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Ahead of their return to Australia this May, Of Mice & Men frontman Aaron Pauley is very clear on one thing: this band doesn’t exist without its fans. “We create from an honest place,” he tells Music Feeds. “But it’s the fans that make the band successful or not… we owe them everything.” OF MICE & MEN – ‘Troubled Water’ It’s a sentiment that hits even harder as the band gears up to head back Down Under – a place Pauley says continues to stand out, even after years of global touring. “There’s just a different energy,” he explains. “The vibe is incredible… people are excited, positive, and just fully in it. It feels special every time we come back.” That connection is something the band have watched evolve in real time. These days, it’s not just longtime fans showing up, it’s entire generations growing alongside them. “One of my favourite things now is seeing people bring their kids to shows,” Pauley says. “You’ll see someone who’s been coming since they were a teenager, then they come back and they’ve graduated, got a job… and now they’re bringing their family. It’s a huge honour to be part of that.” It’s also a reminder of just how far both the band – and the scene – have come. “Metalcore has outlived disco,” Pauley jokes. “That’s kind of wild when you think about it.” That sense of longevity and evolution feeds directly into the band’s latest chapter, with their recent album Another Miracle marking a fully self-produced effort – something Pauley says has brought them closer than ever to their creative core. “There’s something really exciting about knowing you’re the one deciding what ends up in people’s ears,” he explains. “It’s the most pure version of what we’re trying to say.” It’s a process that trades studio pressure for creative freedom… less clock-watching, more experimentation. “When we do it ourselves, it’s still work… but it’s mostly play,” he says. And that authenticity – that “say it how you mean it” approach – is exactly what Pauley reckons has kept both the band and the broader scene alive. “If you think of music as a language, the more honest and specific you are, the more people can understand you,” he says. “It’s like sending a message in a bottle – you don’t know who’s going to find it, so you better make sure it says exactly what you mean.” Now, with a new album cycle underway and a stacked Australian tour alongside Crystal Lake tgis May, Of Mice & Men are stepping back into that connection once again – louder, tighter, and more intentional than ever. Because for Pauley, it all comes back to that same simple truth: “It’s not just about us,” he says. “It’s about being part of something bigger.” Grab tickets to their forthcoming Aussie tour down below. Of Mice & Men 2026 Australian Tour Dates With Crystal Lake Tuesday 5th May – PERTH, Magnet House Thursday 7th May – ADELAIDE, Lion Arts Factory Friday 8th May – MELBOURNE, 170 Russell Saturday 9th May – SYDNEY, Manning Bar Sunday 10th May – BRISBANE, The Triffid Tickets on sale now via: https://thephoenix.au/of-mice-and-men-2026-2/ Further Reading Of Mice & Men Lock In 2026 Australian Tour With Crystal Lake NEWS FLASHBACK: Of Mice & Men Drop ‘Unbreakable’, Their First Single Since Austin Carlile’s Departure NEWS FLASHBACK: Austin Carlile Reveals Feud With Ex-Of Mice & Men Bandmates Contributed To Split The post “We Owe Them Everything”: Of Mice & Men On Their 2026 Australian Tour appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

It was another busy week of Apple news and rumors, with upcoming Apple product categories like the foldable iPhone and smart glasses featuring prominently in the news. This week also saw continued tightening of supplies of the Mac mini and Mac Studio, while Amazon announced it will be acquiring Apple's satellite partner that supports a variety of Apple services for users off the terrestrial grid, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! Top Stories 'iPhone Ultra' Will Solve Two Key Problems Apple reportedly plans to unveil a foldable iPhone in September, with one leaker on Chinese social media claiming the device will be called the "iPhone Ultra." Now, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the device will have improved screen quality and overall durability compared to competing foldables. "Apple engineers believe they've solved problems with screen quality and overall durability, two long-running flaws with phones in this category," he said. Rumors on launch timing have been all over the place, with some claiming the foldable iPhone will be available in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models while others suggest there could be a delay in availability that might extend even into early 2027. The latest rumor suggests, however, that while production is behind schedule, Apple is still aiming for a fall 2026 launch. For more on the iPhone Ultra, check out last week's episode of The MacRumors Show. Apple Stops Accepting Orders for Some Mac Mini and Mac Studio Models Amid severe global RAM chip shortages and rumors of updated models, some Mac mini and Mac Studio configurations are now completely out of stock on Apple's online store in the U.S. Mac mini configurations with an upgraded 32GB or 64GB of RAM and Mac Studio configurations with an upgraded 128GB or 256GB of RAM are listed as "currently unavailable" on the storefront, meaning they can no longer be ordered at all. Other configurations that remain available continue to face lengthy shipping delays, with estimated delivery time frames ranging from one to three months. Last month, Apple entirely removed the Mac Studio's 512GB of RAM option, but supplies are clearly now tightening even further. Apple Testing Four Smart Glasses Styles Made of High-End Materials Apple is developing at least four different styles of smart glasses, and the company is betting that their superior design will set them apart from rival products, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says that Apple's latest designs are made from a high-end acetate material, which is "more durable and luxurious" than the standard plastic used by most existing brands. In Gurman's words, the designs in testing include: A large rectangular frame, reminiscent of Ray-Ban Wayfarers A slimmer rectangular design, similar to the glasses worn by Apple CEO Tim Cook Larger oval or circular frames A smaller, more refined oval or circular option Apple and Amazon Ink Satellite Deal Amid Amazon's Takeover of Globalstar Amazon has announced that it will acquire Globalstar, which currently serves as Apple's exclusive satellite connectivity partner, but it appears Apple satellite services will be preserved and will perhaps expand under the deal. Alongside the acquisition, Amazon and Apple have signed a separate agreement for Amazon's Leo satellite network to power existing iPhone and Apple Watch satellite features, including Emergency SOS, Messages via satellite, Find My, and Roadside Assistance via satellite. Amazon said it will continue supporting iPhone and Apple Watch models that use Globalstar's existing and upcoming low Earth orbit constellation. Amazon also said it will work with Apple on future satellite services running on the expanded Leo network. Check Who's Using Your iPhone Hotspot Data If you regularly share your iPhone's data connection with your laptop or iPad, or let family members piggyback on your device's data, you'll be glad to learn that Apple recently made it a lot easier to keep tabs on who's burning through your monthly allowance. In a welcome change with the release of iOS 26.4, Apple has moved Personal Hotspot data usage info out of its previous hiding spot and put it in a much more convenient location right in the Personal Hotspot menu. Apple Highlights Photos Shot on iPhone During NASA's Mission to Moon Astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft used the iPhone 17 Pro Max to take selfies of themselves with the Earth in the background during the Artemis II mission around the far side of the Moon earlier this month. Now that the crew members have safely returned to Earth, Apple's CEO Tim Cook and marketing chief Greg Joswiak have both turned to social media to congratulate them on their successful mission and highlight the iPhone's involvement. "You captured the wonders of space and our planet beautifully, taking iPhone photography to new heights, and we're grateful you shared it with the world," wrote Cook. "Your work continues to inspire us all to think different. Welcome home!" MacRumors Newsletter Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view. So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!Tag: Top Stories This article, "Top Stories: 'iPhone Ultra' Rumors, Mac Mini and Mac Studio Shortages, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

