ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories, from Commodore flip-phone nostalgia to Tim Cook's Apple price-hike warning

Date:
Sat, 20 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Description:
The week's 7 biggest tech news stories, featuring Commodore, Apple, Microsoft and more, for June 20, 2026.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Amazon s Prime Day sale kicks off on June 23 and it might be the last time we see big 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 of price increases for Apples tech, as, he says, its now impossible for Apple to absorb the cost of the ongoing component crisis. To catch up on Cooks warning, and brighter news
such as Commodores flip phone filling us with nostalgia, scroll down for our recap of the weeks biggest tech news. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: 7. Commodores flip phone took us back to 2004 (Image credit: Commodore) Feeling nostalgic for flip phones and a simpler, pre-doomscrolling age? Commodore (yes, the latest incarnation of the classic computing giant) feels your pain, so its made a clamshell phone thatll meet your retro needs while freeing your brain from smartphone addiction. Or thats the idea, at least.

The Commodore Callback sits somewhere between a dumb phone and a modern Android flagship. It doesnt work with social media apps, and has no touchscreen or web browser. But it does run most Android apps and has a 48MP rear camera, plus other flourishes like an audiophile grade" DAC. Will it start a revolution? Were not sure, but its definitely one of the most interesting phones of the year. You may like ICYMI: here's the week's 8 biggest tech news stories for June 13, 2026 ICYMI: the week's biggest tech news stories for April 25, 2026 ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories for May 16, 2026 Read more: A speed bump for your mind: Commodores retro-inspired flip phone could be the perfect way to break your smartphone addiction 6. GTA 6 got a trailer (Image credit: Rockstar Games) This week Rockstar unveiled a new teaser for Grand Theft Auto 6 and while we werent lucky enough to see
new gameplay, we werent left wanting.

To an underscore of 80s synth and guitar we saw the games cover art come together. The vignette collage, similar to GTA 5s art, is full of pink and purple hues which perfectly capture the Vice City vibes. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Rockstar also announced that preorders will go live on June 25, ahead of its release on November 19, 2026 . Read more: New GTA 6 teaser officially reveals cover art and it looks pretty slick 5. Microsoft dropped new Surface laptops (Image credit: Microsoft) Not content to let Computex hog the computing announcement limelight, Microsoft debuted 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 over the previous generation of its notebook , and solid battery life of 20 hours for the smaller models, and 19 for the larger. What to read next ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories, from Android to Lego ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories for May 9, 2026 ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech news stories from Google's Search overhaul to Sony's priciest wireless headphones ever

Meanwhile the Surface Pro 13-inch boasts a 53% graphics performance leap over its predecessor , with up to 15.5 hours of battery life, based on Microsoft's internal testing. Read more: Microsoft reveals new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop with big graphics upgrades from Snapdragon X2 CPUs 4. Sonos updated
its app (Image credit: Future / Cas Kulk) A few months ago, we interviewed Sonos CEO Tom Conrad about the companys app woes in its 2024 update , and he said that while theyd worked hard on fixing its technical issues, he still
had big problems with its design and usability that he wanted to get to. This week, he announced the first changes coming to the app to improve its layout
.

They include all kinds of things fans have been asking for since the 2024 redesign, including easier volume-changing options, the ability to customize your list of products, and options being organised using tabs the mirror standard iPhone and Android app design cues. The update is rolling out in a beta first, to make sure it all works before everyone else gets it Read more: The Sonos app is finally getting its long-awaited improvements to volume control, player listings and content organization 3. The UK government had
bad news for kids (Image credit: Jaimi Joy/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Depending on your point of view, it perhaps wasnt a great week for young social media fans in the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that, like Australia, the country would be banning apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat for under-16s from next year.

It wont just be social media apps that are affected either livestreaming for under-16s is also going to be banned, across all platforms. The government says the move will give kids their childhood back, but UK teens naturally arent very impressed, and neither are fans of the open internet . Expect this to be a piping hot topic for the rest of 2026. Read more: How will the UK's social media ban actually work? Here's the full list of affected apps and 5 things you need to know 2. Android 17 rolled out (Image credit: Google) Android 17 began rolling out to compatible Pixel phones this week, and while Google s flashy new Gemini Intelligence software isnt among the available features just yet, there are plenty of neat new tools to try if you own a Google Pixel 6 or newer.

Chief among the 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 phones display and record yourself with the front-facing camera simultaneously.

My favourite 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 one isnt dropping until later in the year. Read more: 7 of the best Android 17 features available now from Bubbles to Screen Reactions 1. Tim Cook warned of Apple price hikes (Image credit: Getty Images) Against the backdrop of the RAM crisis and other component price hikes brought about 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 some bad news for anyone hoping the good
times might last a little longer.

Speaking with the Wall Street Journal Cook said: "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable. We're doing our best to mitigate the huge
increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable."

We dont know when we'll see said price hikes, or how significant they'll be, but if you have your eye on Apple tech you might want to think about buying sooner rather than later especially with Prime Day kicking off next week. Read more: Tim Cook just warned that 'price increases are unavoidable' for Apple products Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/tech/icymi-the-weeks-7-biggest-tech-news-stories-fro m-commodore-flip-phone-nostalgia-to-tim-cooks-apple-price-hike-warning


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