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A group of 48 China-based iOS developers have filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with the country's market regulator over the App Store's commission rates, the South China Morning Post reports. The developers sent an open letter to China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), alleging that Apple failed to deliver on a promise to offer the lowest commission rate to the Chinese market. The group asked the SAMR to investigate and penalize Apple for allegedly abusing its market dominance to impose "unfair and excessively high" costs on local developers. Apple currently charges a 25% commission on paid apps and in-app purchases in China, down from 30% after a cut made in March. The commission on subscription renewals, along with the rate for qualified developers in Apple's Small Business and Mini Apps Partner programs, was lowered to 12% from 15% at the same time. The complaint follows a series of similar challenges to Apple's China ‌App Store‌ policies dating back nearly a decade. A Beijing law firm filed a complaint in 2017 over app removals and high fees, a Chinese consumer sued over ‌App Store‌ fees in 2021 (a claim ultimately rejected by a Shanghai court in 2024), and another Chinese law firm sued again in 2025. The 48 developers point to Apple's recent moves elsewhere as evidence the company can do better. Apple lowered its Brazil commission last week to between 10% and 21% of a transaction, plus a 5% processing fee, while also letting Brazilian developers distribute iOS apps through other app marketplaces for a 5% fee. Apple made comparable adjustments in Japan late last year. The developers want more than Brazil-style pricing. They argue that allowing third-party app stores in China, as Apple already does in the European Union under the Digital Markets Act, would push its effective commission down to as low as 5%. Apple has faced mounting regulatory pressure over ‌App Store‌ fees worldwide in recent years. The company was fined €500 million ($572.2 million) last year for violating the EU's Digital Markets Act and has appealed the decision, while in the U.S. it has been ordered to allow external payment links following its legal fight with Epic Games. Apple said earlier this month that its ‌App Store‌ ecosystem generated more than $1.4 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2025, with China contributing the largest share at $562 billion.Tags: Apple Antitrust, App Store, China, South China Morning Post This article, "Apple Faces New App Store Complaint From Chinese Developers" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Anker's popular Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station has dropped to $99.74 on Amazon for Prime Day, down from $149.99. This is one of Anker's newest accessories, and Amazon's sale today is a new all-time low price. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. The Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station features Qi2.2 support, which lets a compatible MagSafe ‌iPhone‌ charge at up to 25W. It's the same speed as Apple's ‌MagSafe‌ charger, and it is 10W faster than the standard Qi2 ‌MagSafe‌ chargers. You can also simultaneously charge an Apple Watch and AirPods with the device. $50 OFFAnker Prime 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station for $99.74 There are plenty of other Anker discounts happening on Amazon for Prime Day, including Anker's Prime 14-in-1 Docking Station for $319.99, down from $399.99. Below you'll find a list of the best Anker discounts on Amazon this week, also including wall chargers, portable chargers, and more. $80 OFFAnker Prime 14-in-1 Docking Station for $319.99 Wall Chargers Anker Nano USB-C Wall Charger - $25.99, down from $39.99 Anker 140W 4-Port GaN USB-C Charger - $59.99, down from $99.99 Anker 3-Port Prime Charger - $99.99, down from $149.99 Wireless Chargers Anker 3-in-1 MagSafe-Compatible UFO Charger - $59.99, down from $89.99 Anker 3-in-1 MagSafe-Compatible Foldable Charging Station - $59.00, down from $109.99 Anker 3-in-1 MagSafe-Compatible Charging Cube - $77.54, down from $129.99 Anker 3-in-1 Prime Wireless Charging Station - $99.74, down from $149.99 Anker Prime MagSafe-Compatible 3-in-1 Charging Station - $137.99, down from $229.99 Portable Chargers Nano Power Bank with Built-In USB-C - $19.99, down from $26.99 Anker Nano 10,000 mAh Portable Charger - $41.99, down from $59.99 Anker MagGo Power Bank 10,000 mAh - $60.79, down from $79.99 Anker Prime Power Bank 20,100 mAh - $119.69, down from $179.99 Anker Prime Power Bank 26,250 mAh - $159.99, down from $229.99 Portable Power Stations Anker SOLIX C300 Power Station with Lantern - $149.99, down from $249.00 Anker SOLIX C300 - $209.30, down from $299.99 Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 - $399.00, down from $799.00 Anker SOLIX S2000 - $599.00, down from $1,199.00 Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 - $699.99, down from $1,499.00 Anker SOLIX F3800 - $1,599.99, down from $2,299.00 Docks Anker Nano 13-in-1 Laptop Docking Station - $104.49, down from $149.99 Anker Prime 14-Port Docking Station - $161.49, down from $269.99 Shoppers should note that many sales during Amazon Prime Day require you to have an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of the discounts. Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139.00 per year, and it comes with a 30-day free trial for new subscribers. Special for 2026, Amazon is also offering 50% off Prime memberships for Young Adults. Prime for Young Adults is a discounted Prime membership for anyone age 18-24 that offers all of the Prime benefits at $69.00 per year, half of the price of regular Prime. For even more Prime Day deals, be sure to visit our main article recapping all of the best Apple deals for Prime Day. 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 DealsTag: Prime Day This article, "Anker's 3-in-1 Foldable Wireless Charger Drops to $99.74 for Prime Day" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Amazon is taking $150 off multiple models of the M5 MacBook Air for Prime Day, including a match of the all-time low price on the 16GB/1TB 15-inch MacBook Air. This model is on sale for $1,349.00 in Starlight and Midnight, down from $1,499.00. 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. In terms of 13-inch models, Amazon has the 512GB 13-inch MacBook Air for $949.00, down from $1,099.00, and the 16GB/1TB model for $1,149.00, down from $1,299.00. Both of these represent solid second-best prices for the M5 MacBook Air. $150 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (512GB) for $949.00 $150 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (16GB/1TB) for $1,149.00 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 $149 OFF15-inch M5 MacBook Air (24GB/1TB) for $1,549.99 Shoppers should note that many sales during Amazon Prime Day require you to have an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of the discounts. Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139.00 per year, and it comes with a 30-day free trial for new subscribers. Special for 2026, Amazon is also offering 50% off Prime memberships for Young Adults. Prime for Young Adults is a discounted Prime membership for anyone age 18-24 that offers all of the Prime benefits at $69.00 per year, half of the price of regular Prime. For even more Prime Day deals, be sure to visit our main article recapping all of the best Apple deals for Prime Day. 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 DealsTag: Prime Day This article, "M5 MacBook Air Gets a Major Price Cut for Prime Day Shoppers" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

LG is hosting an early Fourth of July sale on its website this week, with deals on monitors, TVs, home appliances, and more. LG's discounts have been automatically applied and do not require any discount codes or special memberships. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with LG. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Highlights of the event include up to $700 off select LG monitors and up to $1,700 off LG's best TV sets. Regarding the TVs, discounts include big savings on the new 2026 LG OLED evo AI sets, like the 65-inch LG OLED evo AI C6 4K Smart TV for $1,999.99 ($700 off) and the 65-inch LG OLED evo AI G6 4K Smart TV for $2,999.99 ($400 off). SITEWIDE SALELG Fourth of July Sale TVs 55-inch LG UHD 4K Smart TV - $299.99 ($80 off) 75-inch LG Mini LED 4K Smart TV - $699.99 ($100 off) 86-inch LG QNED 4K Smart TV - $999.99 ($299 off) 65-inch LG OLED 4K Smart TV - $1,199.99 ($800 off) 77-inch LG evo AI 4K Smart TV - $1,999.99 ($1,700 off) 65-inch LG OLED evo AI C6 4K Smart TV - $1,999.99 ($700 off) 65-inch LG OLED evo AI G6 4K Smart TV - $2,999.99 ($400 off) Monitors 34-inch UltraGear Curved Monitor - $229.99 ($170 off) 34-inch UltraWide Curved Monitor - $299.99 ($200 off) 34-inch UltraGear OLED Curved Gaming Monitor - $799.99 ($500 off) 27-inch UltraGear OLED Gaming Monitor - $699.99 ($300 off) 32-inch UltraFine 6K Monitor - $1,299.99 ($700 off) Appliances 24-inch QuadWash Front Control Dishwasher - $549.00 ($250 off) 24-inch FlushFit Top Control Dishwasher - $749.00 ($400 off) 26 cu. ft. Wide Bottom Freezer Refrigerator - $1,699.00 ($500 off) 27 cu. ft. Side-by-Side InstaView Refrigerator - $1,699.00 ($900 off) Single Unit Front Load WashTower - $1,699.00 ($900 off) 27 cu. ft. Smart InstaView French Door Refrigerator - $1,899.00 ($1,000 off) Washer/Dryer LG WashCombo All-in-One - $1,999.00 ($1,300 off) 30 cu. ft. Smart French Door Refrigerator - $2,499.00 ($1,500 off) 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, "LG Drops Major Fourth of July Deals: OLED TVs, UltraWide Monitors, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