If your brain is still wired for Pitbull-era vibes and sweaty dancefloor bangers, allow us to introduce your next obsession: Doov. The rising Brooklyn-based artist and producer has just dropped his latest single ‘Mr. Worldwide’ – a high-energy club weapon that fuses tech-house bounce with shout-along rap hooks, all wrapped in a very deliberate throwback to the golden era of 2000s dance-pop. And yep, the title is exactly the reference you think it is. Doov – ‘Mr. Worldwide’ Co-produced with his brother and longtime collaborator Silly J, the track was sparked by a synth line Doov dreamed up in a post-surgery haze (as you do), before evolving into a full-blown homage to the fun-first, no-seriousness-allowed ethos of early-2000s club music. It even features a cheeky sample of a Pitbull interview pulled from Australia’s Smallzy’s Surgery – because commitment to the bit is everything?! “I always had this line floating in my head about ‘feeling like Mr. Worldwide’ because it sounds cool, but it’s also kind of funny,” Doov explains. “Pitbull… never takes himself too seriously and is really focused on making his music fun. That’s what I’m trying to do as well.” And that philosophy tracks. ‘Mr. Worldwide’ leans all the way into colour, chaos and pure escapism – the kind of track designed for packed rooms and losing your voice by the second chorus. It’s also the latest step in Doov’s rapid rise, following viral cuts like ‘Evil’ and ‘Impress Me’, which have helped push him past 1.5 million monthly streams. After cutting his teeth in the New Jersey SoundCloud scene and later reshaping his sound in Berlin’s underground techno world, he’s now carving out his own lane – a hybrid “Dancerap” sound where hip-hop and EDM collide without asking permission. Fresh off a sold-out show at NYC’s Mercury Lounge and launching his own club event series, Doov is quickly becoming one to watch – especially if you like your dance music loud, a little bit ridiculous, and impossible not to move to. Take it for a spin up above. Further Reading Love Letter To A Record: Rojdar On Pitbull’s ‘Mr. Worldwide’ NEWS FLASHBACK: Santana: “Pitbull Is The Queen And Rolling Stones Of Today” Ava Della Pietra Has A Song For Your 3am Emotional Spiral The post Meet Doov: The Brooklyn Artist Bringing 2000s Dance-Pop Back With ‘Mr. Worldwide’ appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

Last time Memphis May Fire hit Australia, it was straight-up carnage: five sold-out shows, 1600+ fans stuck on waitlists, and a whole lot of people left standing outside venues praying for a miracle ticket. This time around? They’re coming back with a point to prove. “It honestly caught us off guard in the best way,” frontman Matty Mullins says of that overwhelming demand. “You always hope for that kind of response… but to actually see it happen, it felt like Australia was saying, ‘we’ve been here, and we’ve been waiting.’” Memphis May Fire – ‘Love Is War’ And for the band, that wasn’t just flattering, it was fuel. One story in particular stuck. A fan who’d booked flights, accomm, the whole deal… and still couldn’t get through the door. “They were messaging us saying they were outside the venue just hoping something would open up,” Mullins recalls. “That hit hard. That’s when it became clear – we had to come back.” So here we are. Round two. But with a twist: this one comes with a deadline. With their current album cycle winding down, Memphis May Fire already know it’ll be a long time before they’re back Down Under again, which means there’s no pacing, no holding back, no “we’ll get ‘em next time” energy. “There’s a different weight to these shows,” Mullins says. “We’re not thinking we’ll be back next year. Every night has to feel like the last time we’ll ever play there – because for a while, it will be.” AKA: they’re emptying the tank. Expect a setlist that pulls from every corner of their catalogue – including a strong showing from new LP, Shapeshifter – alongside a production level they’re pushing as far as they can take it. “We’re going bigger in every way,” Mullins says. “The songs people have been holding onto for years, mixed with where we’re at right now. We want it to feel worth the wait.” And if you’ve ever been to a heavy show in Australia, you already know the crowd won’t need much encouragement. “Australian crowds don’t need warming up – they’re in it from the first note,” he laughs. “It feels less like you’re playing to them and more like you’re in it with them.” That shared chaos is exactly what the band are chasing again – not just a tour, but a moment. Something that hits harder because it might not come around again anytime soon. “When the final note hits, I want people to feel like they experienced something real,” Mullins says. “Not just another show – something they were part of.” So yeah, if you missed out last time, consider this your redemption arc. Peep all the dates and details down below. Memphis May Fire 2026 Australian Tour Dates With Blessthefall Friday 24th April MELBOURNE, Northcote Theatre Saturday 25th April SYDNEY, Manning Bar Sunday 26th April BRISBANE, Princess Theatre Tuesday 28th April ADELAIDE, Lion Arts Factory Wednesday 29th April PERTH, Magnet House Tickets on sale now via The Phoenix Further Reading “We’re Not Taking This For Granted”: Blessthefall’s Beau Bokan On Their Long-Awaited Aussie Return NEWS FLASHBACK: Amity Affliction Frontman Calls Out Memphis May Fire Vocalist Onstage At Warped Swedish Metallers Avatar Announce 2026 Australian Tour Dates The post “We Owe You One”: Memphis May Fire Are Coming Back To Australia To Make It Count appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through Apple's upcoming overhaul of the iPad mini and iPad Air, looking at the future of the product lineup as a whole. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The headline upgrade for the ‌iPad mini‌ 8 is a switch from LCD to OLED display technology. The device is expected to use a single-stack LTPS panel, which is dimmer than the tandem OLED in the iPad Pro, but a substantial step up from the current display. The screen will also likely grow from 8.3 to 8.7 inches, and ProMotion is a possibility. On the chip, sources disagree. Code Apple accidentally published in August pointed to the A19 Pro, but other evidence suggests the device will use the unreleased A20 Pro chip instead. The N1 and C1X chips are also highly likely to be present. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple is also working on a more water-resistant design, which would make new the ‌iPad mini‌ the first to carry an official IP rating. Apple is said to have developed a vibration-based speaker system that eliminates traditional speaker holes, removing a primary path for water ingress. The scale of the upgrades strongly suggests a redesigned, thinner chassis to accommodate them. Gurman says the upgrades could push the price up by as much as $100 to around $599. The leaker known as "Instant Digital" has said the device will launch in the second half of 2026 at the earliest. Apple is also expected to update the ‌iPad Air‌ in early 2027, with the headline change similarly being a switch to OLED. Like the ‌iPad mini‌ 8, the next-generation ‌iPad Air‌ is expected to use a single-stack LTPS panel supplied by Samsung, keeiping costs down relative to the tandem OLED in the ‌iPad Pro‌. Arriving over six years after the device's last redesign, it is also likely to feature a new design similar to the ‌iPad mini‌, along with the M5 chip. The next ‌iPad Pro‌ is expected in spring 2027, with an M6 chip and a vapor chamber cooling system similar to the one Apple introduced in the iPhone 17 Pro, but no design changes are rumored. With the ‌iPad Air‌ set to close the gap significantly by adopting OLED and a thinner design, the Pro's key differentiators will narrow considerably. A more transformative reason to choose the Pro may not arrive until Apple launches its long-rumored foldable iPad, which Gurman says will feature an 18-inch display. The device has faced development hurdles around weight and display technology and is now expected no earlier than 2029, with a price potentially reaching $3,900, up to three times the cost of the current 13-inch ‌iPad Pro‌. The MacRumors Show has its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel! You can also listen to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or other podcast apps. You can also copy our RSS feed directly into your player. If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up to hear our discussion about all of the rumors surrounding Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone, now said to be called the "iPhone Ultra," which is shaping up to be a comprehensive redesign unlike anything the company has shipped before. Subscribe to ‌The MacRumors Show‌ for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Kayci Lacob, Kevin Nether, John Gruber, Mark Gurman, Jon Prosser, Luke Miani, Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Sam Kohl, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie. ‌The MacRumors Show‌ is on X @MacRumorsShow, so be sure to give us a follow to keep up with the podcast. You can also email us at [email protected] or head over to The MacRumors Show forum thread. Remember to rate and review the podcast, and let us know what subjects and guests you would like to see in the future.Tag: The MacRumors Show This article, "The MacRumors Show: What's Next for the iPad" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Photos have been making the rounds on Chinese social media today showing an Honor-branded advertising truck parked directly in front of Apple Canton Road store in Hong Kong, promoting the company's new Honor 600 series smartphone. The truck's ad features the slogan "It's our HONOR" alongside the phrase "orange to orange," which appears to be a play on the English idiom "apples to apples" – referring to a like-for-like comparison. The slogan is paired with an image of the Honor phone, in a finish that bears more than a passing resemblance to the iPhone 17 Pro's Cosmic Orange. It's a brazen stunt for a brand that spun off from Huawei in 2020 before being sold off to another entity to bypass U.S. sanctions. Using Apple's retail store as a backdrop to pitch your rival device with a similar color is one thing, but when the design is arguably a shameless copy, you're definitely out of ideas. Apple is unlikely to make a big stink about such guerrilla marketing, as it would only amplify it. And as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.Tag: Apple Store This article, "Apple Store Becomes Backdrop for Honor's Brazen Hong Kong Ad Stunt" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

