in spring 2027.Related Roundup: iPhone 17Tag: CounterpointBuyer's Guide: iPhone 17 (Neutral)Related Forum: iPhone This article, "iPhone 17 Outselling Every Other Phone Worldwide So Far This Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

As cloud infrastructure scales across global enterprises, the gap between engineering decisions and financial accountability has become a critical bottleneck. The Certified FinOps Manager framework addresses this by building leaders who can optimize cloud spend without slowing down deployment velocity. This guide is designed for engineers, platform architects, and managers who want to master the financial operations of modern technical environments. By aligning cloud investment with business value, this certification track empowers you to make strategic career moves and lead cross-functional infrastructure teams. You can find the foundational learning resources at finopsschool, with the official curriculum detailed on the Certified FinOps Manager page. What is the Certified FinOps Manager? The Certified FinOps Manager is an advanced credential that validates a professional’s ability to govern, manage, and optimize enterprise cloud spending. It exists to bridge the historic divide between engineering teams, who provision resources, and finance teams, who pay the bills. The focus is entirely on real-world, production-focused cost management rather than abstract financial theory. This certification aligns directly with modern DevOps and SRE workflows, ensuring that cost becomes a primary metric alongside performance and reliability. It covers cost allocation, anomaly detection, rate optimization, and the cultural shift required to make engineering teams cost-aware. By mastering these areas, professionals learn to implement chargeback models and automated governance policies that keep cloud environments financially sustainable. Who Should Pursue Certified FinOps Manager? Software engineers, site reliability engineers, and cloud architects who want to elevate their careers into strategic leadership roles are prime candidates. It provides the financial vocabulary and governance frameworks needed to justify infrastructure choices to executive leadership. Engineering managers and directors will also find it essential for managing departmental budgets and demonstrating return on investment. Professionals in security, data engineering, and platform roles benefit heavily as well, given the massive computing costs associated with large-scale data pipelines and security logging. This certification is highly relevant for both the global tech market and the rapidly expanding enterprise ecosystem in India. Beginners can use foundational levels to break into cloud administration, while experienced veterans use the management tier to transition into enterprise architecture. Why Certified FinOps Manager is Valuable Today and Beyond As organizations migrate vast amounts of legacy infrastructure to cloud-native platforms, untracked and wasted cloud spending has become a major enterprise liability. The demand for professionals who can implement rigorous FinOps practices is surging globally, making this a highly resilient career path. Understanding the financial mechanics of the cloud ensures you remain valuable regardless of which specific vendor or deployment tool your company uses. Enterprise adoption of FinOps frameworks is accelerating, moving from a niche specialty to a mandatory operational standard. Earning the Certified FinOps Manager credential demonstrates that you can protect the company’s bottom line while maintaining high engineering standards. The return on the time invested in this learning path is substantial, often leading to roles with higher strategic influence and increased compensation. Certified FinOps Manager Certification Overview The program is delivered via the official track at Certified FinOps Manager and hosted on the finopsschool.com portal. The certification levels are designed to take a practitioner from foundational knowledge to advanced strategic management. The assessment approach heavily favors practical scenario-based problem solving over rote memorization. The structure of the certification ecosystem ensures that candidates prove their ability to use real cost-optimization tooling and methodologies. The curriculum is consistently updated to reflect the latest pricing models and discount mechanisms offered by major cloud providers. This ensures that the credential maintains strict alignment with the actual challenges faced by modern platform engineering teams. Certified FinOps Manager Certification Tracks & Levels The certification journey is divided into clear progression levels: foundation, professional, and advanced management. The foundation level introduces the core vocabulary, principles, and phases of the FinOps lifecycle, ensuring a baseline understanding. It is the perfect starting point for engineers transitioning into cost-aware roles. The professional level dives deeply into technical implementation, focusing on tagging strategies, automated reporting, and right-sizing infrastructure. Finally, the advanced management track focuses on organizational culture, cross-departmental alignment, and enterprise-wide governance. These levels logically align with career progression, taking a professional from an individual contributor to an organizational leader. Complete Certified FinOps Manager Certification Table TrackLevelWho it’s forPrerequisitesSkills CoveredRecommended OrderCore FinOpsFoundationJunior Engineers, AnalystsBasic Cloud KnowledgeCost allocation, FinOps lifecycle, Tagging basics1Technical