Hi friends, welcome to the TechPP Daily Brief, where we bring top tech news from the last 24 hours. Today, we have big news for Apple fans: Apple has increased prices for its products across all categories, and the hikes are brutal. Xbox has also announced a price increase for the Xbox Series, following a previous price hike back in May. Google is launching Google Finance, and it is now rolling out to everyone. OpenAI’s latest and upcoming model, GPT 5.6, is delayed due to US regulations, and we have much more to cover.

TechPP Daily Brief

As a reminder, we publish TechPP Daily Briefs every day. To stay updated with the latest tech news, you can bookmark our TechPP Daily Briefs page. With that in mind, let’s get started with today’s sad news first.

The Daily Brief: June 26, 2026

Apple News

Apple’s Price Increase Is Here, and It’s Insane

Apple products price increase

For those who are following our tech briefs, in almost every post, we mention that smartphone prices are increasing due to RAM and component price hikes, and soon, there are going to be even more price increases. Apple joins the list.

Tim Cook, the current CEO of Apple, in a recent interview, announced that Apple products will get a price hike, and it is finally here, and it’s brutal. Especially in India, these price increases were completely unexpected and aren’t even in the range of what we anticipated. Before talking anything about the price increase, just look at the price increase in the US and also in India for all the Apple products.

New Prices in the US:

MacBooks

  • MacBook Neo 256GB: $599 to $699, up $100
  • MacBook Neo 512GB: $699 to $799, up $100
  • 13-inch MacBook Air 16GB/512GB: $1,099 to $1,299, up $200
  • 13-inch MacBook Air 32GB/4TB: $2,699 to $3,499, up $800
  • 15-inch MacBook Air 16GB/512GB: $1,299 to $1,499, up $200
  • 15-inch MacBook Air 32GB/4TB: $2,899 to $3,699, up $800
  • 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 16GB/1TB: $1,699 to $1,999, up $300
  • 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB/8TB: $6,899 to $9,699, up $2,800
  • 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro 24GB/1TB: $2,699 to $2,999, up $300
  • 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB/8TB: $7,199 to $9,999, up $2,800

iPads

  • iPad 128GB Wi-Fi: $349 to $449, up $100
  • iPad 512GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $799 to $899, up $100
  • iPad mini 128GB Wi-Fi: $499 to $599, up $100
  • iPad mini 512GB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $949 to $1,049, up $100
  • 11-inch iPad Air 128GB Wi-Fi: $599 to $749, up $150
  • 11-inch iPad Air 1TB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $1,249 to $1,499, up $250
  • 13-inch iPad Air 128GB Wi-Fi: $799 to $949, up $150
  • 13-inch iPad Air 1TB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $1,449 to $1,699, up $250
  • 11-inch iPad Pro 256GB Wi-Fi: $999 to $1,199, up $200
  • 11-inch iPad Pro 2TB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $2,199 to $2,499, up $300
  • 13-inch iPad Pro 256GB Wi-Fi: $1,299 to $1,499, up $200
  • 13-inch iPad Pro 2TB Wi-Fi + Cellular: $2,499 to $2,799, up $300

Apple TV

  • Apple TV 4K 64GB Wi-Fi: $129 to $199, up $70
  • Apple TV 4K 128GB Wi-Fi + Ethernet: $149 to $249, up $100

HomePod

  • HomePod: $299 to $349, up $50
  • HomePod mini: $99 to $129, up $30

Apple Vision Pro

  • Apple Vision Pro 256GB: $3,499 to $3,699, up $200
  • Apple Vision Pro 1TB: $3,899 to $4,199, up $300

Mac desktops

  • iMac M4 16GB/256GB: $1,299 to $1,499, up $200
  • iMac M4 32GB/2TB: $2,899 to $3,099, up $200
  • Mac mini M4 16GB/256GB: $599 to $799, up $200
  • Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB/8TB: $4,499 to $6,199, up $1,700
  • Mac Studio M4 Max 36GB/512GB: $1,999 to $2,499, up $500
  • Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB/16TB: $10,099 to $14,299, up $4,200