China's smartphone shipments fell 4% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, according to data from Counterpoint Research, with Apple delivering the strongest growth among the top six brands. Counterpoint's Market Monitor Tracker attributed the decline primarily to a high base effect from last year's government subsidy program and rising component costs. Counterpoint noted that February's Lunar New Year promotions provided a slight boost, but said the "magnitude of these discounts was hampered by a sharp increase in memory costs." Rising costs are already driving up retail prices on both new and used devices, and the pressure is expected to continue through the second quarter. Apple rose to second place in the market with shipments up 20% year over year, driven by strong iPhone 17 series demand, promotional price cuts, and government subsidies. Counterpoint says Apple is best positioned among manufacturers to navigate the ongoing global memory crunch, supported by its premium product portfolio and supply chain management. The firm expects Apple to absorb rising costs internally in the near-to-medium term and expand its market share as a result. The first quarter result extends a strong run for Apple in China; the company reclaimed the top spot in the country in the fourth quarter of 2025 with shipments up 28% year over year, and recorded a 23% sales increase in the first nine weeks of 2026. Huawei led with a 20% market share, its highest since the fourth quarter of 2020, with shipments up 2% year over year, aided by domestic supplier relationships that cushion the impact of rising memory costs. OPPO ranked third following the reintegration of realme, with OnePlus rising 53% year over year on the Ace 6 and Turbo 6 series, though OPPO's decision to raise prices on older models in March has weighed on demand. vivo grew 2% year over year on mid-to-low-end strength, while Xiaomi was the sharpest decliner, falling 35% year over year as its core models underperformed the previous generation. Counterpoint warned that manufacturers broadly face a "double hit" of shrinking shipments and thinning margins, and forecast that China smartphone shipments will decline 9% for the full year. Apple, by contrast, is expected to use the cost pressure to its advantage, absorbing memory price increases internally while rivals are forced to raise prices and cede ground.Tags: China, Counterpoint This article, "Apple Leads Top Brands for China Smartphone Growth as Market Declines" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple plans to release iPad mini and MacBook Pro models with OLED displays this year, according to industry sources who spoke to South Korea's ETNews. The current iPad mini and MacBook Pro models have LCD displays with either LED or mini-LED backlighting. The move to OLED technology would result in improved image quality, thanks to richer colors and higher contrast ratio with true blacks. Samsung will supply the OLED displays for both devices, the report said. All of the iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad Pro models that Apple sells today are already equipped with OLED displays, excluding refurbished models. Other new features rumored for the next iPad mini include an A19 Pro or an A20 Pro chip, a vibration-based speaker system, and a water-resistant design. Apple will likely announce the device in September or October this year. For the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, other new features rumored include M6 Pro and M6 Max chips, a touch screen, a Dynamic Island, and a thinner design. Apple reportedly plans to release the laptops towards the end of 2026, although there is a chance that the launch will not happen until early 2027. The report said the iPad Air will also receive an OLED display next year.Related Roundups: iPad mini, MacBook ProTags: ETNews, OLEDBuyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Caution), MacBook Pro (Buy Now)Related Forums: iPad, MacBook Pro This article, "Apple to Upgrade These Two Devices With OLED Displays Later This Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