The latest beta of Apple's Reality Composer Pro 3, the content creation tool used to build spatial experiences for Apple Vision Pro, appears to contain traces of "The Machinery," an ambitious game development project that abruptly shut down in 2022 without explanation. Based on code discovered by Nicolás Alvarez and independently confirmed by MacRumors, binaries included with Reality Composer Pro 3 beta contain at least 40 mentions of "the machinery" or "our machinery," and match aspects of The Machinery's project structure, asset management system, and database architecture. The findings are notable because The Machinery was developed by Our Machinery – a company made up of veterans of the Bitsquid game engine. The project earned a devoted following among engine programmers for its unconventional approach to content creation workflows. And yet it disappeared without trace. Central to the project was a system known as "The Truth," a database-driven architecture designed to unify assets, objects, dependencies, and editor state. Many of the same concepts appear in Apple's latest Reality Composer Pro release, announced during WWDC 2026. Things like reusable prototypes, live editing, asset dependency tracking, and rapid iteration workflows all pop up – ideas that have notable technological similarities to how The Machinery worked. The direct references in the code appear to confirm the connection. The links don't just extend to code strings, either. Tricia Gray, co-founder and CEO of Our Machinery, now works on Apple's spatial computing developer tools team, as evidenced in her LinkedIn profile. It's not clear whether Apple licensed The Machinery or acquired the company, or in some way inherited the referenced technology, but the presence of the identifiers throughout Apple's code suggests at least some of the project's ideas have somehow found their way into Apple's spatial computing development toolset. The discovery is particularly notable because The Machinery's development ended so suddenly, surprising many developers at the time who had followed the project's progress. We've reached out to Apple to comment on the findings and will update this story if we hear back.Related Roundup: Apple Vision ProBuyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Neutral)Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro This article, "Apple's Latest Vision Pro Tool Contains Traces of Defunct Game Engine 'The Machinery'" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Meta today unveiled its first smart glasses sold under its own brand rather than Ray-Ban or Oakley, undercutting its existing lineup on price as it works to expand its lead in the category before Apple enters the market. The new Adventurer and Fury models are priced at $299, $80 less than the second-generation Ray-Ban ‌Meta‌ Wayfarer that launched last year. A third model, the Starfire, was designed in collaboration with Kylie Jenner and costs $399. EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban and Oakley, is manufacturing the glasses despite ‌Meta‌ designing them in-house and putting its own name on them, with EssilorLuxottica's logo appearing on the temple arms and packaging alongside ‌Meta‌'s. The Adventurer has a rectangular Wayfarer-like shape available in standard and large sizes, while the Fury shares that silhouette but is thicker. The Starfire takes a slimmer oval shape and includes a small gemstone on the right lens near the camera, a metal nose pad designed to resist makeup residue, and the option to set an AI-generated version of Jenner's voice for the assistant and onboarding prompts. The Starfire's case includes a handwritten note from Jenner and a built-in mirror. Across all three styles, ‌Meta‌ added a three-way adjustable nose pad, adjustable temple tips, and overextension hinges so the arms flare out slightly for wider head shapes. The companies are offering 26 color and lens combinations between the Adventurer and Fury alone, including tortoise, black, and green finishes, plus transition, polarized, and clear lens options, and the glasses support prescription lenses with a power range of -12 to +2.25. The new glasses carry over the same 12-megapixel camera, 3K video capture, five-microphone array, and eight-hour battery life as the existing Ray-Ban ‌Meta‌ Gen 2 glasses, with the included case adding about 40 hours of additional charge. ‌Meta‌ is also offering a separate ‌Meta‌ Glasses Charging Stand compatible with the new models as well as the Ray-Ban ‌Meta‌ and Oakley ‌Meta‌ HSTN lines. The glasses ship with ‌Meta‌'s Muse Spark AI model, which the company says improves response quality and adds 14 new languages to live translation support, including Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, and Hindi, bringing the total to 20. A new "Dynamic Photo" feature captures a burst of images and selects the best shot, and pedestrian turn-by-turn navigation is coming to the camera-equipped lineup after debuting on ‌Meta‌'s display glasses. According to Bloomberg, ‌Meta‌ also hinted that it's considering a version of its glasses without a camera, focusing on an audio-only experience for phone calls, media playback and interacting with its AI tools. A camera-free option could both lower the price point and enable new styles, it said, given the need to include fewer components. The company also addressed Apple directly, calling the iPhone maker "formidable" in the space ahead of its own glasses debut. "I think you need to take anything they do seriously," ‌Meta‌'s Alex Himel said, adding, "they're good at hardware, they're good at design. There's a number of places where we won't necessarily be able to build the same quality consumer experience when paired with the phone, and so I think they're taking advantage of that." Apple is widely expected to release its first smart glasses in 2027, designed in-house rather than through a partner brand. Apple's glasses will likely rely on a camera, microphones, and Siri for AI-driven features without an integrated display, putting them in direct competition with ‌Meta‌'s camera-equipped lineup rather than higher-end display models like ‌Meta‌'s Ray-Ban Display glasses. ‌Meta‌ said it explored facial recognition tools for identifying people the wearer knows but has not put the feature into active development while it works through privacy and societal concerns. The Adventurer, Fury, and Starfire glasses are available starting today through ‌Meta‌ and EssilorLuxottica retail partners including LensCrafters.Tag: Meta This article, "Meta Launches Its Own $299 Smart Glasses Ahead of Apple's Debut" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Amazon has brought back a major sale on the M4 iPad Air for Prime Day, with all-time low prices on nearly every model of the tablet. This includes both 11-inch and 13-inch models of the brand new 2026 M4 iPad Air. 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. Specifically, the 128GB Wi-Fi 11-inch M4 iPad Air has dropped to $519.99, down from $599.00, which is a match of the record low price. You'll also find low prices on the 256GB Wi-Fi 11-inch model and two 13-inch models, all of which we're only tracking on Amazon. $79 OFF11-inch M4 iPad Air (128GB Wi-Fi) for $519.99 $89 OFF11-inch M4 iPad Air (256GB Wi-Fi) for $609.99 $99 OFF13-inch M4 iPad Air (128GB Wi-Fi) for $699.99 $109 OFF13-inch M4 iPad Air (256GB Wi-Fi) for $789.99 The new iPad Air features the M4 chip, C1X modem, and N1 networking chip, which brings support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. In terms of design, the 2026 models are identical to the 2025 iPad Air tablets, with an edge-to-edge display, slim bezels, and aluminum chassis. Shoppers should note that many sales during Amazon Prime Day require you to have an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of the discounts. Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139.00 per year, and it comes with a 30-day free trial for new subscribers. Special for 2026, Amazon is also offering 50% off Prime memberships for Young Adults. Prime for Young Adults is a discounted Prime membership for anyone age 18-24 that offers all of the Prime benefits at $69.00 per year, half of the price of regular Prime. For even more Prime Day deals, be sure to visit our main article recapping all of the best Apple deals for Prime Day. 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 DealsTag: Prime Day This article, "Prime Day Delivers Steep Price Cuts on 2026 M4 iPad Air" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Amazon Prime Day has arrived, and today you can find record low prices on nearly every AirPods model on Amazon. This includes the AirPods Pro 3, AirPods 4, and AirPods Max 2. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. The highlight of AirPods deals this Prime Day is the AirPods Max 2 on sale for $399.00 in all colors, down from $549.00, which is a new all-time low price on the headphones. This is accompanied by a great discount on the AirPods 4 for Prime Day, available for $99.00, down from $129.00. $30 OFFAirPods 4 for $99.00 $69 OFFAirPods Pro 3 for $179.99 $150 OFFAirPods Max 2 for $399.00 In terms of the AirPods Pro 3, we're tracking these at $179.99 as of writing, down from $249.00. These were about $10 cheaper in early Prime Day sales, but we aren't sure if or when that sale will return. For now, the current price is still a solid second-best offer on the AirPods Pro 3. Shoppers should note that many sales during Amazon Prime Day require you to have an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of the discounts. Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139.00 per year, and it comes with a 30-day free trial for new subscribers. Special for 2026, Amazon is also offering 50% off Prime memberships for Young Adults. Prime for Young Adults is a discounted Prime membership for anyone age 18-24 that offers all of the Prime benefits at $69.00 per year, half of the price of regular Prime. For even more Prime Day deals, be sure to visit our main article recapping all of the best Apple deals for Prime Day. 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 DealsTag: Prime Day This article, "AirPods Prime Day Deals Arrive With AirPods Max 2 at $399 and AirPods 4 at $99" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

A new resale value study suggests that a $2,000 foldable iPhone could lose as much as $1,292 of its value within its first 12 months on the market, based on current foldable depreciation trends. The estimate comes from SellCell, which analyzed the 12-month resale performance of flagship smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Google, Motorola, and OnePlus. The site found that foldable smartphones lose an average of 64.6% of their value within a year, the worst depreciation rate of any smartphone category, compared with 55.3% for traditional smartphones. SellCell calculates that foldable phone owners lose $997.69 on average after 12 months, compared with $605.32 for owners of traditional smartphones, a gap of $392.37. Foldables retain just 35.4% of their launch value after a year, versus 44.7% for non-folding phones. Apple is widely rumored to be preparing its first foldable iPhone, expected to be called the "iPhone Ultra," for launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max in fall 2026, with a price of around $2,000. Using that rumored price point, SellCell modeled what a foldable iPhone's resale value might look like after a year if it depreciated at the average rate seen across today's foldables, landing at around $708 after 12 months. This would represent a loss of roughly $1,292. SellCell notes Apple has historically outperformed competitors on resale value. The iPhone 16 lineup retained 51.5% of its value after 12 months, the strongest of any major manufacturer in the study, ahead of OnePlus (46.8%), Google (40.8%), Samsung (39.5%), and Motorola (24.5%). If a foldable iPhone matched the ‌iPhone 16‌ lineup's depreciation rate instead, SellCell estimates it could be worth around $1,030 after a year, over $300 less depreciation than a typical foldable. Real-world depreciation would likely land closer to Apple's existing figures. The base ‌iPhone 16‌ retained 51.4% of value after a year and the 256GB ‌iPhone 16‌ Pro Max retained 56.4%, though even at those rates, the total loss on a $2,000 device would still come out to roughly $1,000 over 12 months.Related Roundup: iPhone FoldTags: Foldable iPhone, SellCell This article, "Apple's Foldable iPhone Could Lose Almost $1,300 in Value in First Year, Study Suggests" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

