Apple requires you to confirm your identity prior to receiving the Education discount on products.

      Apple's decision to remove the honor system from the US Education Store appears to be aimed at establishing a globally consistent verification system that may facilitate more extensive expansion of the Education Store in the future.

      Receiving an Apple Education discount in the United States used to be as straightforward as declaring oneself a student or educator without the need for formal verification. That practice has officially ended.

      Beginning May 8, 2026, Apple will require formal identity verification for all purchases made at the Education Store in the US, discontinuing the informal honor system that has been in place for years (as reported by MacRumors).

      What does the new verification process entail?

      Apple has collaborated with UNiDAYS to manage the eligibility verification for the Education Store. To access the Education Store discount, students and teachers must create a UNiDAYS ID and confirm their academic status by either logging into their school’s academic portal or uploading an image of their educational institution-issued identity card.

      Homeschool educators need to submit a government-issued ID, like a driver’s license, state ID, or passport, along with a homeschooling document such as a Letter of Intent or Letter of Acknowledgement.

      After providing the necessary information, UNiDAYS will verify it almost immediately. If a manual review is required, respondents can expect feedback within a day of their document submission. This same procedure applies whether purchases are made online or in-person at an Apple Store.

      Who is eligible for the Education Store discount?

      This process change also extends to countries including Canada, Chile, Australia, Hong Kong, and Turkey.

      Although the verification has become more intricate, the eligibility criteria remain unchanged: current and newly accepted college students, their parents, faculty, staff, and homeschool teachers at all education levels can qualify.

      Purchase limits are also consistent. Eligible customers may buy one MacBook, one iMac, one Mac mini, up to two iPads, and two accessories each year. In addition, the Apple Watch is now offered at a discounted rate through the Education Store, covering models such as the Series 11, SE 3, and Ultra 3.

      For over five years, Shikhar has consistently simplified advancements in consumer technology and shared them…

      Apple could return to Intel for chip manufacturing, but not in the way you might expect (or fear).

      Apple and Intel are reportedly discussing a manufacturing partnership that could alter how future Apple chips are made. However, this does not imply that Apple is abandoning its own Apple Silicon or reverting to Intel-based Macs.

      A recent report from the Wall Street Journal indicates that Apple and Intel have reached a preliminary agreement for Intel to manufacture certain chips designed by Apple. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman later added on X that no definitive production agreement has been established, and the discussions are still in the early phases. He further mentioned that Apple maintains concerns regarding the competitiveness and manufacturing technology of Intel.

      OpenAI's Codex has now expanded into Chrome, operating in environments where both useful work and risks are present.

      The new extension allows Codex to transcend its previous boundaries of coding and manage real tasks within signed-in websites.

      OpenAI is expanding Codex’s functionality beyond mere coding. The newly released Chrome extension enables the agent to utilize authenticated web sessions, assisting with tasks already performed in platforms like Gmail, Salesforce, LinkedIn, dashboards, and internal applications.

      This advancement moves Codex out of the developer's environment and into everyday web applications. With access to Chrome, it can address tasks such as research, CRM updates, dashboard monitoring, and browser-based troubleshooting, which often impede workflows across multiple tabs.

      The MacBook Neo has been so successful for Apple that it may soon lead to a price increase.

      The immense popularity of the $599 MacBook Neo has not only created supply challenges for Apple but has also revealed how precarious this price point is, as it was initially based on a finite supply of repurposed chips that will eventually run out.

      The $599 MacBook Neo has been selling incredibly quickly, prompting Apple to double its production goals. As I write this, the shipping time on the official website is reported to be two to three weeks.

      Semiconductor analyst Tim Culpan of Culpium states that Apple has requested its manufacturing partners, Quanta and Foxconn, to ramp up production to 10 million units, nearly double the original forecast. However, this increase in production might soon lead to price issues for consumers.