This week we saw some heavy-hitter Apple deals arrive for the M5 MacBook Air and AirPods Pro 3, with record low prices still available for both of these devices on Amazon. Below, you'll also find great deals on Apple Watch Series 11 and the new 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. M5 MacBook Air What's the deal? Take $150 off M5 MacBook Air Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $150 OFF13-inch M5 MacBook Air (16GB/1TB) for $1,149.00 $150 OFF15-inch M5 MacBook Air (512GB) for $1,149.00 Amazon has a few record low prices on the new M5 MacBook Air this week, with $150 off select models of the brand new notebook. Stock has begun dwindling on these notebooks and we're no longer tracking an all-time low price on the 512GB 13-inch M5 MacBook Air, but most other configurations have availability. AirPods Pro 3 What's the deal? Take $49 off AirPods Pro 3 Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $49 OFFAirPods Pro 3 for $199.99 Amazon this week brought back an all-time low price on the AirPods Pro 3, available for $199.99, down from $249.00. AirPods Max 2 What's the deal? Take $19 off AirPods Max 2 Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $19 OFFAirPods Max 2 for $529.99 Apple's new AirPods Max 2 launched earlier this month, and Amazon is one of the only retailers offering a discount on the headphones. You can get the Midnight and Starlight color options for $529.99 on Amazon, down from $549.00. Apple Watch Series 11 What's the deal? Take $100 off Apple Watch Series 11 Where can I get it? Amazon Where can I find the original deal? Right here $100 OFFApple Watch Series 11 (42mm GPS) for $299.00 $100 OFFApple Watch Series 11 (46mm GPS) for $329.00 Amazon this week has all-time low prices on the Apple Watch Series 11, with $100 discounts across numerous models of the smartwatch. This sale includes nearly every aluminum model of the Series 11 on sale at a record low price. 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, "Best Apple Deals of the Week: M5 MacBook Air $150 Off Deals, Plus Sales on AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods Max 2" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Stan Ng, Apple's vice president of product marketing for Apple Watch, AirPods, Health, and Home, has retired after 31 years at the company (via Bloomberg). Ng publicly announced his departure on LinkedIn on Thursday, sharing an image of the sunrise at Apple Park. "After 31 years at Apple, today was my last day," he wrote. "It was a joy to work at Apple and I truly loved what I did." Apple's latest stock vesting date took place on Wednesday, and many employees who retire or leave tend to do so around that time. Ng joined Apple in 1995 as a senior systems engineer, before Steve Jobs had returned to the company. He later moved into product roles for the Mac before becoming one of the key marketing executives behind the original iPod. He also appeared in product launch videos, including the iPod touch reveal in 2007, and went on to oversee marketing for the iPhone and Apple Watch before Home initiatives were added to his remit in 2021. Within Apple's marketing organization, Ng reported to Bob Borchers, who oversees product marketing under senior vice president Greg Joswiak. Marketing leaders at Apple go beyond traditional marketing, with Apple's product marketing leaders playing an active role in shaping the products themselves. Erik Treski, Apple's worldwide product marketing executive for AirPods and Home, who was referenced in last month's AirPods Max update announcement, will assume part of Ng's responsibilities. It is not yet known how the rest of his responsibilities will be divided up. Ng's exit is the latest in a wave of senior departures that has accelerated in recent months. John Giannandrea, Apple's longtime artificial intelligence chief, was also reported to be leaving this week. Former COO Jeff Williams retired last year, design chief Alan Dye departed for Meta Platforms at the end of 2025, environment and government affairs head Lisa Jackson retired earlier this year, and general counsel Katherine Adams is set to leave later in 2026. Ng is also the third executive closely tied to Apple's health and fitness push to exit in quick succession. Williams had overseen those groups until his retirement, while Jay Blahnik, head of Fitness+, is departing following an investigation and lawsuit related to allegations about his behavior. Apple's health initiatives were recently brought under Eddy Cue as part of a broader organizational reshuffle following Williams' retirement. This article, "iPod Marketing Veteran Stan Ng Retires After 31 Years at Apple" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

A source said to be familiar with Apple's supply chain today revealed the color options Apple is planning for the iPhone 18 Pro, ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max, and the upcoming foldable iPhone. Image via Macworld. The information comes from Macworld, which says the signature new color for this year's Pro models will be Dark Cherry, a deep wine-like red. While other sources had previously reported on a "Dark Red" option, the hue is said to be considerably closer to wine than a brighter red. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and other leakers had previously suggested Apple was experimenting with a shade of red for the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌, but the color will apparently be much more muted than last year's Cosmic Orange on the iPhone 17 Pro. According to Macworld's source, Apple has been working on four color options for the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and Pro Max, with the following Pantone codes said to be in use internally: Light Blue (Pantone 2121), resembling the current iPhone 17's Mist Blue Dark Cherry (Pantone 6076), the headline new color Dark Gray (Pantone 426C) Silver (Pantone 427C), similar to the current generation The source cautions that all four colors are still in development, and since the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ has not yet gone into mass production, Apple still has time to make changes. Apple also does not always offer four color options for the Pro lineup, so one of these shades could be dropped before launch. Last year, both Macworld and leaker Sonny Dickson reported that Apple had considered launching the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ in black or steel gray, but neither color was released. For the first foldable iPhone, which has been rumored to be called the "iPhone Ultra," the device will reportedly come in fewer options than the Pro models, with no bold or vibrant colors. Macworld's source says Apple has been working on a classic silver and white model, as well as an Indigo option similar to the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌'s Deep Blue. The same source corroborates earlier leaks on the foldable's design, saying the device will feature two rear cameras, a selfie camera on the outer display, a second selfie camera in the upper-left corner of the inner display, and an iPad mini-style shape when unfolded. The foldable is reportedly just 4.7 millimeters thick when unfolded, which would make it considerably thinner than the 5.6mm iPhone Air. On the design of the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌, the CAD drawings seen by Macworld's source support existing rumors of a smaller Dynamic Island, which would free up a small amount of additional screen space when Live Activities are not in use. The schematics also show a slightly reduced gap between the glass cutout on the back and the camera bump in at least one render, though the source was unable to confirm whether this reflects a finalized design change. A Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital" previously reported that Apple would adopt a new manufacturing process to minimize the color difference between the glass and the aluminum frame, which may be connected. The ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ models and foldable iPhone are expected to be announced in September 2026, though some analysts suggest the foldable will launch at a later date. The iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and ‌iPhone Air‌ 2 are rumored to follow in the first half of 2027.Related Roundup: iPhone 18 ProTag: Macworld This article, "iPhone 18 Pro's Four Rumored Colors Revealed, Including 'Dark Cherry'" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

No, you aren't going crazy – Apple has quietly made a backend change to the App Store app in iOS that switches the location of the Updates tab and renames it to make it more prominent. In the App Store app, you can see the change by tapping your profile picture in the top-right corner. The "Apps & Purchase History" tab used to be at the top the list, but it has switched places with "Updates," which is now called "App Updates." The change was made by Apple without issuing a software update and is evident on both iOS 26.4.1 and the iOS 26.5 beta. There's actually a faster way to access the App Updates page in iOS 26.4 that was recently highlighted by Daring Fireball's John Gruber: Simply long-press on the App Store app on your Home Screen and you can jump straight to it from the contextual menu.Tag: App Store This article, "Apple Quietly Tweaked the iOS App Store App – Here's What's Changed" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