One of Apple's key manufacturing partners in India has confirmed it was recently the target of a cyberattack that has resulted in confidential Apple documents being leaked on the dark web. Tata Electronics said on Monday it had detected a "cybersecurity incident," after security researchers told Reuters that ransom group World Leaks had shared more than 200,000 files belonging to Apple and Tesla, both of which are customers of the Indian group. "A few weeks ago, Tata Electronics identified a cybersecurity incident on some of our systems. Our response protocols were deployed immediately, and the incident has had no impact on our operations across businesses, which remain unaffected," Tata Electronics told Reuters in a statement.Apple has not commented on the leak, but a source familiar with the matter told the outlet that Apple was investigating the breach and ​a "full analysis was going on." Tata is believed to have received a ransom demand related to the incident, but the group declined to comment. Many of the leaked files allegedly contain component design and specification papers. For example, one 52-page document has Apple's proprietary markings and purportedly details quality inspection standards ⁠for iPhone circuit ​board components. The files are ⁠also said to contain emails, event logs spanning several years, and passport copies of employees including foreign nationals. Reuters wasn't able to independently verify the documents, which have been available on the dark web – which is beyond the reach of search engines – since at least June 10, according to researchers. Tata is emerging as one of Apple's most important manufacturing ​partners outside China, and the breach is another setback for the group. It is also currently facing a health probe over alleged contamination of farmlands near one of its iPhone parts plants.Tag: India This article, "Confidential Apple Files Leaked on Dark Web After Supplier Cyberattack" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Introduction If you find yourself stuck in a cycle of endless tutorials without feeling confident enough to handle real-world infrastructure, you are likely missing the most critical component of DevOps mastery: hands-on experience. Theory alone can only take you so far; the true transition from a learner to an engineer happens when you stop watching and start building in a safe environment. A DevOps home lab serves as your personal proving ground, allowing you to bridge the gap between “knowing” and “doing” by simulating real production systems where you can experiment, break, and fix configurations without consequence. By creating this space, you transform abstract concepts into tangible skills, building the professional confidence that textbooks simply cannot provide. Whether you are navigating your first Linux server or orchestrating a complex containerized pipeline, DevOpsSchool emphasizes that learning by doing is the only path to career readiness, and establishing your own lab is the first, most decisive step you can take toward becoming a proficient DevOps professional. What Is a DevOps Home Lab? A DevOps home lab is a dedicated computing environment—virtual or physical—where you simulate real-world production scenarios to practice development and operations workflows. It is your personal sandbox. Unlike a standard desktop setup, a home lab is intentionally configured to host multiple services, including version control systems, container runtimes, orchestration engines, and automation servers. Its primary purpose is to mirror the complexity of a real enterprise environment, albeit on a smaller, localized scale. By having this space, you can test configurations, try out new tools, and automate tasks without worrying about breaking a production server. Why You Need a DevOps Home Lab Theory is a map, but a home lab is the territory. Here is why you cannot afford to skip this step in your learning journey: Practical Learning Advantage: You learn by solving real errors, not by following scripted demos that always work perfectly. Interview Preparation: When an interviewer asks how you handled a specific infrastructure failure, you need a story. Building your own lab gives you that story. Real-World Simulation: You get to touch every layer of the stack—from the OS kernel to the application deployment. Safe Experimentation: If you delete a database or misconfigure a Kubernetes cluster, you lose nothing but a few hours of time. In production, that would be a career-ending event. Basic Requirements for DevOps Home Lab Setup You do not need a supercomputer. A modern laptop or desktop is sufficient to get started. ComponentRequirementRecommendationProcessorMulti-core CPUIntel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 (or better)RAM16 GB minimum32 GB is preferred if running Kubernetes clustersStorageSSD256 GB+ (SSD is crucial for VM performance)Operating SystemHost OSWindows 10/11, macOS, or LinuxInternetStable connectionHigh-speed for downloading images and packagesVirtualizationHypervisorVirtualBox, VMware Workstation, or KVM Step-by-Step DevOps Home Lab Setup Let us build your environment from the ground up. Step 1: Install Virtualization Tool Download and install Oracle VirtualBox or VMware Workstation Player. These are industry standards for creating virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical host. Once installed, ensure virtualization is enabled in your computer’s BIOS/UEFI settings. Step 2: Install Linux VM (Ubuntu) Download the Ubuntu Server LTS (Long Term Support) ISO. Create a new VM in your hypervisor. Allocate at least 2 vCPUs and 4GB of RAM. Follow the installation prompts, ensuring you select “OpenSSH Server” during setup so you can manage the VM remotely from your main OS terminal. Step 3: Configure Network Settings Set your network adapter to “Bridged Mode.” This assigns your VM an IP address on your local home network, making it accessible from your host machine. Use the ip a command to find your IP, then test the connection by SSHing into it: ssh username@your-vm-ip. Step 4: Install Git & Basic Tools Update your package manager: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade. Install essential utilities: sudo apt install git curl wget vim htop. Configure Git with your identity: git config --global user.name "Your Name" and git config --global user.email "[email protected]". Step 5: Install Docker Docker is the heart of modern DevOps. Install it using the official script or package manager. Run sudo apt install docker.io, start the service with sudo systemctl start docker, and enable it to run on boot with sudo systemctl enable docker. Add your user to the docker group so you don’t need sudo for every command: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER. Step 6: Install Jenkins (CI/CD Setup) Jenkins remains a foundational tool. Install Java first, then add the Jenkins repository. Use sudo apt install jenkins. Start the service and access the web interface via http://your-vm-ip:8080. Complete the initial setup wizard to create your admin account. Setting Up a CI/CD Pipeline in Your Home Lab Once you have your VM and Jenkins running, create your first pipeline. Create a Repo: Create a simple HTML file in a GitHub repository. Jenkins Job: In Jenkins, create a “Freestyle Project” or “Pipeline.” Source Code: Point Jenkins to your GitHub repo. Build Step: Create a script that copies the HTML file to a directory served by a simple Nginx container. Trigger: Configure a webhook so that every time you push code, Jenkins automatically builds and deploys your site. Docker Setup in DevOps Home Lab Move beyond installing Docker. Start managing containers: Container Lifecycle: Practice pulling images (docker pull), running containers (docker run), stopping them (docker stop), and removing them (docker rm). Networking: Create a user-defined bridge network so two containers can communicate with each other. Volumes: Learn to persist data by mounting a directory from your host machine into the container. This ensures your data survives even if the container is destroyed. Kubernetes Setup for Beginners Kubernetes is complex, so start simple. Use Minikube or Kind (Kubernetes in Docker). Install Minikube: Follow the documentation to install the binary. Cluster Start: Run minikube start. Deployments: Create a deployment.yaml file that specifies a container image. Testing: Apply the file using kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml. Scaling: Use kubectl scale to increase the number of replicas and watch how Kubernetes handles the load. Real DevOps Projects You Can Practice in Home Lab To truly learn, you need a project with a start and an end: CI/CD Pipeline Project: Automate the build, test, and deployment of a Python “Hello World” application. Dockerized Application Deployment: Build a multi-tier app (e.g., a web frontend and a database backend) and run them together using Docker Compose. Kubernetes Deployment Project: Migrate your Docker Compose project into a Kubernetes manifest and deploy it to your local cluster. Git-based Automation Workflow: Use Git hooks to trigger linting and unit tests before code is even pushed to your repository. Common Mistakes in Home Lab Setup Overcomplicating Setup: Trying to build a 10-node cluster on day one. Start with one VM, master it, then expand. Skipping Linux Basics: Many beginners try to skip learning the terminal. You cannot be a DevOps engineer if you are afraid of the command line. No Documentation: If you cannot replicate your setup from scratch, you haven’t learned it. Document every command you run. Not Practicing Regularly: DevOps is a muscle. If you don’t use it, it atrophies. Spend at least 30 minutes a day in your lab. Ignoring Troubleshooting: When an installation fails, don’t just search for the answer. Read the logs first. The logs are your best teacher. Best Practices for Maintaining DevOps Home Lab Keep It Clean: Use scripts to automate the setup of your environment. If you break it, wipe it and run your setup script again. Document Everything: Create a README.md file in your main lab directory