Pricing Increase in India

MacBooks

  • MacBook Neo 256GB: ₹69,990 to ₹79,990, up ₹10,000
  • 13-inch MacBook Air M5: ₹1,19,900 to ₹1,49,900, up ₹30,000
  • 15-inch MacBook Air M5: ₹1,44,900 to ₹1,79,900, up ₹35,000
  • 14-inch MacBook Pro M5: ₹1,89,900 to ₹2,39,900, up ₹50,000
  • 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro: ₹2,99,900 to ₹3,59,900, up ₹60,000

Apple TV

  • Apple TV 4K: ₹14,900 to ₹25,900, up ₹11,000

iPads:

  • 11th Gen iPad 128GB Wi-Fi: ₹34,900 to ₹49,900, up ₹15,000
  • iPad mini: ₹49,900 to ₹69,900, up ₹20,000
  • 11-inch iPad Air M4: ₹64,900 to ₹89,900, up ₹25,000
  • 13-inch iPad Air M4: ₹89,900 to ₹1,19,900, up ₹30,000
  • 11-inch iPad Pro M5: ₹99,990 to ₹1,39,900, up ₹39,910
  • 13-inch iPad Pro M5: ₹1,29,900 to ₹1,99,000, up ₹69,100

Others:

  • Mac mini 16GB/512GB: ₹79,990 to ₹94,900, up ₹14,910
  • iMac M4: ₹1,34,900 to ₹1,74,900, up ₹40,000
The Big Picture:
The reason for this price increase is obviously the RAM shortage. Apple also issued a statement saying that AI data centers have increased the demand for memory and storage, and component prices have risen very quickly, and says that Apple shielded the prices for its customers. However, they had to make a tough decision now.

We are not sure how long these new prices will stay, but we are hoping for them to go down in late 2028 as RAM shortages hopefully settle down. Still, third-party sellers like Amazon and a few offline stores are selling Apple products at old prices.

If you are really looking or considering buying a laptop, or looking to upgrade within a year, visit any local store and grab it as fast as possible. But before that, consider buying if you need them and don’t buy because of the discounts. Remember, even with the discounts, you are spending 100 percent of your money on something that you don’t need.

Gaming News

Microsoft Also Increases Xbox Console Prices Again

Microsoft gaming console Xbox price increases

Microsoft once again increased its Xbox console prices, which will take effect from August 1, 2026. Microsoft already increased Xbox prices in May 2025 by a minimum of $80.

Back then, the Xbox Series S went from $299 to $379, and the Xbox Series X went from $499 to $599. And now, Microsoft has announced another price increase for the Xbox consoles, which makes them even more expensive, and it won’t stop here.

Xbox Consoles

  • Xbox Series S 512GB: $399.99 to $499.99, up $100
  • Xbox Series S 1TB: $449.99 to $599.99, up $150
  • Xbox Series X Digital 1TB: $599.99 to $749.99, up $150
  • Xbox Series X 1TB with disc drive: $649.99 to $799.99, up $150

To summarize:

  • 512GB Xbox models will become $100 more expensive.
  • 1TB Xbox models will become $150 more expensive.

This means that after the price hike:

  • Xbox Series S will start from $499 in the US.
  • Xbox Series X Digital Edition will start from $749.
  • Xbox Series X with Disc Drive Edition will cost $799.
The Big Picture:
Microsoft is also discontinuing the 2TB Xbox Series X model. Microsoft also mentions the price hike is mainly because of the increase in RAM and memory prices, which have reportedly increased by 2.5x. It expects memory prices to double again by fall 2027.

This is the worst time to buy a gaming console, especially since GTA 6 is coming later this year, and most users are interested in buying a gaming console.

On the other hand, Sony has also increased their console prices previously. Going by this trend, we would not be surprised if Sony announces another price hike for its consoles.

Apps and Software

Google Upgrades Finance

New Google Finance dashboard in beta

Google Finance is getting a major upgrade, available for beta on the web for everyone. Now you can add and track portfolios, get Market briefings, and also a new dedicated finance app for Android and iOS.

The Big Picture:
With the new Google Finance, you now have the ads for all your investments and can track them in a single dashboard. Google says portfolio tracking is available globally in the new Google Finance, and it is coming out of beta starting this week.

