Technologies

Could the iPhone’s Price Double With Trump’s New 125% Tariff? We Do the Math

Trump dumped other countries’ tariffs for now but bumped China up to 125%. Experts advise against panic-buying if it puts you in debt.

US President Donald Trump pressed pause on «reciprocal tariffs» this week, but he upped the levy on goods from China to 125% in the latest escalation of the two countries’ trade war. Experts say you should expect to pay more for your next iPhone.

Trump announced the 90-day pause on his social media platform for all countries except China because «these countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape or form.» China, where Apple produces most of its products, has responded to each of Trump’s tariff hikes this year by increasing tariffs on US products.

«Trump is playing hardball with China, which is unsettling on many levels,» Patti Brennan, certified financial planner and CEO of Key Financial, said in an email. «As for Apple, expect the prices to double for their products.»

Apple has started to move some of its manufacturing to other countries, including India and Vietnam. Those countries were supposed to be hit with their own tariffs today — Vietnam with a 46% tariff hike and India a 26% increase — but were among the reprieved. Trump left in place a 10% baseline tariff on imports.

And though experts don’t expect costs to rise on a 1-to-1 basis with tariffs on goods from China — and other countries after the pause expires — you should expect significant increases. It’s unclear, however, exactly how much of an impact the tariffs will actually have on prices. If rising prices cause demand to plummet, experts note that Apple and other producers could reduce their prices to stay competitive.

If you’re in the market for a new Apple device or an imported gaming system, like the Nintendo Switch 2 or PlayStation 5 Pro, here’s how tariffs could raise prices, and what you should do to prepare.

Read more: Apple Shoppers Are Reportedly Panic Buying iPhones Amid Looming Tariffs

How much could iPhone prices go up with tariffs? We do the math

If the full cost of tariffs were passed on to shoppers, we’d see a 125% increase in prices on Apple products produced in China. Apple has moved some of its production to other countries, but most iPhones are still manufactured in China.

Here’s how it could affect the cost of an iPhone if the full tariffs for China were applied:

How could tariffs on China increase iPhone prices?

	Current price	125% tariff	New price
iPhone 15 (128GB)	$699	$874	$1,573
iPhone 15 Plus (128GB)	$799	$999	$1,798
iPhone 16e (128GB)	$599	$749	$1,348
iPhone 16 (128GB)	$799	$999	$1,798
iPhone 16 Plus (128GB)	$899	$1,124	$2,023
iPhone 16 Pro (128GB)	$999	$1,249	$2,248
iPhone 16 Pro Max (256GB)	$1,199	$1,499	$2,698

But there’s a lot more that goes into the price of an iPhone than simply where it’s manufactured. Apple sources components for its products from a long list of countries, which could face higher tariffs after the pause. And a tariff on goods doesn’t necessarily mean prices will go up by the same amount. If companies want to stay competitive, they could absorb some of the costs to keep their prices lower.

«It won’t be as high as one-to-one in terms of the tariff increases,» said Ryan Reith, group vice president for IDC’s Worldwide Device Tracker suite, which includes mobile phones, tablets and wearables. «The math isn’t as clear cut as that on the tariffs.»

Will other tech products also see price hikes?

Smartphones aren’t the only devices expected to see prices increase because of tariffs. Best Buy and Target warned consumers last month to expect higher prices for everything, after the latest round of tariffs went into effect. February’s tariff hike had already prompted Acer to announce that it was raising prices on its laptops.

Apple announced a $100 price cut on its new MacBook Air last month, a day after the last round of tariffs took effect. In what was widely viewed as an attempt to persuade Trump to «carve out» an exemption from the latest tariffs, Apple announced in February that it would spend more than $500 billion in the next four years to expand manufacturing operations in the US.

«They already committed $500 billion to US manufacturing, and there was no carve out for Apple,» Brennan said. «They will have to pass along most of these costs to consumers.»

However, regardless of the exact amount, expect tariffs on goods from China to translate into higher prices for consumers. That means the tech you use every day, like imported smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs and kitchen appliances, could get even more expensive this year.

What’s going on with tariffs?

Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports plus «reciprocal tariffs» on imports from more than 180 countries April 2, which he dubbed «Liberation Day.» He’s long touted tariffs as a way to even the trade deficit and raise revenue to offset tax cuts, although many economists say that tariffs could lead to higher prices and may end up hurting the US economy. Stock prices plummeted after Trump’s announcement as markets reacted poorly to the sweeping tariffs.

Trump has taken an especially hard stance on China, which was already subject to tariffs that Trump ordered during his first term in office. He started in February, imposing 20% in tariffs, then announced last week a 34% tariff on goods from China. Earlier this week, he added another 50% tariff before landing today on the 125% tariff against China. China has responded with its own tariffs after each of Trump’s announcements.

Tariffs, in theory, are designed to financially impact other countries because their goods are being taxed. Tariffs are paid by the US company importing the product, and this upcharge is usually — but not always — passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices.

Should you buy tech now to avoid tariffs later?

If you were planning to buy a new iPhone, gaming console, MacBook or other tech, buying it now could save you money.

But if you don’t have the cash on hand and need to use a credit card or buy now, pay later plan just to avoid tariffs, experts say to make sure you have the money to cover the costs before you start accruing interest. With credit cards’ average interest rates currently more than 20%, the cost of financing a big purchase could quickly wipe out any savings you’d get by buying before prices go up because of tariffs.

«If you finance this expense on a credit card and can’t pay it off in full in one to two months, you’ll likely end up paying way more than a tariff would cost you,» said Alaina Fingal, an accountant, founder of The Organized Money and a CNET Money Expert Review Board member. «I would recommend that you pause on any big purchases until the economy is more stable.»