detailing how everything is installed and configured. Break and Rebuild: Once you get something working, delete it and build it again. You will learn more from the second attempt than the first. Version Control: Store your configuration files, scripts, and YAML files in a private Git repository. Treat your lab configuration as code. Real-World Example: Learner Without Home Lab Meet “Student A.” They watch tutorials on CI/CD pipelines daily. They understand the concepts of Jenkins and Docker perfectly. In an interview, when asked how they would handle a build failure, they provide a textbook answer. They falter when asked about specific CLI flags, error log locations, or how to troubleshoot a locked container process. They lack the “finger memory” and the scar tissue of having fixed real problems. Real-World Example: Learner With Home Lab Experience Meet “Student B.” They built a Jenkins server in a VM at home. When the Jenkins service wouldn’t start because of a Java version mismatch, they had to dig through /var/log/jenkins/jenkins.log. They had to learn how to change permissions on the /var/lib/jenkins directory. In the interview, they don’t just explain the concept; they explain the specific troubleshooting steps they took to solve an issue. That level of detail is what gets them hired. Role of DevOpsSchool in Learning Awareness As you progress through your home lab journey, you will reach a point where self-learning hits a ceiling. You may have the environment set up, but you lack the architectural perspective of a senior engineer. This is where DevOpsSchool becomes valuable. It provides a structured roadmap that ensures your hands-on practice is aligned with industry-standard workflows. Rather than wandering through disjointed tutorials, mentorship and structured training provide the “why” behind the “how,” helping you connect your lab experiments to enterprise-grade DevOps practices. Career Benefits of Building a DevOps Home Lab DevOps Engineer: You will demonstrate an ability to manage pipelines and automation tools. Cloud Engineer: You will understand how virtual machines and networks function, which is the basis of all cloud providers. SRE (Site Reliability Engineer): You will develop the debugging mindset required to ensure system uptime. Platform Engineer: You will build the foundation for creating internal developer platforms for others to use. Future of DevOps Learning Through Labs The future of labs is becoming increasingly integrated. We are moving toward: Cloud-based Labs: Using Terraform to spin up temporary test environments in AWS or Azure. AI-Assisted Environments: Using AI to help diagnose configuration errors in real-time. Automated Practice Systems: Platforms that automatically provision a broken environment for you to fix as an exercise. FAQs What is a DevOps home lab? It is a localized setup of servers and containers used to practice DevOps tools and workflows. How do I start a DevOps lab at home? Start by installing a virtualization hypervisor, then create a Linux VM to host your tools. Is a home lab necessary for DevOps? It is not mandatory, but it is the fastest way to gain the experience required for a job. What tools are needed for DevOps practice? Focus on Linux, Git, Docker, Jenkins, Kubernetes, and Terraform. Can I build a lab on a low-end laptop? Yes, use lightweight Linux distributions and limit the number of active VMs. How do I learn Docker in a lab? Build, run, stop, and remove containers daily until the commands are second nature. How do I practice Kubernetes at home? Use Minikube or Kind to run a cluster on your local machine. What projects should I build in a lab? Start with a simple CI/CD pipeline that deploys a basic website. Do I need a server? No, your main laptop is perfectly adequate for a beginner lab. How often should I practice? Consistency is better than intensity. 30 minutes a day is more effective than 5 hours once a week. What if I break my setup? That is the goal. Use it as an opportunity to learn how to restore your system. Should I use Windows or Linux? Use Linux for your lab environment, as it is the standard for server infrastructure. How do I document my work? Create a Git repository and commit your scripts, configs, and notes there. Is a home lab expensive? No, almost all the tools required are open-source and free. Does a home lab help with certifications? Yes, hands-on practice makes passing exams like CKAD or AWS Solutions Architect significantly easier. Final Thoughts The distance between an aspiring DevOps engineer and a professional is often measured by the time spent in the terminal. You cannot read your way into this career. You must build, break, fix, and repeat. A DevOps home lab is not just a collection of software; it is your personal proving ground. Use it to foster curiosity and build the muscle memory that will sustain your career for years to come. View the full article

A class action lawsuit accusing Apple of overcharging U.K. iCloud users has been certified to go ahead, putting the £3 billion ($3.9 billion) claim on track for a trial in October 2028. According to BBC News, the Competition Appeal Tribunal cleared consumer group Which? to bring the case on behalf of an estimated 40 million U.K. iPhone and iPad owners, each of whom could receive up to £77 if the claim succeeds. Which? alleges that Apple has locked customers into iCloud since 2015 by limiting how rival cloud services work on its devices, and then charged inflated subscription prices as a result. Apple gives users 5GB of free storage and pushes them toward paid tiers once that fills up, with U.K. pricing running from 99p a month for 50GB to £54.99 a month for 12TB. The consumer group filed its claim against Apple at the tribunal on behalf of affected consumers in November 2024. Anabel Hoult, Which?'s chief executive, said the group wanted to make clear that no company "no matter how powerful, can get away with abusing its position." She said the green light from the tribunal meant Which? was "one step closer to getting consumers the redress we believe they are owed from Apple." "This should send a strong message to any other companies using anti-competitive tactics," she added. Apple has called the claims unfounded, and argues that no customer is required to use iCloud and that alternatives exist. The company said it strongly disagrees with the tribunal's decision and plans to appeal. Eligibility covers anyone who used iCloud on a U.K. device between November 8, 2018 and June 8, 2026. Those living in the U.K. on June 8 are included automatically unless they opt out by October 8, while non-U.K. residents from that date must opt in by the same deadline. Customers who first used iCloud after June 8, 2026 are excluded. (Thanks, Alan!)Tags: iCloud, Apple Lawsuits, United KingdomRelated Forum: Apple Music, Apple Pay/Card, iCloud, Fitness+ This article, "Apple's £3 Billion UK iCloud Case Cleared for Trial" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Introduction In the modern business landscape, digital transformation has evolved from a strategic advantage into an existential necessity, forcing enterprises to abandon siloed, legacy IT models in favor of agile, cloud-native frameworks. As organizations strive to balance increasing market demands with the need for operational resilience, DevOps has emerged as the critical bridge between business strategy and technical execution, effectively transforming IT departments from mere cost centers into engines of sustainable innovation. By prioritizing speed, automation, and a culture of shared responsibility, DevOps provides the architectural foundation for success in a digital-first economy; however, mastering this transition requires guided expertise and a commitment to continuous improvement, which is why forward-thinking leaders leverage specialized ecosystems like DevOpsSchool to equip their teams with the requisite skills. This guide explores how integrating these practices enables a more responsive, scalable, and automated enterprise, ensuring that technology serves as a true catalyst for long-term growth. What Is Digital Transformation in Enterprises? Digital transformation is the profound transformation of business activities, processes, competencies, and models to fully leverage the changes and opportunities of digital technologies and their accelerating impact across society. At its core, this process involves: Business Model Evolution: Moving from legacy, product-centric models to service-oriented, customer-centric digital ecosystems. Technology Modernization: Replacing fragmented, on-premise legacy systems with cloud-native, scalable, and modular architectures. Customer Experience Focus: Using real-time data to personalize interactions and reduce friction in the user journey. Data-Driven Decision-Making: Shifting from intuition-based planning to real-time analytics, allowing for rapid pivots based on market feedback. Digital transformation is not a project with a start and end date; it is an organizational evolution toward continuous innovation. Why DevOps Is Central to Digital Transformation DevOps is not just a set of tools; it is a philosophy that mandates a fundamental shift in how an organization works. Without a DevOps mindset, digital transformation initiatives often stall because the underlying delivery processes remain slow and siloed. Speed of Delivery: DevOps removes the bottlenecks that prevent code from moving from development to production. Automation-First Mindset: By automating repetitive tasks, DevOps frees up high-value engineering resources to focus on business innovation rather than “keeping the lights on.” Collaboration: DevOps destroys the wall between “Dev” (who want change) and “Ops” (who want stability), creating a shared responsibility for business outcomes. Continuous Improvement: The feedback loop inherent in DevOps allows for constant refinement, which is essential for any transformation effort. How DevOps Accelerates Digital Transformation The correlation between DevOps maturity and digital transformation success is direct. Enterprises that adopt these practices see measurable improvements in key performance indicators (KPIs). Business BenefitDevOps ContributionFaster Software DeliveryCI/CD pipelines automate testing and deployment, slashing lead times.Reduced Time to MarketShortened feedback cycles allow features to reach customers weeks faster.Improved ReliabilityAutomated testing and infrastructure management reduce human error in production.Enhanced ScalabilityInfrastructure as Code (IaC) ensures environments can scale automatically with demand. DevOps as a Cultural Transformation Driver The greatest hurdle in any digital transformation is not technology—it is culture. Transitioning to DevOps requires a shift from hierarchical, siloed thinking to a model of autonomy and accountability. Breaking