626: Unprecedented Weirdness

Apple raised prices! Is this a shocking move, or were Apple products just sneakily affordable before? (And can it be both?) We also parse Mark Gurman's reports on Apple skipping over may M6 chips to go directly to M7.

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Links and Show Notes:
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Designed in California – Kickstarter Campaign (kickstarter.com/projects/designedincalifornia/…)
Everything New in iOS 27 Beta 2 - MacRumors (macrumors.com/guide/ios-27-features)
Thaw – MacMenuBar.com (macmenubar.com/thaw)
Thaw and macOS 27 (Golden Gate) support (github.com/stonerl/Thaw/issues/687)
Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more - 9to5Mac (9to5mac.com/2026/06/25/apple-price-increases-m…)
Apple Has Increased Prices Across Mac and iPad Models - 512 Pixels (512pixels.net/2026/06/apple-has-increased-prices)
Daring Fireball: Apple's Full Statement on Yesterday's Price Increases (daringfireball.net/linked/2026/06/26/apples-fu…)
Why is Apple asking me to pay more for Big Tech’s AI obsession? | The Verge (theverge.com/report/958678/apple-consumer-pric…)
Apple asks Trump admin to approve Chinese RAM after product price increases - 9to5Mac (9to5mac.com/2026/06/26/apple-asks-trump-admin-…)
Daring Fireball: Apple Faced Bipartisan Opposition When It Last Lobbied to Buy Chinese RAM in 2022 (daringfireball.net/linked/2026/06/27/apple-fac…)
Apple to Skip High-End M6 Mac Chips, to Launch M7 Pro, M7 Max, M7 Ultra Instead - Bloomberg (bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-25/apple-t…)
Apple’s Touchscreen MacBook to Use M5 Pro, Max Chips; M7 Pro, Max Models in 2027 - Bloomberg (bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-26/apple-s…)
Report: Apple changes chip and OLED MacBook Pro release plans – Six Colors (sixcolors.com/post/2026/06/report-apple-change…)
iPhone Ultra 3D-printed hinge problems reportedly solved – 9to5mac (9to5mac.com/2026/06/24/iphone-ultra-3d-printed…)
Apple Approves Production of OLED Panels for Foldable iPhone - MacRumors (macrumors.com/2026/06/22/production-of-panels-…)
Rogue Amoeba - Free The Icons (weblog.rogueamoeba.com/2026/06/26/free-the-icons)
Apple should free the macOS icons from squircle jail – Six Colors (sixcolors.com/link/2026/06/apple-should-free-t…)
“Icons that are iconic” – Unsung (unsung.aresluna.org/icons-that-are-iconic)
Consistency, But in Excellence Not Appearance - Jim Nielsen’s Blog (blog.jim-nielsen.com/2026/a-consistency-of-exc…)
TestFlight build 1161: Tackling the most-hated bugs : r/overcast (reddit.com/r/overcast/comments/1uhzlcu/testfli…)