After nearly a decade away, blessthefall are finally heading back to Australia – and if frontman Beau Bokan is anything to go by, they’re not about to take a single second of it for granted. Touching down next week alongside Memphis May Fire, the tour marks the band’s first Aussie shows in nine years – a gap that’s only made the demand louder. “We’ve had so many fans saying this is their first time seeing us,” Bokan tells Music Feeds. “People who’ve been listening since 2009 but never had the chance – now they’re like, ‘we’re not missing it this time.’” blessthefall – ‘mallxcore’ It’s part of a broader resurgence the band have been watching in real time – a new wave of younger fans discovering metalcore’s golden era, alongside longtime listeners finally circling back. “There’s this whole new generation coming through like, ‘my older brother showed me you guys,’” Bokan laughs. “And then you’ve got kids saying they were born in the wrong era… which makes me feel ancient.” But for Bokan, the real shift isn’t just in the crowd, it’s in the mindset. After years of touring, burnout, and stepping away when things stopped feeling right, the band have returned with a much clearer sense of purpose. “There was a point where I didn’t want to tour anymore,” he admits. “And I think that’s something people need to recognise – if you’re not mentally in the right place, it’s okay to step back.” Now? It’s about doing things on their own terms – and reconnecting with the reason it all started in the first place. “When I first joined the band, it felt like I’d hit the lottery,” Bokan reflects. “I got to quit my job and do something I loved for a living. I try to hold onto that feeling every time we go out.” That energy is exactly what they’re bringing back down under – along with the usual chaos, crowd-surfing madness, and (hopefully) a bit of downtime to hit the beaches and dodge the occasional nightmare spider. “It’s just a different vibe over there,” Bokan says. “We always try to find somewhere to swim, jump off cliffs… it’s one of our favourite places to play.” With a stacked lineup, a fresh wave of fans, and nearly a decade of pent-up energy behind them, this tour feels less like a comeback and more like a reset – one that Blessthefall are clearly still hungry to build on. “We’ve still got so much we want to do,” Bokan says. “We’ve never played arenas, never had that number one rock song… but the goal is just to keep growing and make music we actually love. If it connects, it connects.” And judging by the reception so far? Yep, it do be connecting. Suss all the details of Blessthefall’s upcoming tour with Memphis May Fire down below. Blessthefall 2026 Australian Tour Dates Supporting Memphis May Fire Friday 24th April MELBOURNE, Northcote Theatre Saturday 25th April SYDNEY, Manning Bar Sunday 26th April BRISBANE, Princess Theatre Tuesday 28th April ADELAIDE, Lion Arts Factory Wednesday 29th April PERTH, Magnet House Tickets on sale now via The Phoenix Further Reading NEWS FLASHBACK: Amity Affliction Frontman Calls Out Memphis May Fire Vocalist Onstage At Warped Swedish Metallers Avatar Announce 2026 Australian Tour Dates Avenged Sevenfold Announce First Aussie Tour In 12 Years With Coheed & Cambria + Thornhill The post “We’re Not Taking This For Granted”: Blessthefall’s Beau Bokan On Their Long-Awaited Aussie Return appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

Big changes are afoot at triple j, with the national youth broadcaster announcing a mid-year reshuffle across its flagship Breakfast and Drive slots. Stepping into Brekky from July are fan-fave duo Abby Butler and Tyrone Pynor, who’ll be bringing their trademark mix of big cackles, wild stories and genuinely elite vibes to the early shift. The longtime mates have already built a cult following on Drive since 2023 – hosting everything from the Hottest 100 to Mardi Gras broadcasts – so tbh this feels like a very natural (and very loud) next step. Meanwhile, current Breakfast host Luka Muller is heading to Drive, swapping the 4am alarm for a slightly more humane schedule – and teasing a mystery new co-host still to be revealed. It marks a new chapter after a huge stint on Breakfast that saw him front triple j’s 50th anniversary celebrations, multiple Hottest 100s and a stacked run of major events. As part of the shake-up, Concetta Caristo will wrap up her time at the station at the end of June, closing out a much-loved three-year run that’s seen her become one of triple j’s most distinctive and beloved voices. ““As a girl known for having one million feelings in every moment, it is criminal to be asked to sum up my time at triple j in a sentence,” Concetta shared in a statement. “Spending my mornings laughing and talking to so many people around the country has been a genuine privilege and joy in my life. I’m going to cherish the memories forever.” The new era officially kicks off in July, with Abby & Tyrone on Breakfast, Luka on Drive, and one big question still hanging in the air: who’s joining him for the ride home? Stay tuned. Further Reading WATCH: 13yo Inkabee Becomes The Youngest Artist In ‘Like A Version’ History RIP 100 Warm Tunas: Beloved Hottest 100 Prediction Site Shuts Down After Nearly A Decade triple j’s Hottest 100 Of Australian Songs: The Complete List The post triple j Reveals New Brekky & Drive Hosts In Major Line-Up Change appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

It’s been a long time between drinks, but Avenged Sevenfold are finally heading back to Australia for their first headline tour in 12 years, and they’re not pulling up quietly. The metal juggernauts have locked in three massive arena shows this October, bringing their full-scale spectacle Down Under alongside prog-rock storytellers Coheed and Cambria and Melbourne heavy hitters Thornhill. It’s a lineup that basically reads like a “how hard do you want your brain melted?” menu, from A7X’s stadium-sized chaos to Coheed’s galaxy-brain concept lore and Thornhill’s sleek, modern heaviness. Avenged Sevenfold – ‘Magic’ For Aussie fans, this one’s been painfully overdue. The band last touched down in 2014 for Soundwave festival (RIP), and yes – we’ve all been side-eyeing that “we’ll be back soon” promise ever since. Fast forward to now, and they’re finally making good on it, fresh off their Life Is But A Dream… era and still very much in their “let’s get weird with it” phase. And if you’ve ever seen Avenged Sevenfold live, you already know the drill. Big riffs, bigger visuals, and enough pyro-adjacent energy to make your Apple Watch concerned. Tickets are on sale now and you can suss the deets below. AVENGED SEVENFOLD – AUSTRALIA 2026 TOUR DATES With Coheed and Cambria & Thornhill Friday 16 October — Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena Sunday 18 October — Brisbane, Entertainment Centre Tuesday 20 October — Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena Tickets on sale now via Live Nation Further Reading Watch As Kids React To Hearing Avenged Sevenfold For The First Time Watch Avenged Sevenfold Punk Their Guitarist Synyster Gates With Live ‘Chipmunk’ Vocals AJ Maddah Has Been Quietly Paying Back All His Soundwave Debts The post Avenged Sevenfold Announce First Aussie Tour In 12 Years With Coheed & Cambria + Thornhill appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