FinOpsPractitionerCloud Engineers, SREsFoundation CertRight-sizing, Spot instances, Anomaly detection2Strategic FinOpsManagerPlatform Managers, ArchitectsPractitioner CertForecasting, Chargeback models, Team enablement3SpecializedDataOps CostData EngineersPractitioner CertPipeline optimization, Storage lifecycle policiesOptionalSpecializedSRE Cost MgmtSite Reliability EngineersPractitioner CertCost-reliability balancing, Observability costsOptional Detailed Guide for Each Certified FinOps Manager Certification Certified FinOps Manager – Foundation What it is This entry-level certification validates a fundamental understanding of cloud financial management principles. It ensures the candidate comprehends the inform, optimize, and operate phases of the FinOps lifecycle. Who should take it Junior cloud engineers, financial analysts transitioning to tech, and project managers should begin here. It requires minimal prior experience and focuses heavily on establishing a shared vocabulary. Skills you’ll gain Understanding basic cloud pricing models and billing structures. Implementing elementary resource tagging and categorization. Reading and analyzing basic cloud cost and usage reports. Communicating cost drivers to non-technical stakeholders. Real-world projects you should be able to do Map orphaned cloud resources back to their owning teams. Create a basic dashboard showing monthly spend by environment. Identify low-hanging fruit for immediate cost reduction. Preparation plan For a 7-14 day plan, focus intensely on the official glossary and core principles. A 30-day strategy should include exploring the billing consoles of major cloud providers. The 60-day plan allows for deploying small lab environments to see how usage translates to billing over time. Common mistakes Candidates often memorize definitions without understanding how they apply to real billing consoles. Many also underestimate the importance of the cultural aspect of FinOps compared to the technical tooling. Best next certification after this Same-track option: Certified FinOps Practitioner. Cross-track option: AWS Cloud Practitioner or Azure Fundamentals. Leadership option: ITIL Foundation for broader service management context. Certified FinOps Manager – Practitioner What it is The professional tier certification validates hands-on ability to reduce cloud waste and optimize architecture. It proves that the candidate can implement technical solutions to enforce financial boundaries. Who should take it Active DevOps engineers, SREs, and cloud architects working in production environments are the ideal audience. It assumes you already know how to provision infrastructure and are now learning to optimize it. Skills you’ll gain Engineering automated shutdown schedules for non-production environments. Negotiating and applying committed use discounts and reserved instances. Implementing container-level cost allocation in Kubernetes. Designing automated anomaly detection alerts for sudden spend spikes. Real-world projects you should be able to do Refactor a monolithic application to use cost-effective serverless components. Build a programmatic cost-alerting integration for Slack or Microsoft Teams. Execute a massive right-sizing initiative across a fleet of virtual machines. Preparation plan A 14-day sprint requires prior deep experience with cloud billing APIs. A 30-day plan should balance API exploration with studying advanced discounting mechanics. The 60-day path is ideal for practicing cost allocation inside complex Kubernetes clusters. Common mistakes Failing to understand the exact mathematical breakpoints of reserved instances versus on-demand pricing. Candidates also struggle with the complexities of multi-tenant cost allocation. Best next certification after this Same-track option: Certified FinOps Manager (Advanced). Cross-track option: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA). Leadership option: Agile Project Management credentials. Certified FinOps Manager – Advanced What it is This pinnacle certification proves your capability to lead enterprise-wide cloud financial strategies. It validates executive-level decision-making, forecasting, and organizational change management skills. Who should take it Engineering directors, principal architects, and dedicated FinOps team leads should target this level. It requires deep technical background combined with strong business and financial acumen. Skills you’ll gain Establishing accurate cloud cost forecasting and budget variance analysis. Designing completely automated chargeback and showback financial models. Driving cultural shifts to make distributed engineering teams cost-accountable. Aligning cloud unit economics with overarching business profitability metrics. Real-world projects you should be able to do Present a comprehensive quarterly cost strategy to the C-suite. Design a gamified cost-optimization program for internal engineering teams. Architect a multi-cloud financial governance framework from scratch. Preparation plan A 14-day review is only viable for current platform directors. The 30-day approach should focus on financial modeling and organizational psychology. A 60-day deep dive allows time to practice building comprehensive enterprise strategy documents and executive presentations. Common mistakes Focusing too much on technical CLI commands rather than executive communication. Overlooking the importance of unit economics and tying cloud spend directly to business revenue. Best next certification after this Same-track option: Specialized vendor-specific architecture professional certs. Cross-track