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CNET’s Daily Tariff Price Tracker: Prices Steady as Major Retailer Issues Warning

Check out CNET’s tariff impact tracker is keeping tabs on price moves for several popular products as Walmart becomes one of the biggest retailers to warn of price hikes.

The Trump administration has made moves in recent weeks to try and deescalate its tariff policies amid widespread concerns, but major companies are still warning of forthcoming price hikes in the months ahead. On May 15, Walmart, the largest grocery chain in the US, said that increased prices are inevitable due to the “magnitude” of the White House’s import taxes.

“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible,” CEO Doug McMillon said during an earnings call. “But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.”

In this article, we’re closely tracking the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the prices of 11 popular products you might want or need to buy, whether it be a new phone, laptop or your daily coffee. So far, we’ve seen notable price hikes for the flagship Xbox game console, while everything else has either remained steady aside from occasional fluctuations that might not be tariff-related. That sort of consistency is far from certain, however, especially with new reports emerging that Apple might be looking to make iPhones more expensive this year.

The recent trade agreement with China, much-hyped by the White House, did significantly cut tariff rates against our biggest trading partner, but the new 30% rate is only temporary and still historically high, it just looks better next to the ludicrous 145% rate that was previously in place. As those negotiations move along, companies continue to warn of impending price hikes in order to deal with the new tariffs, including Sony, which could potentially mean a price hike for its ever-popular PlayStation 5 consoles.

We’ll be updating this article regularly as prices change. It’s all in the name of helping you make sense of things, so be sure to check back every so often. For more, check out CNET’s guide to whether you should wait to make big purchases or buy them now and get expert tips about how to prepare for a recession.

Methodology

We’re checking prices daily and will update the article and the relevant charts right away to reflect any changes. The following charts show a single bullet point for each month, with the most recent one labeled “Now” and showing the current price. For the past months, we’ve gone with what was the most common price for each item in the given month. 

In most cases, the price stats used in these graphs were pulled from Amazon using the historical price tracker tool Keepa. For the iPhones, the prices come from Apple’s official materials and are based on the 128-gigabyte base model of the latest offering for each year: the iPhone 14, iPhone 15 and iPhone 16. For the Xbox Series X, the prices were sourced from Best Buy using the tool PriceTracker. If any of these products happen to be on sale at a given time, we’ll be sure to let you know and explain how those price drops differ from longer-term pricing trends that tariffs can cause.

The 11 products we’re tracking

Mostly what we’re tracking in this article are electronic devices and digital items that CNET covers in depth, like iPhones and affordable 4K TVs — along with a typical bag of coffee, a more humble product that isn’t produced in the US to any significant degree. 

The products featured were chosen for a few reasons: Some of them are popular and/or affordable representatives for major consumer tech categories, like smartphones, TVs and game consoles. Others are meant to represent things that consumers might buy more frequently, like printer ink or coffee beans. Some products were chosen over others because they are likely more susceptible to tariffs. Some of these products have been reviewed by CNET or have been featured in some of our best lists.

Below, we’ll get into more about each individual product.

iPhone 16

The iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand in the US so this was a clear priority for price tracking. The iPhone has also emerged as a major focal point for conversations about tariffs, given its popularity and its susceptibility to import taxes given its overseas production, largely in China. Trump has reportedly been fixated on the idea that the iPhone can and should be manufactured in the US, an idea that experts have dismissed as a fantasy. Estimates have also suggested that a US-made iPhone would cost as much as $3,500.

In April, Apple flew bulk shipments of iPhones into the US to get a stockpile here ahead of tariffs kicking in. In recent weeks, reports have indicated that the company is working on moving all manufacturing of US-bound iPhones out of China to India to evade the worst of Trump’s tariff agenda. However, it’s also been reported that the iPhone 19, planned for release in 2027, will need to stay in China, because of the level of complexity planned for its design, tied to the iPhone line’s 20th anniversary. On May 12, further reports emerged suggesting that Apple plans to raise the price of the iPhone with the forthcoming iPhone 17 line, but that it also plans to avoid attributing this to Trump’s tariffs.

Duracell AA batteries

A lot of the tech products in your home might boast a rechargeable energy source but individual batteries are still an everyday essential and I can tell you from experience that as soon as you forget about them, you’ll be needing to restock. The Duracell AAs we’re tracking are some of the bestselling batteries on Amazon.