One way to save on Apple products, even if prices go up, is to buy last year’s model instead of the newest release.

«If you aren’t planning to upgrade in the next year, there is no need to rush out to buy a new smartphone,» Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at IPC, a manufacturing trade association, said in an email. «Technology is naturally deflationary, meaning that over time performance goes up and prices generally go down for products of similar quality.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for March 16 #743

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for March 16, No. 743.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun and easy one if you love college basketball, and a certain big event that’s about to begin. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: The Big Dance.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Tourney time

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

MARK, BRACK, RACK, RACKS, CADS, CRAM, MOVE, MUTE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

CHALK, BUBBLE, CINDERELLA, OVERTIME, BRACKET

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is MARCHMADNESS. To find it, start with the M that’s four letters down on the far-left vertical row, and wind across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 16, #1009

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for March 16 #1009

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle isn’t easy, but I got a kick out of the wordplay in the purple group. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Critters in a crowd.

Green group hint: Not fast.

Blue group hint: Silent letter.

Purple group hint: States, but shorter.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Animal group names.

Green group: Things associated with being slow.

Blue group: Silent «w.»

Purple group: Words that sound like state abbreviations.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is animal group names. The four answers are gaggle, pack, pod and pride.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is things associated with being slow. The four answers are glacier, molasses, sloth and traffic.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is silent «w.» The four answers are Cartwright, two, wrath and wrestle.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is words that sound like state abbreviations. The four answers are any (NE), Emmy (ME), envy (NV) and okay (OK).

Technologies

Peacock Hopes an Andy Cohen Avatar Will Keep You Hooked on Reality TV

The streaming app unveils new AI-powered features, including live NBA games in vertical format.

Peacock is adding an AI feather to its flock. The NBCUniversal property said Friday it will launch several new features to its mobile app, most notably a TikTok-like vertical video experience narrated by an AI version of TV personality Andy Cohen.

The feature, called «Your Bravoverse,» will enable app users to swipe endlessly — if they want — through a playlist of clips from their favorite Bravo shows, all narrated by the Cohen AI. The app will also stream live NBA games in a 9:16 vertical format and introduce two new mobile games.

Peacock said there will be a section for vertical video on the mobile app starting this summer, replacing the current download button in the main bottom navigation.

The new Peacock features capitalize on the AI frenzy and join the bandwagon of mobile users who have become accustomed to the vertical, swipeable nature of consuming content, such as on TikTok and Instagram.

Your host, an AI Andy Cohen

Launching this summer, Your Bravoverse will play videos in vertical format on your phone. The content library will be comprised of Bravo shows past and present, including Vanderpump Rules and the Real Housewives franchise.

AI will create playlists of clips from more than 5,000 hours of footage across the entire Bravo catalog of shows and extract stories from those shows using computer vision. The company says the goal is to «weave together complex storylines across seasons and franchises that help fans relive memorable moments or uncover new connections they may have never seen before.»

Computer vision, in concert with generative AI, is tech that can analyze thousands of hours of Peacock shows, pick out key moments and create video feeds.

Matt Strauss, Chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, called the feature a «first-of-its-kind experience» for the company — «pairing our deep Bravo library with agentic and gen AI to create a personalized experience.»

The narrator for each playlist will be an AI avatar of Andy Cohen, host of the talk show Watch What Happens Live and creator of the Real Housewives franchise. The avatar will be trained to have Cohen’s «distinctive style and voice.»

Cohen said the Bravoverse experience will be «intuitive» and «interactive.»

«If there’s one thing Bravo fans love, it’s being part of the conversation,» Cohen said in a statement. «It’s the best of AI and the best of Bravo, helping fans discover shows, dive deeper into their favorite moments, and connect with the Bravo universe like never before — all guided by me. Well, not exactly me, but a version of me!»

To create playlists, Your Bravoverse consumers will first choose their top shows and moments, then receive their own personal playlist. NBCUniversal says each playlist can have more than 600 billion possible variations. Just as on TikTok and Instagram, Bravoverse viewers will be able to swipe through videos endlessly. NBCUniversal says the playlists will be constantly refreshed.

NBCUniversal is counting on what it calls its Bravo «loyal superfans.» The company said Bravo viewers watch an average of 24 hours each month, and some people watch up to 75 episodes of shows each month.

The Your Bravoverse feature will be accessible through a dedicated Vertical Video space on the app’s home page.

Live Vertical NBA games

It seems counterintuitive to watch a sport played on a horizontal court in a vertical format on your phone. Peacock actually already unveiled the feature before, during the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 15.

During live NBA game broadcasts, AI will enable Peacock app viewers to watch the main broadcast and additional camera angles. This vertical video viewing option will reside within the Courtside Live feature, which Peacock launched during the All-Star Game.

Peacock has shown vertical video clips for sporting events since early 2025 — «a first for a streaming platform,» the company said — for NBA, NHL and the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Peacock will launch the feature this spring.

New mobile games

Peacock is also launching two new mobile games, as part of NBCUniversal’s collaboration with Wolf Games, announced in October — Law & Order: Clue Hunter and Public Eye, both mystery-solving games. The games are being created with Wolf Games’ Gen-AI gaming engine and will be launched this spring.

Peacock said it will also be introducing a new Jeopardy! mini‑game, with daily trivia rounds written by the Jeopardy!
team, which can be played in the Peacock mobile app.

In its 2025 fourth-quarter earnings report, Comcast — owner of NBCUniversal — said Peacock’s paid subscribers increased 22% year over year to 44 million, while revenue grew 23% to $1.6 billion.