option: Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). Leadership option: Executive MBA or advanced leadership training. Choose Your Learning Path DevOps Path The DevOps path integrates cost optimization directly into the CI/CD pipeline. Professionals learn to evaluate the financial impact of infrastructure-as-code before it is deployed. This path ensures that automated testing and rapid deployment do not lead to runaway resource consumption. Focus is heavily placed on shifting cost accountability left to the developers. DevSecOps Path Integrating security and cost management, this path evaluates the financial overhead of compliance tools. Professionals analyze the spend associated with continuous vulnerability scanning and massive centralized logging. The goal is to design robust security architectures that do not unnecessarily inflate cloud bills. It balances risk mitigation with financial sustainability. SRE Path Site Reliability Engineers on this path focus on the relationship between system reliability and cost. You will learn to calculate the exact financial cost of achieving higher “nines” of availability. This path teaches how to justify or reject architectural redundancy based on business value. It is critical for balancing service level objectives with strict departmental budgets. AIOps Path This path focuses on utilizing artificial intelligence to automate complex operational workflows and reduce human overhead. Professionals learn how to evaluate the computing costs associated with running AI-driven observability platforms. The goal is to ensure the predictive maintenance tools save more money than they cost to operate. It emphasizes using intelligent automation to drive down operational expenditure. MLOps Path The MLOps path is dedicated specifically to the immense costs of training and serving machine learning models. Professionals master the deployment of GPU resources, spot instance orchestration, and model optimization to reduce compute time. This is vital for data science teams whose cloud bills can spiral out of control during model training phases. It teaches strict resource lifecycle management for intensive computational workloads. DataOps Path Data engineering environments are notorious for massive storage and data transfer costs. This path teaches professionals how to optimize data warehouse queries, manage cold storage lifecycles, and reduce egress fees. You will learn to govern the financial impact of continuous data ingestion and transformation pipelines. It brings rigorous financial oversight to large-scale big data architectures. FinOps Path The dedicated FinOps path focuses entirely on the strategic orchestration of cloud financial management. This path is for those who will own the centralized FinOps practice within an enterprise. It covers advanced forecasting, vendor negotiation, and cross-functional team leadership. Professionals here become the bridge between the Chief Technology Officer and the Chief Financial Officer. Role → Recommended Certified FinOps Manager Certifications RoleRecommended CertificationsDevOps EngineerFoundation, PractitionerSREPractitioner, SRE Cost Mgmt SpecializationPlatform EngineerPractitioner, ManagerCloud EngineerFoundation, PractitionerSecurity EngineerFoundation, DevSecOps Integration ModuleData EngineerPractitioner, DataOps Cost SpecializationFinOps PractitionerFoundation, Practitioner, ManagerEngineering ManagerFoundation, Manager Next Certifications to Take After Certified FinOps Manager Same Track Progression Advancing within the same track involves pursuing highly granular, vendor-specific cost optimization credentials. After mastering agnostic FinOps principles, professionals should target deep specializations like the AWS Certified Advanced Networking or Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect. These advanced engineering credentials allow you to apply strategic financial principles to the deepest technical layers of specific public clouds. Cross-Track Expansion Expanding your skills means moving into adjacent disciplines that heavily impact cloud environments. Pursuing Kubernetes (CKA/CKS) or Terraform associate certifications gives you the exact technical leverage to implement FinOps automation. Understanding how container orchestration and infrastructure-as-code function makes your financial governance strategies far more effective and easier to deploy automatically. Leadership & Management Track For those leaving individual contributor roles, the next step involves broader management and enterprise frameworks. Certifications in ITIL 4, TOGAF enterprise architecture, or Agile program management are highly recommended. These frameworks help you integrate cloud financial operations into the overarching corporate strategy and governance models required by modern enterprise boards. Training & Certification Support Providers for Certified FinOps Manager DevOpsSchool This organization operates as a premier global platform dedicated to transforming enterprise engineering teams through rigorous, real-world training. They focus intensely on bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and production-grade implementation in DevOps and cloud infrastructure. Their curriculum is highly respected for its hands-on labs and project-based approach, ensuring that candidates do not just pass exams but truly understand the mechanics of continuous integration, deployment, and cost governance. By fostering a deep understanding of infrastructure-as-code and automated pipelines, they provide the exact foundational skills necessary for any engineer aiming to master advanced financial