CONTENT WARNING: The following article discusses the death of a teenage girl This is a heavy and developing case. Singer D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke) has been arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. According to police, Burke was taken into custody on Thursday afternoon and is currently being held without bail. He has not been formally charged at this stage, with the case set to be presented to the L.A. County District Attorney’s office for consideration. His legal team has strongly denied the allegations, stating that evidence will show he was not responsible for the teenager’s death. Hernandez had been reported missing from California’s Inland Empire in 2024. Her body was later discovered in September 2025, decomposing inside a Tesla registered to Burke, after the vehicle was impounded and investigators responded to reports of a strong odour. Authorities say the body had been there for weeks prior to its discovery. Law enforcement sources have alleged to the LA Times that Celeste allegedly met D4vd on social media and appeared to reside at a rental home with the singer after running away from home. Investigators have been examining the case for several months, with search warrants executed at Burke’s former residence and a grand jury probe underway since late 2025. Reports indicate the vehicle had been left in a Hollywood Hills neighbourhood before being towed. Law enforcement sources have also suggested Hernandez may have had contact with Burke prior to her disappearance, though details remain under investigation. The case has drawn significant attention given Burke’s rising profile in music. The 21-year-old artist had recently released his debut album and was in the middle of a North American tour last year before it was cancelled amid the investigation. He was also booted from Australia’s Spilt Milk lineup and axed his 2025 Aussie tour dates. At this stage, authorities have not publicly outlined the specific evidence leading to the arrest, and the cause of death has not been disclosed. “Let us be clear – the actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death,” D4vd’s attorneys said in a joint statement. This story is ongoing. If you need assistance, 1800 RESPECT – the Australian National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service — can be reached on 1800 737 732. Further Reading D4vd Scrubs Australian Tour Dates as Teen’s Cause of Death “Deferred” by Coroner d4vd Removed From Spilt Milk 2025 Lineup Amidst Body-In-The-Trunk Investigation Ex-Turnstile Guitarist Charged With Attempted Murder Of Frontman Brendan Yates’ Dad The post Singer D4vd Arrested On Suspicion Of Murder In Death Of Missing Teen appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

Alright, prog nerds – this is not a drill. Perth legends Karnivool are finally taking their long-awaited #1 album In Verses on the road… and they’re doing it in full arena-scale glory. Marking their biggest headline shows ever, the In Verses Australian Tour kicks off this July, with Karnivool delivering a career-spanning set across five cities – including a hometown opener in Perth and a massive Riverstage finale in Brisbane. It’s their first proper album tour in over a decade, which feels correct given In Verses itself took a casual 13 years to materialise (light work). Karnivool – ‘Animation’ And look – if you’ve spent the last few months trying to untangle this record in your headphones, spare a thought for the band having to actually play it live. We’re talking dense, layered, emotionally loaded prog that somehow still topped the ARIA chart – a rare “thinking person’s metal” moment that broke through without dumbing anything down. Joining them for the ride is a straight-up prog Avengers lineup. UK heavyweights TesseracT – aka the kings of polyrhythmic brain-melt – are back after their War of Being victory lap, while New York chaos merchants Car Bomb are making their long-overdue Australian debut. Yep, your time signatures are about to get absolutely disrespected. Tickets are on sale now and you can peep all the details down below. KARNIVOOL – ‘IN VERSES’ AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2026 With TesseracT & Car Bomb Sat 18 July – Perth, Ice Cream Factory Tue 21 July – Adelaide, AEC Theatre Thu 23 July – Sydney, Hordern Pavilion Fri 24 July – Melbourne, Margaret Court Arena Sat 25 July – Brisbane, Riverstage Tickets on sale now via destroyalllines.com Further Reading Karnivool Officially Announce First New Album In 12 Years, ‘In Verses’ Karnivool Share Long-Awaited New Single ‘Drone’ Ahead Of National Tour Love Letter To A Record: Verticoli On Karnivool’s ‘Sound Awake’ The post Karnivool Announce Biggest Aussie Tour Ever appeared first on Music Feeds. View the full article

Customers are more loyal to Apple than ever, according to a smartphone loyalty survey conducted by phone trade-in site SellCell. 96.4% of customers surveyed said they planned to stick with an iPhone for their next upgrade, and 3.6% said they would choose a different brand. That's up from 91.9% in SellCell's 2021 survey and 90.5% in 2019. Android users were less loyal to their brand, and are almost 4x more likely to switch than iPhone users. 86.4% of people surveyed said they would stick with an Android device, while 13.6% said they planned to switch. Of the 3.6% of iPhone users who said they would move to another platform, 69.7% said they would choose a Samsung smartphone, and 20.2% said they would choose a Google smartphone. While most Android users said they would switch to a Samsung or Google device, 26.8% said they would choose an iPhone over an Android smartphone. Most iPhone users said they would stick with an iPhone because they prefer Apple (60.8%), while 17.4% said they were invested in the Apple ecosystem. About half of iPhone users contemplating switching said they would do so because the iPhone is too expensive or other brands offer better value, but 22.5% said other brands have better technology. iPhone users were more likely to be loyal over time, and 83.8% said they had used an iPhone for more than five years. By comparison, just 33.8% of Android users said they had stuck with a brand for over five years. SellCell's survey was limited to 5,000 U.S. respondents. The site says there was a roughly equal representation between iPhone and Android users, with two separate surveys that included the same question structure. More information from the survey is available from SellCell's website.Tags: Android, SellCell This article, "iPhone Loyalty Hits 96.4% as Android Users Four Times More Likely to Switch" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple hardware engineering chief John Ternus and marketing chief Greg Joswiak recently did an interview with Tom's Guide, where they shared new insights into the MacBook Neo, AI, and spatial computing. Ternus and Joswiak made it clear that the ‌MacBook Neo‌ isn't your average low-cost device. Apple doesn't typically put a lot of focus on its more affordable devices, but marketing for the Neo has been expansive, and that's because Apple sees it as a "reinvention" of the entry-level laptop. From Ternus: I think maybe another one from our past is this idea that Steve talked about is the Mac being the bicycle for the mind, right? And you know, from the very beginning, the vision was let's make personal computing as accessible to as many people as possible. And that was the mission of the MacBook Neo. Ternus said the ‌MacBook Neo‌ required "building something completely new from the ground up" to provide customers with quality at a low price. "We never want to ship junk," he said. "We want to ship great products that have that Apple experience." Joswiak said the ‌MacBook Neo‌'s quality was important to Apple, and the Neo's build sets it apart from competitors. You know the products in this space that it's competing against. They're plastic, they're little, you can flex them. They're so cheap, because what have they done? They just tried to cut a nickel, cut a quarter, cut a dollar out of everything to try to make it cheaper, and as a result, they made it cheap, which is very different than making it a lower price and high value, which was the approach we were taking. Along with discussing the Neo, Ternus and Joswiak talked about the differences between the iPad and the Mac. Ternus said that Apple isn't going to merge the products, and similarities are because Apple focuses on what would make a device better and not on how one product might impact another. We're going to make the best iPad we can possibly make. We're going to make the best Mac we can possibly make. Some customer is going to choose one, some customer is going to choose the other. A lot of customers actually like to have both, and that's great too. So yeah, we never think about... there's never been this idea of mashing these two things together. On AI, which is an area where Apple has been struggling, Joswiak said it's not a sprint. We've been doing things with intelligence for many years, right? And gen AI allows us an opportunity to do that even more. So I'm excited about that, but boy, this is not a sprint. This is a marathon, right? We're going to be doing stuff with intelligence for decades, not months or years. Joswiak dodged a question about a potential touchscreen MacBook Pro, which Apple is rumored to be working on for launch as soon as this year. He also declined to comment on smart glasses, but said we're in the "early innings of spatial computing," while Ternus said that combining the digital and physical world is an "inevitability." The two were tight-lipped about any upcoming Apple products, but Joswiak said Apple is "working on some pretty cool stuff." The full interview, which goes into more detail on the ‌MacBook Neo‌, AI, and includes a Steve Jobs anecdote, is well worth watching.Tags: Greg Joswiak, John Ternus This article, "Apple Execs Say Spatial Computing Is 'Inevitable' and AI Is a 'Marathon, Not a Sprint'" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

