The Apple community has been rocked this week as the company begins raising prices on a variety of products, with many products seeing increases of 10-20 percent and a few increasing by 50 percent or more. The move has led many Apple fans to flock to Amazon and other retailers in an attempt to make purchases before the price hike comes down to third-party sellers.
Other big news this week includes iterations of many products in Apple’s pipeline that are rumored to be released in the next 12-18 months, the second round of iOS 27 developer betas and other updates, changes to Apple’s roadmap, and more, so read below for all the details!
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Apple Just Raised Prices on MacBooks, iPads, and More
After Tim Cook signaled last week that an increase in the price of Apple hardware is “inevitable” due to the high costs of memory and storage from suppliers, Apple this week followed up with large price increases across the entire Mac and iPad lineups, as well as on the HomePod, HomePod mini, Apple TV, and Vision Pro.
Apple explained that the company has “never seen a price increase this much, so quickly,” and while Apple has been holding off on raising prices for as long as possible, the situation has gotten so bad that it feels it needs to pass the increase on to customers. Apple says it is “working hard to find solutions,” but memory suppliers predict that shortages and high prices will last until 2027.
Apple’s price increase is still going down heavily on third-party sellers and buyers are quick to snap up any stock Amazon and others have left at cheap prices, so if you’re interested in buying, it would be wise to act quickly.
Apple Will Release These 20 New Products Throughout 2026 and 2027
Apple’s cadence of product updates has been slowed due to impacts ranging from delays to a more advanced Siri and component shortages, so that means the pipeline for upcoming products is surprisingly full at the moment.
BloombergMark Gurman this week also reported on a list of about 20 new products that we should be seeing throughout the rest of the 2026 to 2027 season. The list includes many updates to Apple’s current product lineup, as well as other new products such as the foldable iPhone, high-end touchscreen MacBook, camera-equipped AirPods, smart home hub, and smart glasses.
Everything New in iOS 27 Beta 2
Apple this week launched the second round of iOS 27 developer betas and related updates, and the new iOS 27 beta includes several changes as Apple continues to build the update ahead of the expected September public release.
The new “Write with Siri” button in several first-party apps makes it easier to find tools that allow Siri to help you with writing, while there are improvements to RCS messages, improvements to the Camera and Wallet apps, the ability to update Apple TV from the Home app on iPhone, and more.
2027 Macs to Get AI-Focused M7 Chips as Apple Skips High-End M6
A significant shake-up of Apple’s roadmap is underway, according to Bloombergwith Apple cutting the top chips in the upcoming M6 family as the company seeks to accelerate development of the M7 family to bring more AI optimization.
It sounds like we’ll only get the basic M6 chip in that family later this year in some low-end Macs, with Apple moving quickly to the M7 chip in the first half of 2027. Advanced chips in the M7 family will follow later in 2027.
Apple’s highly anticipated touchscreen OLED “MacBook Ultra,” will reportedly use the current M5 Pro and M5 chips released in the MacBook Pro earlier this year, despite the fact that the new laptop won’t arrive until late this year or early next year.
Apple Explains Why watchOS 27 Drops Support for So Many Models
Amid some confusion from users, Apple explained why five Apple Watch models will miss out on watchOS 27 and the new Siri AI features that come with it.
Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, SE 2, and the original Apple Watch Ultra will not receive watchOS 27, and will receive only basic security updates going forward. With the update, Apple is effectively reducing three-year device support to a single software update, which has never happened in a product line.
Speaking to TechRadar, Apple executives explained that the company wants to use watchOS 27 to make the Apple Watch a “true partner for Apple Intelligence,” and that requires some sacrifices in supported models of renewal. Only the last few generations of Apple Watch include the processing power to be able to bring enough new features both independently and in connection with the paired iPhone to get the most heavy duty work with Siri AI.
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