operations in cloud-native environments. Cotocus A highly specialized consulting and training provider, this organization excels in cloud cost optimization, system architecture, and operational efficiency. They bring deep industry experience to their training modules, focusing on the complex challenges enterprises face when scaling multi-cloud environments. Their approach to training is heavily influenced by their consulting background, meaning candidates are exposed to real-world case studies, billing anomalies, and actual cost-saving architectural refactors. They are instrumental for teams who need to urgently rein in cloud spend while simultaneously upskilling their workforce to maintain those financial controls over the long term. Scmgalaxy As a long-standing community and training hub, this platform has deep roots in software configuration management, build automation, and release engineering. They provide extensive resources, forums, and structured courses that help engineers master the lifecycle of software delivery. Understanding configuration management is a critical prerequisite for advanced cloud operations, and this provider ensures professionals have those baseline concepts mastered. Their practical approach helps teams standardize their environments, which is an absolute necessity before any effective cloud financial governance or optimization strategy can be successfully implemented across an organization. BestDevOps This platform focuses on curating and delivering the absolute best practices in modern software delivery and reliability engineering. They cater to a global audience, providing high-quality insights, tutorials, and structured learning paths that align with current industry standards. Their focus on the cultural aspects of team collaboration, alongside technical tooling, makes them a valuable resource for engineers transitioning into leadership roles. By emphasizing clean architecture and efficient deployment strategies, they help professionals build the operational maturity required to support complex financial governance and optimization initiatives in large-scale environments. devsecopsschool.com Dedicated entirely to the intersection of security and operations, this provider teaches engineers how to weave compliance and vulnerability management directly into automated pipelines. They address the critical reality that security tools often introduce immense computing overhead and cloud costs if not implemented correctly. Their training ensures that professionals can architect secure systems that remain financially viable and operationally efficient. By mastering the principles taught here, engineers can defend their infrastructure against threats while simultaneously defending their enterprise against the hidden financial bloat often associated with rigorous compliance logging and active monitoring. sreschool.com This specialized training provider focuses on the discipline of Site Reliability Engineering, teaching professionals how to build, maintain, and scale ultra-reliable software systems. Their curriculum dives deep into service level objectives, error budgets, and incident response, always balancing system uptime with engineering velocity. They emphasize that every incremental gain in reliability comes with an associated infrastructure cost. Therefore, their training is highly complementary to financial operations, as it teaches engineers how to mathematically justify redundancy and high-availability architecture based on actual business requirements rather than over-provisioning infrastructure by default. aiopsschool.com Operating at the cutting edge of IT operations, this institution trains professionals in the deployment and management of artificial intelligence and machine learning within operational workflows. They teach engineers how to build automated, self-healing infrastructure that can predict failures before they happen. Their training covers the heavy computational demands required to run intelligent observability platforms. Learning how to properly manage and optimize the massive data processing requirements of operational AI ensures that enterprises can achieve intelligent automation without accidentally creating massive, uncontrolled spikes in their monthly cloud computing and storage bills. dataopsschool.com This provider is entirely focused on the modern data engineering lifecycle, teaching professionals how to build robust, scalable, and efficient data pipelines. They cover everything from stream processing and data warehousing to big data analytics infrastructure. Because data movement, storage, and processing represent some of the highest costs in any cloud environment, their training is vital. They teach engineers how to structure data architectures efficiently, optimize complex query performance, and manage data lifecycles effectively, all of which directly translate to massive financial savings for enterprise cloud environments. finopsschool.com This is the ultimate, dedicated hub for mastering the financial operations of modern cloud infrastructure. They provide the definitive curriculum, resources, and certification paths for professionals seeking to align engineering velocity with strict financial accountability. Their comprehensive approach covers everything from executive chargeback models and forecasting to granular Kubernetes cost allocation and spot instance orchestration. By focusing exclusively on the intersection of business value and cloud engineering, they equip professionals and enterprise teams with the exact frameworks needed to eliminate cloud waste, optimize vendor contracts, and build a culture of financial responsibility. Frequently Asked Questions (General) 1. What exactly does a professional in this field do on a daily basis? They analyze cloud billing reports, track down engineering teams responsible for unexpected spend spikes, and configure automated scripts to shut down unused resources. They also design dashboards that translate complex technical usage into clear financial metrics for executive leadership. 