iPhone accessory maker Casely reissued a recall for its faulty Power Pod wireless power bank (via The Verge) after one of the affected units resulted in the death of a 75-year-old woman and another exploded on a plane. Casely first issued the recall in April 2025 through the Consumer Product Safety Commission. At that time, the company said that the power banks could overheat and ignite, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers. A total of 51 people had reported incidents where the battery overheated, expanded, or caught fire, and there were six minor burn injuries. Since then, there have been an additional 28 reports, including two serious incidents. In August 2024, a woman in New Jersey was charging her phone with a Casely power bank on her lap, and it caught fire and exploded. She had second- and third-degree burns, and later died from complications from her injuries. In February 2026, a 47-year-old woman was charging her cell phone with the power bank on an airplane when it caught fire and exploded, resulting in first-degree burns. Airlines have introduced more restrictive limits on power banks due to incidents like this. Casely sold 429,200 power banks, which were branded as the Casely "Power Pod" with MagSafe compatibility. The 5,000mAh wireless power banks were available in multiple colors and patterns, and were priced at between $30 and $70. Affected units have an E33A model number and were sold from Amazon.com, the Casely website, and other websites between March 2022 and September 2024. Anyone with a Casely Power Pod should stop using it immediately and contact Casely for a free replacement or a $60 store credit. Affected units should not be discarded, and customers should contact their local household hazardous waste collection center for disposal assistance. Casely is contacting all known purchasers directly.Tag: MagSafe This article, "Casely MagSafe-Compatible Power Banks Recalled Again After Fire-Related Death and In-Flight Explosion" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Apple's MacBook Neo has been a huge hit, and it's still in high demand over a month after it launched. The ‌MacBook Neo‌ is just $599, and with PC makers raising prices because of global RAM shortages, the Neo's low price tag and Apple allure are even more appealing. ‌MacBook Neo‌ orders placed today on the online Apple Store won't reach customers until May, which means that it's sold out for the month of April, as 9to5Mac points out. All colors and both the 256GB and 512GB SSD configurations will be delivered between May 1 and May 8 at the earliest. Some Apple retail locations have in-store availability today in select colors, but other stores won't have stock until May 11. Third-party retailers don't appear to have immediate stock, with Best Buy and Target listing delivery dates at least a week out. Demand has exceeded expectations, and Apple is ramping up production. Apple is now planning to ship 10 million units in 2026, up from the original five to six million estimate. After the ‌MacBook Neo‌ launched, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple saw its "best launch week ever for first-time Mac customers." Apple may need to refresh the ‌MacBook Neo‌ sooner than expected because Apple does not have an unlimited supply of the binned A18 Pro chips that the machine uses. Apple could run out of the A18 Pro chip before it is able to satisfy ‌MacBook Neo‌ demand. Apple may need to restart A18 Pro chip production, which has ended, or start using an A19 Pro chip instead. We'll likely hear more about the ‌MacBook Neo‌'s success during Apple's April 30 earnings call for the second fiscal quarter of 2026.Related Roundup: MacBook NeoBuyer's Guide: MacBook Neo (Buy Now)Related Forum: MacBook Neo This article, "Apple's $599 MacBook Neo Sold Out Through April Amid Surging Demand" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Perplexity today launched Personal Computer, an expansion of Perplexity Computer that integrates with local files and apps on a Mac. Personal Computer was announced in March and was available on a waitlist basis, but it is officially rolling out today for Max subscribers. Perplexity Computer came out earlier this year, and it's an all-in-one "digital worker" able to create and execute entire workflows. With today's upgrade, it can run directly on a Mac with access to the file system and native apps. Pressing both Command keys on a Mac will activate Personal Computer, and it responds to text or voice commands. Personal Computer can work across any Mac app, and it can see active apps and display quick actions automatically. Perplexity says Personal Computer can run on any Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, but the company recommends a Mac mini. With a ‌Mac mini‌, Personal Computer can run 24/7 for work that requires a persistent machine or secure local access to files and native apps. Tasks can be initiated and managed from an iPhone on the go. Personal Computer can do things like complete each task on a to-do list, sort a messy downloads folder, compare local files against information on the web, and more. It can create teams of agents across over 20 frontier models to complete tasks. Personal Computer's actions are visible, so users can step in when needed. Files are created in a secure sandbox, the actions that Personal Computer takes are auditable and reversible, and there is a kill switch. Personal Computer for Mac is rolling out to Perplexity Max subscribers starting today, with Perplexity prioritizing waitlist members. Perplexity Max is priced at $200 per month, and the new feature is not available to $20/month Pro plan subscribers.Related Roundup: Mac miniTag: PerplexityBuyer's Guide: Mac Mini (Caution)Related Forum: Mac mini This article, "Perplexity Launches Personal Computer for Mac, Turning a Mac mini Into an Always-On AI Agent" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

