Massive Apple Price Hikes, New Apple Products & iOS Beta News.
In this edition: Massive Apple Price Hikes, New Apple Products & iOS Beta News
NEWSLETTER
6/30/20266 min read
Newsletter #2
Newsletter #2
Welcome back!
It’s been another busy week in the Apple world. Apple raised prices across several products, reports point to more than 20 new Apple products coming in 2026 and 2027, and Apple also released new iOS beta updates.
Let’s dive into everything.
Price Hikes
Last week, I noticed that the online Apple Store was down.That always catches my attention, because when the Apple Store goes offline, it often means something is happening behind the scenes. Sometimes it’s because of a new product launch, a surprise update, or Apple preparing something small but interesting. At first, I wondered if Apple had a new product ready for us. Maybe a quiet update, maybe something unexpected. But this time, it turned out to be something different.
Either way, the timing was interesting, and it definitely made me check the store again once it came back online.
A few hours later, the Apple Store came back online. I checked again, and that’s when it became clear what had changed.
Apple prices are going up.
The reason for the downtime wasn’t a new product. Apple had updated the prices in its online store.
The price increase itself wasn’t a complete surprise, because Tim Cook had already mentioned a few weeks earlier that higher prices were coming. He explained this in an interview with Wall Street Journal.
“Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” he said. “We’re doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable.”
What are the new prices?
Many prices are going up, but for now, iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods pricing remains unchanged. Here is an overview:
Macs
MacBook Neo: was $599 → now $699 (+$100)
13-inch MacBook Air: was $1,099 → now $1,299 (+$200)
15-inch MacBook Air: was $1,299 → now $1,499 (+$200)
M5 MacBook Pro: was $1,699 → now $1,999 (+$300)
M5 Pro MacBook Pro: was $2,199 → now $2,499 (+$300)
M5 Max MacBook Pro: was $3,599 → now $4,099 (+$500)
iMac: was $1,299 → now $1,499 (+$200)
M4 Max Mac Studio: was $1,999 → now $2,499 (+$500)
M3 Ultra Mac Studio: was $3,999 → now $5,299 (+$1,300)
M4 Pro Mac mini: was $1,399 → now $1,599 (+$200)
iPads
iPad: was $349 → now $449 (+$100)
11-inch iPad Air: was $599 → now $749 (+$150)
13-inch iPad Air: was $749 → now $949 (+$200)
11-inch iPad Pro: was $999 → now $1,199 (+$200)
13-inch iPad Pro: was $1,299 → now $1,499 (+$200)
iPad mini: was $499 → now $599 (+$100)
Other Apple products
Apple TV 4K: was $129 → now $199 (+$70)
HomePod: was $299 → now $349 (+$50)
HomePod mini: was $99 → now $129 (+$30)
Vision Pro: was $3,499 → now $3,699 (+$200)
These prices are in US dollars, but the increase is pretty significant. Prices in the EU are going up as well.
For example, in the Netherlands, the budget MacBook Neo now starts at €799 instead of €699 for the cheapest model.
Apples Roadmap for 2026 & 2027
According to the latest rumors, Apple is working on major updates across almost every product category. Think of iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, iPad, HomePod, AirPods and even smart glasses.
The biggest one might be the long-rumored iPhone Ultra, Apple’s first foldable iPhone. It is expected to feature a large inner display, a smaller outer display, multiple cameras and a version of iOS 27 that is built more around multitasking, side-by-side apps and a more iPad-like experience. Apple’s first foldable iPhone is expected to launch in fall 2026, and current rumors suggest it will be called the iPhone Ultra.
The regular iPhone lineup could also get some big upgrades. The iPhone 18 Pro models are rumored to bring the A20 Pro chip, a smaller Dynamic Island, a new Dark Cherry color. This will likely be the special color for the iPhone 18 Pro, similar to how Cosmic Orange was the standout color for the iPhone 17 Pro. Other rumored upgrades include camera improvements and Apple’s next-generation C2 modem.
The iPhone Air 2 may also get a better camera setup with 2 rear camera's instead of 1, a new A20 chip and longer battery life.
Apple’s 20th-anniversary iPhone models are also already being rumored. These could arrive with a nearly edge-to-edge display and curved glass that wraps around the sides. That sounds like Apple may be planning something special for the next big iPhone milestone. In 2027, it will be 20 years since the first iPhone went on sale in 2007.
The Mac lineup could get exciting too. Apple is reportedly preparing updates for the Mac mini, iMac and Mac Studio with newer M5 chips. But the biggest Mac update may be the rumored MacBook Ultra.This will be a redesigned MacBook Pro with an OLED display, touchscreen, thinner design, Dynamic Island and possible the M7 Pro or M7 Max chips.
iPads are also expected to move forward. The regular iPad could finally get Apple Intelligence support with a newer chip. The next-gen iPad mini may also get an OLED display, a faster chip, water resistance and a new speaker system.
For Apple Watch, the Series 12 and Ultra 4 are expected to get faster chips, with possible design changes and new health features. Some rumors also point to more satellite features for the Ultra model, including Apple Maps via satellite and richer Messages support. The Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12 are expected to launch in fall 2026.
This is one I’m personally really excited about.Siri AI is expected to come to tvOS 27, and that already tells us something important: a new Apple TV is probably coming too. The current Apple TV doesn’t have the hardware to run the latest version of Siri AI, so Apple will need new hardware to make this work. The latest Apple TV 4K 3rd gen is already from 2022.
Besides a new Apple TV, Apple is also rumored to be working on a new HomePod mini, a full-sized HomePod and an all-new Home Hub. That Home Hub sounds especially interesting, with a small display, Apple Intelligence support, FaceTime and the option to place it on a table or mount it on a wall. The new Siri AI will play a big role in these devices. For me, this could finally make Siri feel much more useful inside the Apple home.
And final there are the future products: All new AirPods Ultra with cameras for Siri AI and Visual Intelligence, plus Apple smart glasses with built-in cameras and custom frame designs.
For me, this makes 2026 and 2027 feel really exciting. If even some of these rumors turn out to be true, Apple could be heading into one of its most interesting periods in years.
iOS 26.6 Beta 3 and iOS 26.5.2
Yesterday, Apple released two different software updates at the same time: iOS 26.5.2 and iOS 26.6 Beta 3.
iOS 26.5.2 is the latest stable version, so this is the update most people should install. iOS 26.6 Beta 3 is only for people who are testing Apple’s upcoming software before the final release.
And to make it less confusing: yes, iOS 27 is already available in beta too. But Apple is still testing iOS 26.6 at the same time, which will probably be released to everyone in the coming weeks.
This is me buying the MacBook Neo Indigo in Singapore in March ’26, right when it launched. Still at the old price.
iOS 26.6 Beta 3: What's new
iOS 26.6 is expected to introduce a new anti-theft feature that can automatically lock your iPhone, along with a warning when you’ve blocked more than 20,000 contacts. Next to that, this new beta contains bugfixes and performance updates.
iOS 26.5.2: Whats new?
As mentioned above, iOS 26.5.2 is the latest stable release, and it’s highly recommended to update your iPhone to this version.
You can do that by going to Settings → General → Software Update.
Apple says this update includes more than 25 security fixes, so it’s an important one to install. If you want to see exactly what was fixed, Apple has shared the full list here.
Next to iOS 26.5.2 and iPadOS 26.5.2, Apple also released macOS Tahoe 26.5.2. This update also includes several important security fixes. You can view the full list here.