2. Do I need a background in finance or accounting to be successful here? No, a background in software engineering, system administration, or DevOps is far more valuable. It is much easier to teach an engineer basic financial principles than it is to teach an accountant how Kubernetes cluster provisioning works. 3. How difficult are the certification exams? The foundational level requires solid study but is accessible to beginners. The practitioner and manager levels are quite difficult and require extensive hands-on experience navigating the billing APIs and cost management consoles of major cloud providers. 4. How long does it realistically take to prepare for the exams? Most working professionals need about two to four weeks of evening study for the foundation level. The advanced levels typically require two to three months of rigorous preparation, lab work, and practical application. 5. Which cloud provider is this certification focused on? The principles taught are inherently vendor-agnostic and apply universally. However, you will learn how to adapt these frameworks specifically to the unique billing mechanics of AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure. 6. Will earning this credential increase my salary? Yes, professionals who can demonstrably save a company hundreds of thousands of dollars in cloud waste are highly compensated. It often provides the leverage needed to negotiate higher salaries or transition into senior management roles. 7. Do I need to know how to write code to pass? Deep programming knowledge is not strictly required, but it is highly beneficial. You must be comfortable with infrastructure-as-code concepts, basic scripting (like Python or Bash), and reading JSON/YAML configuration files. 8. Should I take this before or after my cloud architect certifications? It is generally recommended to get a baseline cloud architect certification first to understand how resources are provisioned. Once you know how to build cloud environments, you can then learn how to optimize their costs. 9. Is this certification recognized globally? Yes, enterprise organizations worldwide are adopting these frameworks to combat rising infrastructure costs. The skills are universally applicable, making the credential highly respected across global tech hubs. 10. How often do I need to renew or update my credential? Because cloud pricing models and discount mechanisms change rapidly, professionals must continually update their knowledge. Continuous learning and periodic recertification ensure your skills remain relevant to the current market. 11. Can this help me transition from an individual contributor to a manager? Absolutely, it is one of the best transition pathways available. It forces you to look at engineering output from a business perspective, which is exactly how directors and vice presidents evaluate technical teams. 12. What is the biggest challenge when implementing these practices? The technical implementation is usually straightforward; the real challenge is cultural. Convincing fast-moving engineering teams to care about the cost of their deployments requires significant soft skills and leadership capability. FAQs on Certified FinOps Manager 1. What is the core objective of the Certified FinOps Manager credential? The primary objective is to validate a professional’s ability to drive financial accountability within technical teams without stifling innovation. It proves you can design and implement strategies that maximize the business value of every dollar spent in the cloud. You learn to break down silos between procurement, finance, and engineering, establishing a common language and shared metrics that ensure cloud investments directly align with the overarching strategic goals and profitability targets of the entire enterprise. 2. How does this differ from traditional IT procurement? Traditional IT procurement relies on fixed, capital-expenditure budgets for physical hardware purchased on multi-year cycles. Cloud spending is highly variable, decentralized, and operates on an operational-expenditure model where resources are provisioned instantly by engineers. This credential teaches you how to govern this high-velocity, decentralized spending model dynamically. It shifts the focus from negotiating slow, static vendor contracts to managing real-time, automated cost optimizations and continuous unit-economic tracking within rapidly changing software environments. 3. What role does automation play in this certification? Automation is absolutely central to modern cloud financial management. Human oversight cannot keep up with the scale and speed of automated CI/CD pipelines provisioning thousands of resources daily. This certification covers how to implement automated guardrails, scripted resource scheduling, and machine-driven anomaly detection. You must demonstrate the ability to use code to enforce budget limits, automatically tag new resources, and programmatically shut down orphaned infrastructure before it generates significant unnecessary billing charges. 