Google says Google Finance portfolios will also appear automatically, and you can also create new portfolios by uploading your data through screenshots, CSVs, and PDFs

Google is also adding custom market update talks, where you get daily scheduled market briefings based on your portfolios. These will be delivered through the Google app notifications on Android and iOS. In addition to that, Google has also launched a dedicated app for Google Finance on Android. While it offers all the features we just mentioned, it will also support, watchlists, real-time data, Financial news, AI research tools, Key movement for stock announcements and much more. TheThe

Google Finance app for iOS will launch later this year. And it’s good news for Android users, and for a long time, Google has been rolling out new apps for Android before iOS.

The new Google Finance is a direct dig at Perplexity Finance, which is one of our favorite tools for financial tracking, stock data, and latest news. Now, it is being hit. Google Finance is available globally, including in countries like India, and it is free to use. The new finance dashboard is already live for me. You can go to google.com/finance/beta.

YouTube Shorts Gets a Cleaner Interface

If you love watching YouTube Shorts and are annoyed by those icons and text in the bottom-left corner of the screen, then I have good news for you.

YouTube now allows you to remove those icons and even the titles from the short videos while you are watching.

The Big Picture:
The update is now rolling out for everyone on the Android and iOS apps. By tapping on the three-dot icon, you will now see a new option called Clear Screen, which removes icons and text from the short videos. In addition to those changes, YouTube is also replacing the thumbs-up like button with a heart icon in Shorts and adding a new option to watch YouTube Shorts at 2x speed. Plus, you can also mute the Shorts by tapping the video, and YouTube is also removing the dislike button from Shorts.

All these changes put YouTube Shorts closer to Instagram and TikTok. The clean experience is inspired by TikTok, and the double-tap like button and the ability to watch at 2x speed are already available for Instagram Reels.

If you are like me and don’t like YouTube Shorts at all, and want to remove them from the YouTube app completely, we have a detailed guide on how to do so. These are all working methods.

Notion Is Shutting Down Notion Mail

Notion has announced that it is shutting down Notion Mail on September 22, 2026. If you are already using Notion Mail, you can export your data until September 21, 2026.

Since Notion Mail directly syncs with your Gmail, all your email data will be safe. Only the extra-layered features related to Notion Mail can be exported, including your drafts, scheduled emails, snippets, auto-label instructions, custom use reminders, snippet attachments, and more.

Notion says most people are using AI agents in Notion to interact with email workflows, and most of them aren’t even using Notion Mail. Because of this, they are shutting down the Notion Mail app. Notion Mail is the third app that was announced by Notion, along with the original Notion and the Notion Calendar app.

AI News

ChatGPT 5.6 Is Delayed Because of the U.S. Government Restrictions

Just like the Anthropic Claude Fable 5 got hit by US regulations, OpenAI’s upcoming GPT-5.6 model is being hit by U.S. government regulations too. According to a report by The Information, based on a request from the Trump administration, OpenAI has delayed the wider release of GPT 5.6, which was expected to launch this week. Now, instead of the public release, GPT 5.6 will be first launched as a limited preview for the enterprise users, and during this preview, the U.S. government will reportedly approve access customer by customer. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expects it to be widely available in the coming weeks

Launch Monitor

And now, coming to the launch monitor:

  • Samsung launched the Galaxy A27 5G, a budget 5G phone with a 6.7-inch FHD+ 120Hz Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, 50MP OIS camera, AI assistants, and up to 6 OS upgrades + 6 years of security updates. It starts at $349.99 in the US and is available from July 14 in select markets from July 3.
  • OnePlus launched the Nord Buds 4 in India. It comes with 52dB ANC support, 12mm titanium-coated drivers, six mics, AI call noise cancellation, IP55 rating, and up to 54 hours of total battery life, and more. It is priced at Rs 3,299, with a launch offer of ₹3,099, and sales start June 29.
  • Lava launched the Smart 4 Plus in India as a budget 4G phone. It comes with a 6.75-inch HD+ 90Hz display, Android 15 Go, 13MP rear camera, IP64 rating, and a 5,000mAh battery. It is priced at Rs 9,999 and will be sold through offline retail partners.

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