How Does Docker Work on macOS and What Are Apple’s New Containers About?

I've always thought Docker containers rely on Linux kernel features like namespaces and cgroups, which macOS lacks. So traditionally, Docker on macOS meant running Docker Desktop with a Linux VM in the background. However, Apple has recently introduced its own container tools that likely integrate better with macOS's filesystem, networking, security, and performance. I'm trying to understand some specifics: 1. What exactly are Apple's containers? Are they like lightweight VMs or more akin to sandboxing/jails compared to Linux containers? 2. When I use Docker on macOS now, is it still Linux containers running in a Linux VM, or has Apple made any changes with their new container system? 3. Given that the core idea behind containers is portability—having the same setup and behavior across systems—if Apple's containers are specific to macOS, what issues do they aim to resolve? Are they focused on local development isolation and security, rather than cross-platform portability? Essentially, I'm trying to figure out how developers should view Docker containers versus Apple's containers on macOS going forward and what each is intended to do.