4. Why is tagging so critical in the curriculum? Tagging is the foundational metadata mechanism that allows enterprises to track cloud spending back to specific products, teams, or business units. Without a rigorous, universally enforced tagging strategy, cloud bills become an opaque black box. The certification emphasizes designing comprehensive tagging taxonomies and implementing automated policies to ensure 100% compliance. Mastering this ensures that finance teams can accurately execute chargebacks and understand exactly which software features are driving the highest operational costs. 5. How does this certification approach multi-cloud environments? Multi-cloud architectures introduce immense financial complexity due to disparate billing formats, differing discount mechanics, and complex data egress fees. The curriculum teaches you how to normalize billing data across AWS, Azure, and GCP into a single, cohesive pane of glass. You will learn to architect cross-cloud cost allocation strategies and evaluate the hidden financial penalties of moving data between different cloud providers, ensuring robust governance over the most complex enterprise network designs. 6. Is container optimization covered in the training? Yes, optimizing containerized environments, specifically Kubernetes, is a major component of the advanced tracks. Because Kubernetes abstracts the underlying virtual machines, traditional billing reports cannot accurately attribute costs to specific microservices. The training covers specialized tooling and methodologies required to allocate memory and CPU usage financially down to the pod and namespace level, ensuring granular cost visibility within massive, multi-tenant container clusters. 7. How does this framework impact software architecture choices? By integrating financial visibility into the engineering process, architects learn to treat cost as a non-functional requirement alongside security and scalability. The curriculum trains you to mathematically evaluate whether a workload should be run on serverless functions, spot instances, or reserved virtual machines. You learn to calculate the long-term unit economics of architectural decisions, ensuring that the systems being built today do not become financially unsustainable as user traffic scales. 8. How do you convince engineering teams to adopt these practices? A significant portion of the management-tier certification focuses on organizational psychology and cultural change. You learn to implement “showback” models that create visibility, gamify cost optimization to foster healthy competition among engineering squads, and integrate cost metrics directly into developer dashboards. By removing friction and automating the reporting process, you learn to make cost-awareness a natural, painless part of the engineering lifecycle rather than a burdensome bureaucratic mandate. Final Thoughts: Is Certified FinOps Manager Worth It? For any professional operating in cloud-native environments, mastering the financial mechanics of infrastructure is no longer optional; it is a necessity. The Certified FinOps Manager path provides an immediate, tangible return on investment by equipping you with the skills to align technical architecture with business profitability. It forces you to step outside the narrow scope of pure engineering and adopt an executive mindset, making you an indispensable asset to corporate leadership. If you want to future-proof your career, influence enterprise strategy, and lead high-performing teams, committing to this learning path is one of the most pragmatic and high-impact decisions you can make. View the full article

How I use AI as a sounding board for home organization, while keeping every decision mine. I work in internal developer relations at Google, which means I spend most of my time thinking about how engineers adopt AI tools. Prompting, delegation, workflow integration. It’s the job. So it was probably inevitable that I’d eventually turn that lens on my own garage. My tool shed had gotten out of hand. Rakes leaning in a pile, a Greenworks mower blocking everything, an orange leaf blower that lives on a shelf for no particular reason, clear bins I can’t see into, Amazon boxes I kept meaning to break down. The usual. I knew what needed to happen, I just didn’t want to think through it. So I tried something. Here’s what the process looked like. Stage 1: The visual brain dump. I took a few pictures of the shed from different angles and dropped them straight into a chat with the Gemini app. No cleanup, no staging. The whole point is to let the AI actually see what you’re dealing with. It inventoried the space better than I could have described it in words: spotted the tool categories, flagged the wasted vertical space, noticed the empty wire shelving unit sitting in the foreground. That last one was a little embarrassing, since that was the thing I had bought to fix the problem and then just put in the shed. It made a few mistakes too (“I see grill equipment” when there is no grill equipment), but you can correct those. That’s fine. Stage 2: Adding constraints. My first prompt was basically nothing: “I’m trying to organize the shed. Help me figure out where to put things.” The response was reasonable: wall-mounted racks, hooks for the long-handled tools, zone everything by frequency of use. Also useless, because it’s a plastic vinyl shed and you can’t mount anything to the walls. So I said: “I can’t hang anything.” One constraint. The whole response shifted. Suddenly we were talking about freestanding tool corrals, using 5-gallon buckets to hold rakes upright, putting the mower at the back as an anchor and working forward from there. Things I could actually do. The difference between the