Silos: When development teams own their code in production, they gain empathy for operations. When operations teams are involved in the design phase, they anticipate deployment challenges earlier. Shared Responsibility: In a DevOps culture, “it works on my machine” is no longer an acceptable excuse. The goal is a shared commitment to the stability, performance, and security of the application. Agile Collaboration: DevOps complements Agile methodologies by ensuring that the agility requested by product owners is actually executable by engineering. It creates a continuous feedback loop where developers are informed by user behavior in real-time. Role of CI/CD in Digital Transformation Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) are the mechanical heart of DevOps. They enable the “continuous” aspect of digital transformation. Automated Pipelines: By automating the build, test, and deploy stages, organizations can deploy updates multiple times a day instead of once a quarter. Continuous Integration: Developers merge code changes frequently, allowing for early detection of integration issues and preventing “merge hell.” Continuous Deployment: Once code passes automated quality gates, it is automatically deployed to production, ensuring that business value is realized as soon as the feature is ready. Reduced Manual Intervention: Automating deployment eliminates the risk associated with human error and manual configuration drifts. Cloud Adoption and DevOps Transformation Cloud computing provides the elasticity required for digital transformation, but DevOps provides the management discipline to utilize that elasticity effectively. Infrastructure as Code (IaC): This allows IT teams to manage infrastructure with the same rigor as application code. You can version, test, and deploy infrastructure changes automatically. Scalable Environments: Cloud-native DevOps allows for the creation of on-demand environments, enabling rapid experimentation without the risk of breaking production. Cost Optimization: Through automated monitoring and resource management, DevOps practices help enterprises avoid “cloud sprawl” and unnecessary expenditure. DevSecOps in Digital Transformation Security cannot be an afterthought in a digital-first enterprise. DevSecOps integrates security controls directly into the CI/CD pipeline. Security Automation: Instead of waiting for a manual security audit at the end of a cycle, automated scanning tools detect vulnerabilities in code or dependencies in real-time. Compliance as Code: Regulatory requirements (like GDPR or HIPAA) are baked into the infrastructure configuration, ensuring the organization is always audit-ready. Risk Reduction: By shifting security “left” (earlier in the development process), organizations can patch vulnerabilities before they reach production, drastically reducing the attack surface. Real-World Example: Traditional Enterprise Before vs. After DevOps Consider a mid-sized retail organization transitioning to an e-commerce model. Before DevOps (The Legacy State): Deployment Frequency: Monthly, accompanied by high anxiety and long downtime. Collaboration: Development and Operations are in separate buildings, communicating only through tickets. Customer Impact: If a bug reaches production, it takes 48 hours to fix, resulting in lost revenue and customer churn. After DevOps-Driven Transformation: Deployment Frequency: Daily, with zero-downtime deployments. Collaboration: Integrated product teams work together to solve customer issues. Customer Impact: A bug is identified and patched in hours, and the release cycle aligns with seasonal shopping trends, significantly increasing revenue. Challenges in DevOps-Driven Transformation Adoption is rarely without friction. Leadership must anticipate these common obstacles: Legacy System Integration: Older mainframe or monolithic applications are difficult to automate. Cultural Resistance: Mid-level management may feel threatened by the shift toward engineer autonomy. Skill Gaps: Existing staff may require significant upskilling in modern tools like Kubernetes, Terraform, and CI/CD platforms. Toolchain Complexity: Managing a massive stack of open-source tools requires strong governance and platform engineering. Governance Issues: Balancing the need for speed with the necessity of corporate compliance and oversight. Best Practices for DevOps-Led Transformation Start with Pilot Projects: Do not attempt a “big bang” transformation. Pick a non-critical application to pilot your new DevOps workflows. Automate Incrementally: You do not need to automate everything on day one. Start with the most painful, manual bottleneck in your deployment process. Focus on Culture First: Ensure buy-in from leadership and incentivize cross-team collaboration over individual performance metrics. Measure Outcomes: Focus on DORA metrics (Deployment Frequency, Lead Time for Changes, Mean Time to Recovery, Change Failure Rate). Align IT with Business Goals: Ensure the IT roadmap directly supports revenue-generating business initiatives. Role of DevOpsSchool in Transformation Learning Successful transformation relies on the competency of the team. As organizations pivot toward DevOps, the demand for trained professionals who understand both the theory and the practical application of these technologies is immense. Enterprises often utilize structured learning paths provided by organizations like DevOpsSchool to help their teams bridge the gap between legacy operations and modern engineering. Whether it is understanding complex CI/CD workflows, mastering cloud-native architecture, or implementing security-first development practices, access to expert-led curriculum is essential. Providing teams with clear, standardized training ensures that the organization moves in the same direction, reducing the “tool sprawl” that often occurs when teams adopt disparate technologies without a unified strategy. Industries Benefiting from DevOps Transformation Banking & Finance: Improving security and compliance while accelerating fintech innovation. Healthcare: Ensuring 99.999% system availability while protecting patient data. Retail & E-Commerce: Scaling infrastructure rapidly to handle seasonal traffic spikes. Telecom: Automating network management and speeding up the rollout of new digital services. SaaS Companies: Enabling the rapid iteration and deployment cycles that are the lifeblood of software-as-a-service businesses. Government Systems: Modernizing citizen-facing portals to be more responsive and accessible. Future of DevOps in Digital Transformation The future of DevOps lies in the move toward autonomous operations. AI-Driven Automation (AIOps): Using machine learning to predict system failures and automatically remediate them before they impact the user. Platform Engineering: Building internal developer platforms (IDP) that provide developers with a self-service experience, reducing cognitive load. Autonomous Infrastructure: Environments that can self-heal, scale, and optimize costs without manual intervention. Fully Cloud-Native Enterprises: Organizations will stop viewing “cloud” as a location and start viewing it as an operating model. FAQs How does DevOps support digital transformation?It acts as the delivery engine, enabling the speed, scalability, and agility required to execute digital business models. What is the role of CI/CD in transformation?CI/CD automates the delivery pipeline, allowing for faster, more reliable code releases that directly impact customer satisfaction. Why is DevOps important for enterprises?It bridges the gap between IT operations and business goals, reducing waste and increasing innovation speed. How does DevOps improve business speed?By removing manual bottlenecks and fostering a culture of continuous delivery. What is DevSecOps in transformation?It is the practice of embedding security directly into the development pipeline, ensuring safety at speed. Is cloud required for DevOps transformation?While possible on-premise, cloud provides the infrastructure flexibility that maximizes the benefits of DevOps. What are the biggest challenges in DevOps adoption?Cultural inertia, legacy technical debt, and skill gaps within existing IT teams. How do companies measure transformation success?By tracking DORA metrics such as deployment frequency and mean time to recovery. Can DevOps be implemented in legacy environments?Yes, but it requires wrapping legacy apps in modern interfaces or incrementally refactoring them into microservices. What is the difference between DevOps and Agile?Agile is a methodology for project management and software development; DevOps is a culture and set of practices that extends this to operations and delivery. Who should lead a DevOps transformation?It requires a coalition of leaders from Development, Operations, and Security, supported by top-level executive sponsorship. How long does a DevOps transformation take?It is a continuous journey, though teams often see efficiency gains within 6–12 months of focused effort. Is DevOps expensive to implement?It requires initial investment in training and tooling, but it pays for itself by reducing operational costs and accelerating time-to-revenue. How do I start a DevOps transformation?Start with a single pilot team, identify a common bottleneck, and solve it with automation. Does DevOps eliminate the need for IT operations?No, it evolves the role of IT operations from manual server maintenance to platform engineering and reliability management. Final Thoughts DevOps is not a silver bullet, nor is it merely a suite of tools. It is the foundational pillar upon which successful digital transformation is built. In a world where customer expectations are fluid and competitive landscapes shift overnight, the ability to deliver value continuously, reliably, and securely is your most significant competitive advantage. Technology alone will not save an enterprise. The real change happens when leaders empower their teams to automate the mundane, collaborate across boundaries, and take shared responsibility for the success of their digital initiatives. Success is defined not by the technology you adopt, but by how well that technology enables your people to innovate. View the full article

