Amazon’s Prime Day sale kicks off June 23 – and this may be the last time we see deep discounts on many tech products for a while, if some in the tech world are to be believed.
This includes Tim Cook who this week warned about the price increase for Apple’s technology, because, he says, it is now impossible for Apple to absorb the cost of the current component crisis.
To keep up with Cook’s warning and more brilliant news like the Commodore flip phone that’s filling us with nostalgia, scroll down to check out our roundup of the week’s biggest tech news.
7. The Commodore flip phone took us back to 2004
Are you nostalgic for flip phones and a simpler, pre-doomscrolling era? Commodore (yes, the latest incarnation of the classic computer giant) feels your pain, which is why it has created a flip phone that will satisfy your retro needs while freeing your brain from smartphone addiction. Or at least that’s the idea.
The Commodore Callback sits somewhere between a dumb phone and a modern Android flagship. It doesn’t work with social media apps and doesn’t have a touchscreen or web browser. But it runs most Android apps and has a 48MP rear camera, plus other features like an “audiophile-grade” DAC. Will this spark a revolution? We’re not sure, but it’s certainly one of the most interesting phones of the year.
6. GTA 6 has a trailer
This week, Rockstar revealed a new teaser for Grand Theft Auto 6 – and while we didn’t get a chance to see any new gameplay, we didn’t miss out on it.
Over an 80s synth and guitar accent, we saw the game’s cover art come together. The vignette collage, similar to GTA 5 art, is full of pink and purple hues that perfectly capture the vibe of Vice City.
Rockstar also announced that pre-orders would go live on June 25, ahead of its release on November 19, 2026.
5. Microsoft discontinued the new Surface laptops
Not content with letting Computex hog the spotlight when it comes to IT announcements, Microsoft has launched new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop devices powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 processor.
The new Surface Laptop offers what Microsoft claims is up to 58% faster graphics performance compared to the previous generation of its laptop and a solid battery life of 20 hours for the smaller models and 19 hours for the largest.
Meanwhile, the 13-inch Surface Pro boasts 53 percent better graphics performance than its predecessor, with up to 15.5 hours of battery life, according to Microsoft’s internal testing.
4. Sonos updated its app
A few months ago, we interviewed Sonos CEO Tom Conrad about the company’s app issues in its 2024 update, and he said that while they had worked hard to resolve its technical issues, it still had some big design and usability issues that he wanted to resolve. This week, he announced the first changes coming to the application to improve its presentation.
They include all sorts of things fans have been asking for since the 2024 redesign, including easier volume switching options, the ability to customize your product list, and options organized using tabs that mirror standard iPhone and Android app design elements. The update is rolling out in beta first, to make sure everything works before everyone gets it…
3. The British government had bad news for children
Depending on your point of view, it might not have been a good week for young social media fans in the UK: Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that, like Australia, the country would ban apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat for under-16s starting next year.
It won’t just be social media apps that will be affected: live streaming for under-16s will also be banned, across all platforms. The government says the move will “give children back their childhood”, but Britain’s teenagers are understandably less than impressed, as are fans of the open internet. Expect this to be a hot topic for the rest of 2026.
2. Android 17 rolled out
Android 17 began rolling out to compatible Pixel phones this week, and while Google’s flashy new Gemini Intelligence software isn’t one of the available features yet, there are plenty of cool new tools to try if you own a Google Pixel 6 or newer.
The main new UI features are Bubbles, which lets you turn any app into a floating bubble that stays on top of other apps (useful for multitasking on large-screen devices), and Screen Reactions, which lets you capture your phone’s screen and record yourself simultaneously with the front-facing camera.
My favorite Android 17 feature is Foldable Gaming Mode, which adds a dynamic gamepad to one side of your foldable phone (so you can play it like a Nintendo DS – yes, really!); unfortunately, this will only drop later in the year.
1. Tim Cook warned of Apple’s price hike
Against the backdrop of the RAM crisis and rising prices of other components driven by AI hype and supply chain disruptions, the affordable MacBook Neo was a breath of fresh air when it debuted – but outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook had bad news for anyone hoping the good times might last a little longer.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Cook said: “Unfortunately, price increases are inevitable. We are doing our best to mitigate the enormous increases imposed on us, and we have tried to protect our customers from these increases, but the situation has become untenable.”
We don’t know when we’ll see these price hikes, or how significant they will be, but if you’ve got your eye on Apple tech, you might want to think about buying sooner rather than later, especially with Prime Day kicking off next week.
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