first response and the second taught me something I keep relearning at work too. Telling the AI what you cannot do gets you further than telling it what you want. Open-ended questions produce options. Constraints produce a plan. Stage 3: Iterative refinement. I kept going. What’s the single first move? What goes on the floor versus the shelf? If I only had 20 minutes, where do I start? Each answer gave me something to react to, agree with, push back on. I wasn’t taking orders. I was pressure-testing ideas faster than I could generate them on my own. That’s the distinction I’d draw for anyone trying this at home: the AI isn’t making decisions. You are. It’s doing the legwork of mapping out the options so you spend less time staring at a cluttered shed wondering where to begin. The judgment is still yours. You’re just not doing the combinatorics by hand. One more thing worth knowing: you don’t have to type. I did most of this by talking into my phone while standing in the shed looking at the actual problem. It kept me in the space instead of retreating to a screen. The model doesn’t care how it gets the input. The shed isn’t finished. But I know exactly what the next step is, which is more than I could say before I started. If you want to try this: start with a photo, not a description. Then as soon as the first answer doesn’t fit your situation, say why. That’s where the useful conversation begins. View the full article

ChatGPT's default model has been updated to GPT-5.5 Instant, a model that brings accuracy improvements with fewer hallucinations, especially in areas like medicine, law, and finance, according to OpenAI. GPT-5.5 Instant is more capable at tasks like analyzing images, answering STEM questions, and choosing when to use web search to provide a better answer. Responses can also be personalized because GPT-5.5 Instant can better draw context from past chats, files, and Gmail, but this is currently limited to paid subscribers. OpenAI says that responses are "tighter and more to-the-point without losing substance" and without eliminating ChatGPT's personality. It will provide the same information, but without unnecessary formatting, emojis, and follow-up questions. All ChatGPT models are being updated with memory sources, which will show users the past chats, files, and other context that ChatGPT used to generate a response. GPT-5.5 Instant is rolling out today to all ChatGPT users, and it is replacing GPT-5.3 Instant as the default model. While free users can access GPT-5.5 Instant, the new personalization features are limited to Plus and Pro users on the web. Personalization will expand to mobile soon, and it will roll out to Free, Go, Business, and Enterprise users in the coming weeks. It's not yet clear when Apple Intelligence's ChatGPT integration will switch to GPT-5.5 Instant.Tags: ChatGPT, OpenAI This article, "ChatGPT Is Smarter, More Accurate, and Less Obsessed With Emojis After Upgrade" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple will pay $250 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing it of false advertising and unfair competition after the personalized Siri features it promoted when launching the iPhone 16 were delayed. Apple was accused of setting "a clear and reasonable consumer expectation that these transformative features would be available upon the iPhone's release," while also causing "unprecedented excitement" that resulted in millions of consumers unnecessarily upgrading their devices. A smarter, Apple Intelligence version of ‌Siri‌ was shown off at WWDC 2024, and then promoted in ads and videos when the ‌iPhone 16‌ launched in September 2024. After Apple delayed the Siri Apple Intelligence features in March 2025, Apple pulled its ads, but they had been running for several months at that point. The lawsuit claimed Apple violated consumer law by misleading consumers about the actual utility and performance of ‌Apple Intelligence‌, and causing them to purchase a device "with features that did not exist or were materially misrepresented." Apple's $250 million payment will provide U.S. Settlement Class Members who submit Claim Forms with a per-device payment of $25 for each eligible device, though that could increase up to $95 per device if claim volume is low. Eligible devices include ‌iPhone 16‌, iPhone 16e, ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus, ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro, ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max models purchased between June 10, 2024, and March 29, 2025. The settlement has received preliminary approval, and notices to those eligible to make a claim will start to receive email notices no more than 45 days from today.Tags: Apple Lawsuits, Siri This article, "Apple to Pay $250 Million to Settle Class Action Over Delayed Siri Features" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple has removed more desktop Macs from its online store as the global memory shortage continues. Mac mini models with 32GB and 64GB of RAM are no longer available for purchase, nor is the M3 Ultra Mac Studio with 256GB RAM. The M3 Ultra Mac Studio is now available only in a 96GB RAM configuration, with higher-tier options eliminated. Both M3 ‌Mac Studio‌ and M4 Max ‌Mac Studio‌ models have delivery estimates of 9 to 10 weeks. As for the ‌Mac mini‌, the M4 Pro model now maxes out at 48GB of RAM, with customers no longer able to choose the 64GB option. The standard M4 Mac mini can only be purchased with 16GB or 24GB of RAM, because the 32GB option has been removed. Last week, Apple removed the ‌Mac mini‌ with 256GB of SSD storage, leaving the 512GB model as the minimum option. That effectively raised the price of the ‌Mac mini‌ from $599 to $799. Apple also stopped accepting orders for some ‌Mac Studio‌ and ‌Mac mini‌ machines with higher amounts of RAM in March and April. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said that the ‌Mac mini‌ and the ‌Mac Studio‌ are going to be hard to get for months to come. "We think, looking forward, that the ‌‌Mac mini‌‌ and ‌‌Mac Studio‌‌ may take several months to reach supply demand balance," Cook said. According to Cook, Apple underestimated the demand for the ‌Mac mini‌ and the ‌Mac Studio‌ from customers looking for a machine to run AI and agentic tools locally. He said Apple also expects significantly higher memory costs in the months to come, so Apple is likely conserving supply by eliminating some configuration options. Global supply constraints caused by AI server demand have impacted the pricing of memory chips, leading to high prices and memory shortages. Update: Article updated to note that the 32GB ‌M4 Mac mini‌ is also no longer available. Related Roundups: Mac Studio, Mac miniBuyer's Guide: Mac Studio (Caution), Mac Mini (Caution)Related Forums: Mac Studio, Mac mini This article, "Apple Cuts More Mac Studio and Mac Mini RAM Options as Memory Shortage Worsens" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Max 2. The firmware is version 8E258, up from the prior 8E251 firmware that was released just ahead of when the ‌AirPods Max 2‌ launched. It's not clear what's included in the firmware update, but Apple provides limited details in its AirPods firmware support document. Most updates focus on bug fixes and improvements. The ‌AirPods Max 2‌ have an H2 chip, an upgrade over the H1. The H2 brings several new features like Live Translation, Adaptive Audio, Loud Sound Reduction, Voice Isolation, and more. To get the new firmware, make sure your AirPods are in range of your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and are connected via Bluetooth. From there, connect the Apple device to Wi-Fi, then connect the AirPods Max to power with a USB-C cable. Keep the AirPods Max in Bluetooth range of the Apple device, and wait at least 30 minutes for the firmware to update. From there, reconnect the AirPods to the Apple device, and check the firmware version to see if it's updated. Apple says if the firmware doesn't install, to restart the AirPods Max and try again.Related Roundup: AirPods Max 2Buyer's Guide: AirPods Max (Buy Now)Related Forum: AirPods This article, "Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Max 2" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 will let users set third-party AI services as the default for Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools and Image Playground, reports Bloomberg. Apple has signed a deal with Google and plans to use a Gemini-based model for ‌Apple Intelligence‌ and Siri features in ‌iOS 27‌, but users will also be able to choose their favorite AI service as an alternative. Apple has already partnered with OpenAI to make ChatGPT available in lieu of Apple's built-in options for ‌Siri‌, Writing Tools, and ‌Image Playground‌ on iOS 26, but in Apple's upcoming software updates, other third-party chatbots like Claude and Gemini will also be available. Instead of being limited to ChatGPT, users will select their preferred AI service. Users can choose any AI provider that adds support for Apple's new ‌iOS 27‌, iPadOS 27, and ‌macOS 27‌ "Extensions" feature. From Bloomberg: "Extensions allow you to access generative AI capabilities from installed apps on demand, through Apple Intelligence features such as Siri, Writing Tools, Image Playground and more," according to a message shown in test versions of the software. Apple also plans to let users choose voices from third-party AI services for ‌Siri‌, which would make it clearer whether ‌Siri‌ or another AI product like Gemini is responding. ‌Siri‌ would use one voice, while responses from third-party AI options would use another voice. Apple has many other AI-related changes planned for ‌iOS 27‌, with details available in our iOS 27 roundup.Related Roundup: iOS 27Tags: Apple Intelligence, ChatGPT This article, "iOS 27 Will Let You Pick Claude or Gemini Instead of ChatGPT for Apple Intelligence" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Following a few steep discounts on the iPhone Air last month, we're now tracking a new all-time low price on the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery on Amazon. You can get the accessory for $59.99, down from $99.00, beating the previous low price by about $20. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. The iPhone Air MagSafe Battery is only compatible with the iPhone Air, and it can add up to 65 percent additional charge to the smartphone. The MagSafe Battery supports up to 12W of fast wireless charging, and it sports a thin and light design similar to the iPhone Air. $39 OFFiPhone Air MagSafe Battery for $59.99 Apple heavily discounted the iPhone Air in both the United Kingdom and United States in late March and early April, providing as much as 30 percent off the device. There have been multiple reports regarding low sales for the iPhone Air, with one stating there is "virtually no demand" for the smartphone. If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week. Deals Newsletter Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2026? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season! Related Roundup: Apple Deals This article, "iPhone Air MagSafe Battery Hits $59.99 Low Price" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article