In today’s edition of sentences nobody expected to type in 2026: Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett appears to have accidentally started a minor internet war with Swifties. During Metallica’s recent show in Budapest on Friday 13 June, fans noticed Hammett sporting a shirt featuring a blank-eyed image of Taylor Swift alongside the words: “Taylor Swift Is A CIA Psyop.” Kirk Hammett from the has-been band Metallica was wearing a “Taylor Swift Is a CIA Psyop” shirt on stage. pic.twitter.com/qe5URKFJKR — Taylor Swift Fan Archive (@Taylors_Archive) June 19, 2026 And look… if you’ve spent literally any time online in the last five years, you’ll probably recognise the vibe immediately. The shirt appears to be riffing on the increasingly unserious internet tendency to label wildly successful artists as government experiments, industry plants or elaborate psychological operations – a joke that’s floated around everyone from pop stars to indie bands and, more recently, became tangled up in some very online discourse surrounding US band Geese. Unfortunately for Kirk, not everybody interpreted the bit the same way. Swifties quickly clocked the shirt online and reactions ranged from eye rolls to full-blown “why are men incapable of simply ignoring Taylor Swift?” discourse. Others accused Metallica of trying to stay relevant, with one user writing: “Please notice me, I’m still a rebel.” Another labelled Metallica a “has-been band” – which, respectfully, is certainly one way to describe a band currently selling out stadiums around the world. Metallica fans, meanwhile, responded with roughly the energy you’d expect. “You idiots know Kirk did this as a joke right?” one dude wrote. “He also has Ouija board guitars and is super into sci-fi and what not. Chill.” To be fair, Hammett has never exactly cultivated the image of a man operating on deadly serious cultural commentary. This is the same guitarist who’s spent decades openly obsessing over horror films, monsters, weird collectibles and generally not taking life too seriously. So unless Kirk suddenly follows this up with a four-hour podcast appearance explaining the deep state implications of Folklore, this probably belongs firmly in the category of the internet being the internet. Meanwhile, Metallica remain in the middle of a sold-out European tour before kicking off their huge Las Vegas Sphere residency later this year. Taylor Swift, for her part, continues doing what Taylor Swift does: existing and somehow becoming discourse. Further Reading Metallica Announce 29-Hour ‘Reload’ Box Set (Yes, Really) James Hetfield Just Proposed To His GF While Swimming With Giant Sharks Why Taylor Swift Has No Grammy Nomination in 2026 The post Swifties Are Coming For Kirk Hammett After He Wore This Very Specific T-Shirt appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

Seven years after his last Australian visit, James Blake is officially heading back Down Under. The British GRAMMY and Mercury Prize-winning artist has announced a run of Australian headline dates this December, bringing his singular live show to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne for his first local performances since 2019. James Blake – ‘Trying Times’ Arriving off the back of his newly released self-funded album Trying Times – currently his highest-charting record to date – the tour marks another chapter in a career that’s spent the last decade and a half quietly reshaping modern music from the shadows. For plenty of artists, the collaborator list alone would be enough to build a legacy. Blake’s reads more like a cheat code: Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, SZA, ROSALÍA, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Dave among them, with credits scattered across era-defining records including Blonde, DAMN., ASTROWORLD, Lemonade and Motomami. More recently, Blake linked with acclaimed UK rapper Dave for The Boy Who Played The Harp and contributed “Séance” alongside Ludwig Göransson for the Sinners soundtrack. But collaborator status only tells part of the story. Since emerging from the UK post-dubstep underground in the early 2010s, Blake has built a catalogue that somehow manages to sit between electronic experimentation, soul, alt-R&B and confessional songwriting without ever fully belonging to any one scene. Across seven studio albums – from his cult-favourite self-titled debut through to Mercury Prize-winning Overgrown, Assume Form and Friends That Break Your Heart – he’s become one of contemporary music’s most distinctive voices. His latest record, Trying Times, leans into that emotional precision once again, tracing themes of intimacy, uncertainty and connection in an increasingly unstable world. And if previous Aussie visits are anything to go by, expect this one to land less like a conventional concert and more like a collective emotional processing session with immaculate production. Tickets and full details below. James Blake 2026 Australian Tour Dates Tuesday 1 December – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane QLD Wednesday 2 December – On The Steps at Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney NSW Saturday 5 December – Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne VIC Tickets on sale Friday 26 June, 10am Mastercard Presale: Wed 24 June, 10am Vodafone Presale: Wed 24 June, 10am Artist Presale: Wed 24 June, 10am Secret Sounds Presale: Thu 25 June, 10am For further info head to secretsounds.com Further Reading Love Letter To A Record: Alter Boy On James Blake’s ‘Overgrown’ Listen To James Blake’s Heartbreaking New Single ‘Life Is Not The Same’ BENEE Takes On James Blake For Triple J’s Like A Version The post James Blake Is Finally Returning To Australia For His First Tour In Seven Years appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

One of heavy music’s fastest-rising and hardest-to-categorise bands is heading back Down Under. Massachusetts favourites Fleshwater have announced a national Australian tour for November 2026, returning off the back of an absolutely monster year that’s seen them drop acclaimed sophomore album 2000: In Search Of The Endless Sky, tour with Deftones and The Mars Volta, and tick Coachella off the bucket list for good measure. Fleshwater – ‘Last Escape’ Not bad for a project that originally wasn’t even meant to become a full-time band. Initially formed as a side mission involving members of Vein.fm, Fleshwater quickly evolved into something much bigger. Their breakout single Linda Claire introduced a sound that felt strangely familiar and completely fresh at the same time – stitching together shoegaze haze, grunge melancholy, alternative rock hooks and hardcore weight into something that hit directly in the feelings while still sounding enormous. Their 2022 debut We’re Not Here To Be Loved turned that early hype into something very real, earning the band a fiercely loyal following and slots everywhere from Lollapalooza and Riot Fest through to Sound & Fury and Sick New World. Now they’re bringing the next chapter to Australia. Fresh off the release of 2000: In Search Of The Endless Sky, Fleshwater’s return arrives with a bigger profile, bigger rooms and a live reputation that’s only continued to grow – with fans quickly learning these songs somehow hit even harder in person. Joining them across the country are Idaho hardcore wrecking crew Ingrown, whose self-described “gun-toting, dirt-bike-riding, hell-raising hardcore” has made them one of the most chaotic new names in the US heavy scene. Opening things up will be Sydney’s Secret World, bringing their blend of hardcore intensity and rock’n’roll swagger to every stop except Perth. Peep all the details down below. Fleshwater 2026 Australian Tour Dates With Ingrown + Secret World Thursday, November 5: The Triffid, Brisbane 18+ Saturday, November 7: Liberty Hall, Sydney Lic AA Sunday, November 8: 170 Russell, Melbourne 18+ Wednesday, November 11: Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide Lic AA Thursday, November 12: Magnet House, Perth 18+ * *Secret World not appearing in Perth DAL Pre-Sale: Thursday, June 25 @ 11am AEST General On-Sale: Friday, June 26 @ 11am Local Time via https://daltours.cc/Fleshwater Further Reading Tigers Jaw Are Finally Bringing Their Emo Bangers Back To Australia This November Rise Against Are Returning To Australia With Dropkick Murphys For Huge 2026 Tour Secret World Announce New EP ‘Tomorrow Is A Mystery To Me’, Share Shogun Collab The post Fleshwater Announce 2026 Australian Tour With Ingrown & Secret World appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

Apple released the second beta of iOS 27 today, and as is common with a second beta, there are multiple changes. There are new features and updates to existing features as Apple prepares for a July public beta and a September software launch. Write with Siri There is a new Write with Siri button above the keyboard in Notes, Mail, Messages, and more. It makes it easier to locate the option to use ‌Siri‌ for writing. In the first beta, the Write with ‌Siri‌ tool was only available when selecting text. Siri Voice Customization The ‌Siri‌ voice customization feature available on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air now has Pace and Expressivity labeled as "Coming Soon." The options did not work in the first ‌iOS 27‌ beta. Wallet App Insights The Wallet app has a new "Insights" feature that's accessible by tapping on the three-dot icon in the upper right corner. Insights is not fully implemented, but a splash screen for the feature says users will be able to connect accounts to Wallet to see spending insights, recurring transactions, account balances, and more. Apple says up-to-date account information will be available through the feature. Apple TV In ‌iOS 27‌ beta 2, Apple updated the Home app to add support for remotely updating an Apple TV. The ‌Apple TV‌ is now listed in the Updates section of the Home app's Settings interface, and tapping on the ‌Apple TV‌ update button installs the latest software without needing to turn on the ‌Apple TV‌. RCS Apple added support for replying to a specific message in an RCS conversation with an Android user. You can now long press on a message to get to the option to reply to a message, and it works the same way that it does with iMessages. ‌iOS 27‌ also displays tapback/reaction emoji on images and videos properly. In iOS 26, it would use a text descriptor, such as [x loved an image] instead of showing the emoji. In ‌iOS 27‌, the emoji shows up on the image or video as it does in an iMessage conversation. iCloud Backup Notifications Code in ‌iOS 27‌ suggests Apple will now send notifications if an iCloud backup doesn't work properly. "There's a problem with our server, so you may not be able to backup or restore your device right now. Try again later," reads the notification. AirPort Utility Apple says the AirPort Utility app will no longer be available for download in ‌iOS 27‌. Users who already have the app can re-download it, but AirPort Utility functionality is not guaranteed in ‌iOS 27‌. Visual Intelligence In the ‌Siri‌ section of the Settings app, there's a new Visual Intelligence option. Highlight to Image Search is turned off by default, and Apple says turning it on will automatically send images to third parties when highlighting subjects to find similar images. Camera App There are now yellow highlights around the camera tools button when a hidden camera feature like exposure adjustment is enabled. Create a Pass In the Create a Pass feature in Wallet, there are texture options available when choosing a color. HomeKit Cameras You can long press on incoming notifications from HomeKit Secure Video cameras to watch the video from the motion alert and to turn on lights that are located near the camera. HomeKit Accessories If you had HomeKit accessories like Philips Hue lights that were unresponsive after installing ‌iOS 27‌ and tvOS 27, the beta 2 updates fix the problem. Weather Some of the light blue text in the Weather app has been updated to be lighter and brighter, making it easier to read. Precipitation levels, condition descriptor, and wind mph reading are now the brighter color. Siri App There's a new option to select multiple conversations to delete in the ‌Siri‌ app. Photos The AI tools in the Photos app are now available for RAW images. iOS 27 Info ‌iOS 27‌ is available to developers right now, but Apple plans to release a public beta in July. ‌iOS 27‌ is set to launch in September alongside new iPhones. Related Roundups: iOS 27, iPadOS 27 This article, "Everything New in iOS 27 Beta 2" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple is working on AirPods that have cameras for feeding data to Siri. The new earbuds will be Apple's first AI wearable, and current rumors suggest they're going to come out in late 2027. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.Design The AirPods will look similar to the current AirPods Pro 3, but with cameras embedded in the stem. Apple also plans to include a light that will come on when visual data from the AirPods is being sent to the cloud. The LED will let people around the wearer know the cameras are in use. Size, design, and fit are expected to remain the largely same for the earbuds and the charging case, with the exception of the changes to the stem. Rumors suggest Apple will use tiny infrared cameras, similar to the infrared camera used for Face ID. Features The cameras in the AirPods will be used for sending data about the wearer's surroundings to ‌Siri‌, giving ‌Siri‌ more information about where the user is and what's nearby. ‌Siri‌ will be able to answer questions about objects or whatever the wearer happens to be looking at. The camera-equipped AirPods could be useful for more exact turn-by-turn directions when walking, contextual reminders, 3D mapping, and more. The iPhone already has Visual Intelligence, which uses AI to identify plants, animals, landmarks, art, books, and more. Camera-equipped AirPods will be able to supply data for ‌Visual Intelligence‌ without the need to use the Camera app. Users aren't likely to be able to use the cameras to capture photos and videos. H3 Chip Apple is working on an upgraded H3 chip and it could make its first appearance in the next AirPods Pro. The H3 chip is expected to bring latency improvements and better audio quality. Naming Initial rumors about the AirPods with cameras said they wouldn't be a full new model and wouldn't be called the AirPods Pro 4, but launch timing has since changed. It's now likely the AirPods will be part of the AirPods Pro line, but naming is still unsettled. Apple could call them the AirPods Pro 4, but AirPods Ultra is also a possibility. Pricing With the addition of cameras, the AirPods could be more expensive than the current $249 ‌AirPods Pro 3‌. Compatibility Since the AirPods will feed data to ‌Siri‌, an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence will be required to use the features. ‌Apple Intelligence‌ is available on the iPhone 15 Pro and later. Release Date There were rumors suggesting the camera-equipped AirPods could come out as soon as this year, but the latest information indicates the new earbuds will launch in late 2027 alongside the 20th anniversary iPhone and a second-generation foldable iPhone. Apple reportedly needed more time for the AirPods to design visual AI models capable of identifying objects. Apple is testing the new AirPods with iOS 28, an update that Apple is already developing.Related Roundups: AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 3Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Caution), AirPods Pro (Neutral)Related Forum: AirPods This article, "Apple's Camera-Equipped AirPods Ultra: What to Expect" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple is working on a macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 update that's expected to come out in the near future. The second macOS Golden Gate beta includes an upgrade path from ‌macOS Tahoe‌ 26.5.2, which suggests 26.5.2 is an upcoming build that Apple expects devices to be running soon. The update will be released alongside iOS 26.5.2, which we've already confirmed is in testing based on MacRumors visitor logs. ‌macOS Tahoe‌ 26.5.2 and iOS 26.5.2 are expected to be minor updates with bug fixes and security updates. Apple is also testing ‌macOS Tahoe‌ 26.6 and iOS 26.6 updates, and two betas have been released so far. With the 26.6 software not too far off, it's likely we'll get iOS 26.5.2 and ‌macOS Tahoe‌ 26.5.2 this week.Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS TahoeRelated Forums: iOS 26, macOS Tahoe This article, "macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 and iOS 26.5.2 Updates Coming Soon" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple is planning to remove the AirPort Utility app from the App Store in the near future, according to the release notes for iOS 27 beta 2. The app is no longer fully supported in ‌iOS 27‌, and Apple warns that it is not guaranteed to work. AirPort Utility will no longer be available for new downloads from the App Store. If you previously downloaded the app, you can still re-download it. When using AirPort Utility on iOS 27 and later, functionality is not guaranteed. Users who have downloaded AirPort Utility in the past will be able to re-download it if needed. Apple also plans to remove AirPort Utility from new installations of macOS, but users who already have it installed will continue to be able to use it after updating to new versions of macOS. As with ‌iOS 27‌, Apple says it isn't guaranteed to work in macOS Golden Gate. AirPort Utility lets users manage AirPort base stations like the AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express, and AirPort Time Capsule. Apple discontinued its AirPort routers back in 2018, but has continued to support them through the AirPort Utility app. With ‌macOS Golden Gate‌, Apple is eliminating AFP support, which means the Time Machine feature on Macs will no longer work with the AirPort Time Capsule. With Time Capsule support ending and Apple sunsetting the AirPort Utility app, it's clear Apple does not plan to continue offering updates to users who are still holding on to their AirPort devices.Related Roundups: iOS 27, iPadOS 27Tag: App Store This article, "Apple Dropping AirPort Utility From the App Store With iOS 27" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Amazon Prime Day 2026 is here, and it will last for four days, ending this Friday, June 26. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront, and we're tracking numerous all-time low prices on Apple gear right now. 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. For our coverage, we're focusing on discounts for Apple and Apple-related products that can be purchased right now on Amazon. As of today, this includes deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, monitors, charging accessories, and more. We're also sharing deals being matched at retailers like Best Buy in some cases. YEAR'S BEST PRICESAmazon Prime Day 2026 As is typical for Prime Day deals, these markdowns are very time sensitive, so sales listed below may disappear fast, and new ones may appear even faster. With this in mind, we'll keep this article updated over the next few days, and keep an eye on the MacRumors front page as we'll be posting particularly great deals in separate articles next week. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Amazon Prime Day requires you to have an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of the discounts. Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139.00 per year, and it comes with a 30-day free trial for new subscribers. Special for 2026, Amazon is also offering 50% off Prime memberships for Young Adults. Prime for Young Adults is a discounted Prime membership for anyone age 18-24 that offers all of the Prime benefits at $69.00 per year, half of the price of regular Prime. AirPods Amazon has the AirPods Max 2 on sale for $399.00 in all colors, down from $549.00. This is an all-time low price on the headphones. This is accompanied by a great discount on the AirPods 4 for Prime Day, available for $99.00, down from $129.00. $30 OFFAirPods 4 for $99.00 $69 OFFAirPods Pro 3 for $179.99 $150 OFFAirPods Max 2 for $399.00 AirTag 2 Apple's AirTag 2 has hit the new low price of $24.00 for the 1-Pack and $89.00 for the 4-Pack. $5 OFFAirTag 2 (1-Pack) for $24.00 $10 OFFAirTag 2 (4-Pack) for $89.00 This is the first major discount we've ever seen on the AirTag 2 at Amazon since the device launched earlier in 2026. The new AirTag is equipped with a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, enabling the Precision Finding feature to work up to 50% farther away from an item compared to the previous-generation model. Apple Watch Ultra 3 Amazon is discounting a wide array of Apple Watch Ultra 3 models down to $649.00 for Prime Day, from $799.00. This is a new all-time low price on the 2025 smartwatch, beating the previous record low price by about $50, and it's available in both Natural and Black Titanium color options. $150 OFFApple Watch Ultra 3 for $649.00 Apple Watch Series 11 Amazon this week has all-time low prices on the Apple Watch Series 11, with $120 discounts across numerous models of the smartwatch. This sale includes a handful of GPS aluminum models on sale at record low prices. $120 OFFApple Watch Series 11 (42mm GPS) for $279.00 $120 OFFApple Watch Series 11 (46mm GPS) for $309.00 You can get the 42mm GPS Apple Watch Series 11 for $279.00, down from $399.00, and the 46mm GPS model for $309.00, down from $429.00. On Amazon, you'll find three of the 42mm GPS models and three of the 46mm GPS models on sale at these all-time low prices. Apple Watch SE 3 Amazon is also taking $50 off the Apple Watch SE 3, starting at $199.00 for the 40mm GPS model. These are matches of all-time low prices on the SE 3, and it's been over four months since we last tracked these prices on the wearable. $50 OFF40mm GPS Apple Watch SE 3 for $199.00 $50 OFF44mm GPS Apple Watch SE 3 for $229.00 You can also get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE 3 on sale for $229.00, down from $279.00. Both the 40mm and 44mm GPS models are available in Midnight and Starlight Aluminum at these prices. MacBook Air You'll find $149 off a few models of the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air on Amazon this week, starting at $949.99 for the 512GB model, down from $1,099.00. $149 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (512GB) for $949.99 $149 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (16GB/1TB) for $1,149.99 iPad Air Amazon has brought back all-time low prices on a handful of M4 iPad Air tablets for Prime Day. This includes both 11-inch and 13-inch models of the brand new 2026 M4 iPad Air. $79 OFF11-inch M4 iPad Air (128GB Wi-Fi) for $519.99 $89 OFF11-inch M4 iPad Air (256GB Wi-Fi) for $609.99 $99 OFF13-inch M4 iPad Air (128GB Wi-Fi) for $699.99 $109 OFF13-inch M4 iPad Air (256GB Wi-Fi) for $789.99 Specifically, the 128GB Wi-Fi 11-inch M4 iPad Air has dropped to $519.99, down from $599.00, beating the previous low price by about $40. iPad Amazon is taking up to $52 off Wi-Fi and cellular models of Apple's 11th generation iPad for Prime Day. Prices start at $299.