Apple's big price hike

PLUS: Jeff Bezos' Slate EV truck is here

Good morning, tech enthusiasts. Apple just hiked Mac and iPad prices, with the company citing a memory chip market so broken that CEO Tim Cook called it a “hundred-year flood” — and said he’d never seen anything like it in over 40 years.

The AI infrastructure boom eating up global DRAM supply is now hitting your wallet too — and Apple is warning this might just be the beginning.

In today’s tech rundown:

  • Apple raises prices, blames AI chip crunch

  • Slate’s $25K electric truck is open for preorders

  • Zoox’s new robotaxi is a sweeter ride

  • YouTube Shorts just got even shorter

  • Quick hits on other tech news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

APPLE

Image source: Images 2.0 / The Rundown

The Rundown: Apple just hiked prices on its Macs and iPads by $100–$200, or more on some models, blaming soaring memory and storage chip costs driven by the AI boom — with shares dropping in their worst session in over a year.

The details:

  • MacBook Neo jumped from $599 to $699, Air from $1,099 to $1,299, and Pro from $1,699 to $1,999. iPad Pro rose to $1,199 and Air to $749.

  • iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods were spared for now, but Apple hinted more products could follow.

  • DRAM prices surged nearly 100% in Q1 2026 and are set to jump another 58–63% this quarter, a crisis some analysts have dubbed “RAMageddon.”

  • Apple shares fell over 6% Thursday, as incoming CEO John Ternus prepares to inherit the memory crisis when he takes over on September 1.

Why it matters: This isn't just an Apple story — Microsoft, Dell, Lenovo, and others have all raised prices or flagged increases, meaning the AI infrastructure buildout is now hitting consumer hardware. IDC estimates the PC market will contract 11.3% this year, with the cheapest laptops at greatest risk of disappearing entirely.

SLATE

Image source: Slate Auto

The Rundown: Jeff Bezos-backed EV startup Slate opened pre-orders for a $24,950 electric pickup truck — what it says is the cheapest new truck in America — that ships with hand-crank windows and no infotainment screen by design.

The details:

  • Slate’s truck opens at $24,950 with base range bumped to 205 miles (up from 150); SUV conversion version: $29,950. First deliveries are expected this year.

  • Every truck ships in gray composite; buyers customize via wraps and bolt-ons — skipping the factory paint shop is core to hitting the price point.

  • Pre-orders are live via direct sales only, and Slate has granted Carvana a warrant to purchase its shares in a likely distribution tie-up.

  • For comparison, the Chevy Bolt starts at $28,995 with 262 miles of range; Ford is prototyping a $30K electric midsize pickup due in 2027.

Why it matters: The $7,500 federal EV tax credit is gone, emissions rules are loosening, and major automakers are shelving affordable EV programs, making Slate’s timing a bit tricky. If the company can actually manufacture at scale at a price even lower than the popular Bolt, it could genuinely expand who can afford to go electric.

ZOOX

Image source: Zoox

The Rundown: Amazon’s Zoox just unveiled a production-ready refresh of its bidirectional robotaxi — the same boxy silhouette with more creature comforts and built to roll off the line at up to 100 units a week.

The details:

  • This refresh is about comfort, with ergonomic seat padding, fluted charging pads to keep phones in place, bigger cupholders, and a more vivid touchscreen.

  • On the outside, Zoox relocated its bidirectional reflectors and added two-way audio, enabling riders to communicate with support tech and first responders.

  • The updated vehicles are currently giving free rides in Austin, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Miami.

  • Zoox is awaiting an NHTSA exemption to run up to 2,500 driverless vehicles — public comments closed in April, and the decision is still pending.

Why it matters: Zoox designed its robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals, which means existing NHTSA safety standards don’t straightforwardly apply — an exemption is a prerequisite for the first paying customer. Amazon has $1.2B in, a production-ready vehicle, and four test cities, while Waymo logs 500K paid rides a week.

YOUTUBE

Image source: YouTube

The Rundown: YouTube is rolling out its most significant Shorts redesign yet — ditching the dislike button, swapping likes for hearts, adding 2x playback speed, and introducing a distraction-free viewing mode.

The details:

  • 2x playback speed lets users burn through Shorts even faster — YouTube’s framing: “absorb information more quickly or find your favorite part faster.”

  • The dislike button is gone entirely — users who want to push back on content are now limited to “Not Interested” and “Don’t recommend this channel.”

  • The thumbs-up is out too, replaced by a heart emoji — a small but telling cosmetic shift toward a warmer, more algorithmically frictionless experience.

  • The new “Clear Screen mode” strips all icons and text from the playback view, giving users a clean, uninterrupted look at the video itself

Why it matters: YouTube was a bit late to short-form video — Shorts launched years after TikTok and Reels had locked in user habits. Ditching the dislike button and engineering for speed shows it’s betting on frictionless engagement over pretty much everything else.

QUICK HITS

Samsung Group reportedly plans to announce a $648B, 10-year investment in South Korea spanning semiconductors, AI, batteries, and displays.

Apple is skipping the M6 Pro and Max high-end chips entirely, jumping straight to an AI-focused M7 in 2027, Bloomberg reports.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he wants Australia’s social media ban for children strengthened after a study showed it has done little to curb teen use.

The FCC launched a sweeping review of the ~$2B E-Rate program that subsidizes internet access for schools and libraries, citing screen time concerns.

Disney is paying $50M to settle claims it forced YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream to bundle ESPN, inflating subscriber costs.

NHTSA is proposing to eliminate the manual brake pedal requirement for fully autonomous vehicles to accelerate robotaxi deployment on U.S. roads.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly ordered a small team to build “Arena,” a dedicated prediction-market app separate from Meta’s social media platforms.

A second worker was killed at BYD’s Szeged, Hungary factory construction site on June 18 — struck by a truck — marking the second fatality in four months.

Spain now requires mobile carriers to keep networks running for at least four hours during power outages to ensure people can still make calls and access mobile data.

The Trump administration barred Chinese-owned Swedish EV maker Polestar from selling new EVs in the U.S. starting with the 2027 model year.

Bumble is reportedly working with Morgan Stanley to explore a potential sale amid slowing growth in the online dating market.

COMMUNITY

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Rowan, Joey, Zach, Shubham, and Jennifer — The Rundown’s editorial team

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