Apple has a certification program. It’s not new either. It has existed for about 20 years. Although it’s not as well-known as Microsoft, Cisco, or other vendors, a considerable number of people hold Apple certifications.
On the IT side, there are two certification exams.
- Apple Device Support
- Apple Deployment and Management
Of these two certifications, Apple Device Support is prepared for help desk personnel who want to provide support to the users at the organization they work at on the subjects of macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. Its content mainly includes subjects such as the installation and use of systems, resolving network problems, accessing the macOS Recovery environment, and using the tools there. To prepare for the Apple Device Support exam, you can follow the training details at this address.
The Apple Deployment and Management certification also mainly addresses subjects such as central device management, the use of MDM solutions, Apple Business Manager, Apple Configurator, and VPP. To prepare for the Apple Deployment and Management exam, you can follow the training details at this address.
The Apple Device Support Exam
For those who want to take the exam, let me share general information about the exam item by item.
• The full name of the exam is Apple Device Support Exam
• The exam code is SUP-2026
• If you pass the exam successfully, you earn the right to receive the title Apple Certified Support Professional.
• Let me give the good news first. You can take the exam from your home or your workplace. You don’t need to go to a Pearson Test center.
• Now there’s bad news up next. Even if you take it at home, you can’t look at a notebook, a book, or a Mac or iPad next to you as you please. Because the exam is organized with Pearson‘s OnVUE system. A proctor follows you online. There is screen, camera, and microphone access on your computer.
• Right before taking the exam, the proctor asks you to take and upload a photo of your computer from the front, back, and sides. This way, they can see that there aren’t some open notebooks or books around the computer.
• If you don’t prefer to take it at home, exams have started to be organized at Pearson Test centers again. It was like this a long time ago too. The exam center closest to Turkey is in Frankfurt, Germany. If you’re thinking “I’ll both eat Currywurst and take the exam,” you can go, of course.
• You can take the exam from a computer with Mac or Windows installed, or from an iPad or Android tablet. If you’re thinking of taking it from a tablet, a keyboard and mouse have to be connected to your tablet. Because the touch feature of the screen is blocked during the exam. Only a single monitor may be connected to your computer as well. The device you will take the exam on absolutely must have a camera and a microphone.
• There are some obligations during the exam. For example, if you have a jacket on, you can’t take the exam. You can’t wear a wristwatch. I’m not even mentioning that your phone shouldn’t be near you.
• If you’re of the mind “I’ll bend these rules,” move away from this thought right away. Because your exam proctor can cancel the exam without a refund just because you have an eyebrow over your eye.
• Speaking of money, the exam fee is $149. When tax is added on top, it comes to a figure like $179. If you can’t pass the exam and need to take it again, you pay this fee again. You have the right to take it 4 times in a row. There must also be at least 7 days between each of your attempts.
• You fill out a form before taking the exam. You’re asked to give your name, email address, etc. You’ll also later need to present a photo of an ID such as a government-issued identity card, driver’s license, or passport. For this reason, it’s important that you write your name in this field exactly as written on the ID.
• You take the exam at your own place and at a time you determine yourself. My suggestion will be for you to prefer the later night hours after everyone has settled down. It’s possible for the exam proctor to mistake any sound coming from around you for a person helping you.
• You don’t have to take the exam the moment you buy it. For example, if your company is going to pay the exam entry fee, after you log into ACRS with your own account, a company official can make the payment. And you can take the exam later. There is a period of 1 month between the purchase date and the exam date. But once you’ve started the exam, the 3-hour meter has started running.
• In the exam, 80 technical questions come up in front of you. The threshold is 75%. That is, you need to have answered at least 60 of these 80 questions correctly.
• Scores are not rounded up. If you get 74.9 you fail; if you get 75.0 you pass.
• The duration of the exam is actually 120 minutes. But before entering the exam, you’re asked what language you speak. When you state that you live in a country that and that speaks a language that doesn’t Apple’s supported languages for exams, you earn an additional 60 minutes. That is, the exam is 180 minutes.
• The language of the exam is English. There are more language options like German, Spanish, etc.
• As soon as the exam ends, you can see your result instantly. Right after, you receive two emails, one from the Apple Certification Records System and the other from Credly.
• Starting from this version, we can now also take a practice exam. From the exam entry screens, if you want, you can select the practice exam titled Practice and take an 80-question practice exam. The practice exam is naturally more affordable. $29 + tax. The practice exam code is SUP-2026-PRA
• Some of the questions in the exam are single-choice. Some require multiple selection. For example, “from which of the following options can you open the System Settings application? Mark at least 3 correct options”… Because of the presence of multiple-choice questions like this, you may get fractional results. Like 89.2.
• The questions in the exam are not this simple, of course. If you’re going to take the exam with the swagger of “Well, I’ve been using the iPhone since the iPhone 3GS,” your failure is guaranteed. You can prepare by clicking one by one on the training links I gave above and on each link given there, and doing everything explained.
• I’ll give you very important information while preparing for the exam. Please don’t trust your own knowledge. For example, if a section about macOS Recovery is explained in the training link I gave above, try it from a Mac exactly the way it’s explained there. Your knowledge left over from before may have changed in macOS Tahoe. And you may not have seen these small changing details in Apple’s macOS Tahoe presentations. So don’t trust your own knowledge, and try again and again.
• Because I also did exam proctoring on behalf of Apple in previous years, I encountered very interesting cases. One user, for example, accidentally ended their exam 1 minute after starting it. In this kind of situation there’s unfortunately nothing that can be done. So take my advice, proceed during the exam by reading what’s written on the button you press to move to the next question.
I wish everyone who will take the exam success in advance.
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