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi iPad, down from $349.00, a second-best price on this model. $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 DealsTag: Prime Day This article, "The Best Prime Day Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, AirTag, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Amazon Prime Day 2026 is here, and it will last for four days, ending this Friday, June 26. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront, and we're tracking numerous all-time low prices on Apple gear right now. 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. For our coverage, we're focusing on discounts for Apple and Apple-related products that can be purchased right now on Amazon. As of today, this includes deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, monitors, charging accessories, and more. We're also sharing deals being matched at retailers like Best Buy in some cases. YEAR'S BEST PRICESAmazon Prime Day 2026 As is typical for Prime Day deals, these markdowns are very time sensitive, so sales listed below may disappear fast, and new ones may appear even faster. With this in mind, we'll keep this article updated over the next few days, and keep an eye on the MacRumors front page as we'll be posting particularly great deals in separate articles next week. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Amazon Prime Day requires you to have an Amazon Prime membership to take advantage of the discounts. Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139.00 per year, and it comes with a 30-day free trial for new subscribers. Special for 2026, Amazon is also offering 50% off Prime memberships for Young Adults. Prime for Young Adults is a discounted Prime membership for anyone age 18-24 that offers all of the Prime benefits at $69.00 per year, half of the price of regular Prime. AirPods Amazon has the AirPods Max 2 on sale for $399.00 in all colors, down from $549.00. This is an all-time low price on the headphones. This is accompanied by a great discount on the AirPods 4 for Prime Day, available for $99.00, down from $129.00. $30 OFFAirPods 4 for $99.00 $59 OFFAirPods Pro 3 for $189.99 $150 OFFAirPods Max 2 for $399.00 AirTag 2 Apple's AirTag 2 has hit the new low price of $24.00 for the 1-Pack and $89.00 for the 4-Pack. $5 OFFAirTag 2 (1-Pack) for $24.00 $10 OFFAirTag 2 (4-Pack) for $89.00 This is the first major discount we've ever seen on the AirTag 2 at Amazon since the device launched earlier in 2026. The new AirTag is equipped with a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, enabling the Precision Finding feature to work up to 50% farther away from an item compared to the previous-generation model. Apple Watch Ultra 3 Amazon is discounting a wide array of Apple Watch Ultra 3 models down to $649.00 for Prime Day, from $799.00. This is a new all-time low price on the 2025 smartwatch, beating the previous record low price by about $50, and it's available in both Natural and Black Titanium color options. $150 OFFApple Watch Ultra 3 for $649.00 Apple Watch Series 11 Amazon this week has all-time low prices on the Apple Watch Series 11, with $120 discounts across numerous models of the smartwatch. This sale includes a handful of GPS aluminum models on sale at record low prices. $120 OFFApple Watch Series 11 (42mm GPS) for $279.00 $120 OFFApple Watch Series 11 (46mm GPS) for $309.00 You can get the 42mm GPS Apple Watch Series 11 for $279.00, down from $399.00, and the 46mm GPS model for $309.00, down from $429.00. On Amazon, you'll find three of the 42mm GPS models and three of the 46mm GPS models on sale at these all-time low prices. Apple Watch SE 3 Amazon is also taking $50 off the Apple Watch SE 3, starting at $199.00 for the 40mm GPS model. These are matches of all-time low prices on the SE 3, and it's been over four months since we last tracked these prices on the wearable. $50 OFF40mm GPS Apple Watch SE 3 for $199.00 $50 OFF44mm GPS Apple Watch SE 3 for $229.00 You can also get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE 3 on sale for $229.00, down from $279.00. Both the 40mm and 44mm GPS models are available in Midnight and Starlight Aluminum at these prices. MacBook Air You'll find $149 off a few models of the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air on Amazon this week, starting at $949.99 for the 512GB model, down from $1,099.00. $149 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (512GB) for $949.99 $149 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (16GB/1TB) for $1,149.99 iPad Air Amazon has brought back all-time low prices on a handful of M4 iPad Air tablets for Prime Day. This includes both 11-inch and 13-inch models of the brand new 2026 M4 iPad Air. $79 OFF11-inch M4 iPad Air (128GB Wi-Fi) for $519.99 $89 OFF11-inch M4 iPad Air (256GB Wi-Fi) for $609.99 $99 OFF13-inch M4 iPad Air (128GB Wi-Fi) for $699.99 $109 OFF13-inch M4 iPad Air (256GB Wi-Fi) for $789.99 Specifically, the 128GB Wi-Fi 11-inch M4 iPad Air has dropped to $519.99, down from $599.00, beating the previous low price by about $40. iPad Amazon is taking up to $52 off Wi-Fi and cellular models of Apple's 11th generation iPad for Prime Day. Prices start at $299.00 for the 128GB Wi-Fi iPad, down from $349.00, a second-best price on this model. $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 DealsTag: Prime Day This article, "The Best Prime Day Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, AirTag, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

With the second beta of iOS 27, Apple added support for replying to a specific message in an RCS conversation with an Android user. You can now long press on a message to get to the option to reply, and it works the same way that it does with iMessage. ‌iOS 27‌ also displays tapback/reaction emoji to images and videos properly. In iOS 26, it would use a text descriptor, such as [x loved an image] instead of showing the emoji. In ‌iOS 27‌, the emoji shows up on the image or video as it does in an iMessage conversation. Apple added support for ‌RCS‌ in iOS 18, and has been improving it since then. iOS 26.5 added encryption for ‌RCS‌ messages sent between iPhone and Android users, and now more of the ‌RCS‌ features are being implemented. For ‌RCS‌ reply threading to work properly, both the sender and the recipient need to have a smartphone and carrier that supports ‌RCS‌. ‌iOS 27‌ is limited to developers currently, but it will be available to the public when Apple releases a public beta in July. The software will see an official launch in September.Related Roundups: iOS 27, iPadOS 27Tags: Android, RCS This article, "iOS 27 Beta 2 Adds Inline Replies to iPhone-to-Android RCS Chats" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

In iOS 27 beta 2, Apple updated the Home app to add support for remotely updating an Apple TV. The ‌Apple TV‌ is now listed in the Updates section of the Home app's Settings interface, and tapping on the ‌Apple TV‌ update button installs the latest software without needing to turn on the ‌Apple TV‌. The HomePod and HomePod mini have long been able to be updated through the Home app, so the ‌iOS 27‌ change for the ‌Apple TV‌ puts it on par with the ‌HomePod‌. The ‌HomePod‌ and ‌HomePod mini‌ run a variant of tvOS, so it makes sense for the ‌Apple TV‌ to be updated in the same way. Apple's decision to add the ‌Apple TV‌ to the Home app update interface suggests that the upcoming home hub device that's in the works will also be controlled and updated through the Home app. Apple is expected to release a dedicated home hub later this year, and it will run a version of tvOS like the ‌HomePod‌. It will be a centralized spot for controlling smart home products, making video calls, getting information like the current weather, and interfacing with Siri. The device is expected to have a 7-inch square display with built-in speakers, and it could be something of a HomePod-iPad hybrid.Related Roundups: iOS 27, iPadOS 27Tag: Apple Command Center This article, "A Small iOS 27 Change Hints at Apple's Long-Rumored Home Hub" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple has added a new "Insights" feature to the Wallet app in the second iOS 27 beta. Accessible by tapping the three dots in the upper right corner, Insights appears to let users add different financial accounts to monitor their spending. A splash screen for the feature says users will be able to connect accounts to Wallet to see spending insights, recurring transactions, account balances, and more. The fine print says the following: "Your device is connected to your financial institution by an Apple wholly owned subsidiary, which fetches, categorizes, and standardizes your account information for display on your device. Your account information is not stored." Tapping on the Continue button on the splash screen goes to the Add to Wallet interface with no new options available, so it does not appear to be functional at this time. Apple has detailed transaction information for the Apple Card, but support for other cards and accounts has been limited. Apple did introduce a Connected Cards feature in iOS 17.1, but it saw limited adoption. Discover implemented support and users could see their total card balance, Pay with Rewards, and transaction history, but Discover removed the functionality in early June and almost no other U.S. issuers ever used it. Several UK banks still have deeper integration with the Wallet app's Connected Cards option. It looks like Insights could be a successor to Connected Cards that will work without card issuers specifically adding in support.Related Roundups: iOS 27, iPadOS 27 This article, "Wallet App Gets New 'Insights' Feature in iOS 27 Beta 2" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article