Last week, we launched Docker Sandboxes with a bold goal: to deliver the strongest agent isolation in the market. This post unpacks that claim, how microVMs enable it, and some of the architectural choices we made in this approach. The Problem With Every Other Approach Every sandboxing model asks you to give something up. We looked at the top four approaches. Full VMs offer strong isolation, but general-purpose VMs weren’t designed for ephemeral, session-heavy agent workflows. Some VMs built for specific workloads can spin up more effectively on modern hardware, but the general-purpose VM experience (slow cold starts, heavy resource overhead) pushes developers toward skipping isolation entirely. Containers are fast and are the way modern applications are built. But for an autonomous agent that needs to build and run its own Docker containers, which coding agents routinely do, you hit Docker-in-Docker, which requires elevated privileges that undermine the isolation you set up in the first place. Agents need a real Docker environment to do development work, and containers alone don’t give you that cleanly. WASM / V8 isolates are fast to spin up, but the isolation model is fundamentally different. You’re running isolates, not operating systems. Even providers of isolate-based sandboxes have acknowledged that hardening V8 is difficult, and that security bugs in the V8 engine surface more frequently than in mature hypervisors. Beyond the security model, there’s a practical gap: your agent can’t install system packages or run arbitrary shell commands. For a coding agent that needs a real development environment, WASM isn’t one. Not using any sandboxing is fast, obviously. It’s also a liability. One rm -rf, one leaked .env, one rogue network call, and the blast radius is your entire machine. Why MicroVMs Docker Sandboxes run each agent session inside a dedicated microVM with a private Docker daemon isolated by the VM boundary, and no path back to the host. That one sentence contains three architectural decisions worth unpacking. Dedicated microVM. Each sandbox gets its own kernel. It’s hardware-boundary isolation, the same kind you get from a full VM. A compromised or runaway agent can’t reach the host, other sandboxes, or anything outside its environment. If it tries to escape, it hits a wall. Private, VM-isolated Docker daemon. This is the key differentiator for coding agents. AI is going to result in more container workloads, not fewer. Containers are how applications are developed, and agents need a Docker environment to do that development. Docker Sandboxes give each agent its own Docker daemon running inside a microVM, fully isolated by the VM boundary. Your agent gets full docker build, docker run, and docker compose support with no socket mounting, no host-level privileges, none of the security compromises other approaches require. This means we treat agents as we would a human developer, giving them a true developer environment so they can actually complete tasks across the SDLC. No path back to the host. File access, network policies, and secrets are defined before the agent runs, not enforced by the agent itself. This is an important distinction. An LLM deciding its own security boundaries is not a security model. The bounding box has to come from infrastructure, not from a system prompt. Why We Built a New VMM Choosing microVMs was the easy part. Running them where developers actually work was the hard part. We looked hard at existing options, but none of them were designed for what we needed. Firecracker, the most well-known microVM runtime, was designed for cloud infrastructure, specifically Linux/KVM environments like AWS Lambda. It has no native support for macOS or Windows, full stop. That’s fine for server-side workloads, but coding agents don’t run in the cloud. They run on developer laptops, across macOS, Windows, and Linux. We could have shimmed an existing VMM into working across platforms, creating translation layers on macOS and workarounds on Windows, but bolting cross-platform support onto a Linux-first VMM means fighting abstractions that were never designed for it. That’s how you end up with fragile, layered workarounds that break the “it just works” promise and create the friction that makes developers skip sandboxing altogether. So we built a new VMM, purpose-built for where coding agents actually run. It runs natively on all three platforms using each OS’s native hypervisor: Apple’s Hypervisor.framework, Windows Hypervisor Platform, and Linux KVM. A single codebase for three platforms and zero translation layers. This matters because it means agents get kernel-level isolation optimized for each specific OS. Cold starts are fast because there’s no abstraction tax. A developer on a MacBook gets the same isolation guarantees and startup performance as a developer on a Linux workstation or a Windows machine. Building a VMM from scratch is not a small undertaking. But the alternative, asking developers to accept slower starts, degraded compatibility, or platform-specific caveats, is exactly the kind of asterisk that makes people run agents on the host instead. Our approach removes that asterisk at the hypervisor level. Fast Cold Starts We rebuilt the virtualization layer from scratch, optimizing for fast spin up and fast tear downs. Cold starts are fast. This matters for one reason: if the sandbox is slow, developers skip it. Every friction point between “start agent” and “agent is running” is a reason to run on the host instead. With near-instant starts, there is no performance reason to run outside it. What This Means In Practice Here’s the concrete version of what this architecture gives you: Full development environment. Agents can clone repos, install dependencies, run test suites, build Docker images, spin up multi-container services, and open pull requests, all inside the sandbox. Nothing is stubbed out or simulated. Agents are treated as developers and given what they need to complete tasks end to end. Scoped access, not all-or-nothing. You define the boundary: exactly which files and directories the agent can see, which network endpoints it can reach, and which secrets it receives. Credentials are injected at runtime and outside the MicroVM boundary, never baked into the environment. Disposable by design. If an agent goes off track, delete the sandbox and start fresh in seconds. There is no state to clean up and nothing to roll back on your host. Works with every major agent. Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Kiro, Docker Agent, and next-generation autonomous systems like OpenClaw and NanoClaw. Same isolation, same speed, one sandbox model across all of them. For Teams Individual developers can install and run Docker Sandboxes today, standalone, no Docker Desktop license required. For teams that want centralized filesystem and network policies that can be enforced across an organization and scale sandboxed execution, get in touch to learn about enterprise deployment. The Tradeoff That Isn’t The pitch for sandboxing has always come with an asterisk: yes, it’s safer, but you’ll pay for it in speed, compatibility, or workflow friction. MicroVMs eliminate that asterisk. You get VM-grade isolation with cold starts fast enough that there’s no reason to skip it, and full Docker support inside the sandbox. There is no tradeoff. Your agents should be running autonomously. They just shouldn’t be running without any guardrails. Use Sandboxes in Seconds Install Sandboxes with a single command. macOS brew install docker/tap/sbx Windows winget install Docker.sbx Read the docs to learn more. View the full article

OpenAI is making several updates to its Codex AI coding agent. Codex is now able to operate desktop Mac apps with its own cursor, seeing what's on the screen, clicking, and typing to complete tasks. Codex can run multiple agents on the Mac in parallel, without interfering with the user's own work. OpenAI says developers will find it useful for testing apps, iterating on frontend changes, and more. Codex can now remember preferences, recurring workflows, tech stacks, and other information about each user's personal workflow. With automation improvements, Codex is able to resume work after a pause using existing conversation threads, and it can schedule future work for itself and work on a task across days or weeks. Codex also proposes work using context from projects, memory, and connected plugins. There is an in-app browser for Codex that allows users to comment directly on pages to provide more precise instructions to the agent. In the future, Codex will get full use of the browser for opening websites, working through user flows, taking screenshots, and inspecting outputs. Codex has been updated to use gpt-image-1.5 for generating images in the app, which OpenAI says is helpful for creating visuals for product concepts and mockups. Codex now includes support for multiple terminal tabs, addressing GitHub review comments, and opening files directly in the sidebar with rich previews for documents like PDFs and spreadsheets. Along with these changes, Codex has over 90 new plugins that can combine skills, app integrations, and MCP servers to improve Codex's context gathering and actions. The updates to Codex are rolling out today to Codex desktop users signed in with ChatGPT. The personalization features are not yet available to Enterprise, Education, EU, and UK users, but will be rolling out soon. Computer use is also not yet available in the EU or the UK.Tag: OpenAI This article, "OpenAI Codex Update Adds Computer Use, Image Generation, and Memory on Mac" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article

In a video uploaded to its YouTube channel in South Korea today, Apple showed off a handful of iPhone 17 Pro devices decorated with tiny stickers. The stickers are placed on the iPhone 17 Pro's so-called "plateau," the protruding aluminum area housing the rear cameras, an LED flash, a microphone, and the LiDAR Scanner. The video has the hashtags #PhoneDecor and #iPhoneCustomization. "Stick it here," says Apple. The ad is accompanied by a pair of YouTube Shorts.Related Roundup: iPhone 17 ProTags: Apple Ads, South KoreaBuyer's Guide: iPhone 17 Pro (Neutral)Related Forum: iPhone This article, "Apple Covers iPhone 17 Pro in Stickers in New Ad" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums View the full article