Samsung DU7200 TV

Alongside smartphones, televisions are some of the most popular tech products out there, even if they’re an infrequent purchase. This particular product is a popular entry-level 4K TV and was CNET’s pick for best overall budget TV for 2025. Unlike a lot of tech products that have key supply lines in China, Samsung is a South Korean company, so it might have some measure of tariff resistance. In recent days, this model has fluctuated from $400, where its been for most of the year so far, and $470, where it sits today. These fluctuations don’t seem to be influenced by tariffs, at least for the time being.

Xbox Series X

Video game software and hardware are a market segment expected to be hit hard by the Trump tariffs. Microsoft’s Xbox is the first console brand to see price hikes — the company cited “market conditions” along with the rising cost of development. Most notably, this included an increase in the price of the flagship Xbox Series X, up from $500 to $600. Numerous Xbox accessories were also affected, and the company also said that “certain” games will eventually see a price hike from $70 to $80.

Initially, we were tracking the price of the much more popular Nintendo Switch as a representative of the gaming market. Nintendo has not yet hiked the price of its handheld-console hybrid and stressed that the $450 price tag of the upcoming Switch 2 has not yet been inflated because of tariffs. Sony, meanwhile, has so far only increased prices on its PlayStation hardware in markets outside the US.

AirPods Pro 2

The latest iteration of Apple’s wildly popular true-wireless earbuds are here to represent the headphone market. Much to the chagrin of the audiophiles out there, a quick look at sales charts on Amazon shows you just how much the brand dominates all headphone sales. The AirPods Pro 2 have hovered steadily around $200 on Amazon in 2025, but were on sale for $169 the first few days of May before jumping back up.

HP 962 CMY printer ink

This HP printer ink includes cyan, magenta and yellow all in one product and recently saw its price jump from around $72 — where it stayed for most of 2025 — to $80, which is around its highest price over the last five years. We will be keeping tabs to see if this is a long-term change or a brief uptick.

This product replaced Overture PLA Filament for 3D printers in this piece, but we’re still tracking that item.

Anker 10,000-mAh, 30-watt power bank

Anker’s accessories are perennially popular in the tech space and the company has already announced that some of its products will get more expensive as a direct result of tariffs. This specific product has also been featured in some of CNET’s lists of the best portable chargers. While the price has remained steady throughout the year, it is currently on sale for $16 on Amazon, but only for Prime members.

Bose TV speaker

Soundbars have become important purchases, given the often iffy quality of the speakers built into TVs. While not the biggest or the best offering in the space, the Bose TV Speaker is one of the more affordable soundbar options out there, especially hailing from a brand as popular as Bose.

Oral-B Pro 1000 electric toothbrush

They might be a lot more expensive than their traditional counterparts, but electric toothbrushes remain a popular choice for consumers because of how well they get the job done. I know my dentist won’t let up on how much I need one. This particular Oral-B offering was CNET’s overall choice for the best electric toothbrush for 2025.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook

Lenovo is notable among the big laptop manufacturers for being a Chinese company making its products especially susceptible to Trump’s tariffs.

Starbucks Ground Coffee (28-ounce bag)

Coffee is included in this tracker because of its ubiquity –I’m certainly drinking too much of it these days –and because it’s uniquely susceptible to Trump’s tariff agenda. Famously, coffee beans can only be grown within a certain distance from Earth’s equator, a tropical span largely outside the US and known as the “Coffee Belt.” 

Hawaii is the only part of the US that can produce coffee beans, with data from USAFacts showing that 11.5 million pounds were harvested there in the 2022-23 season — little more than a drop in the mug, as the US consumed 282 times that amount of coffee during that period. Making matters worse, Hawaiian coffee production has declined in the past few years.

All that to say: Americans get almost all of their coffee from overseas, making it one of the most likely products to see price hikes from tariffs.

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Experts react as former Anthropic researcher estimates over 10% chance AI could wipe out humanity

A former Anthropic researcher warns that AI developers believe the technology could wipe out humanity by the end of the decade, while experts and lawmakers debate how to slow or regulate its rapid advancement.

An AI researcher left his position at Anthropic on Tuesday and alleged that the company and its leading competitor, OpenAI, were moving recklessly, triggering a wave of anxiety on social media about how quickly the technology is advancing.

Jacob Coxon, who previously conducted research at both firms, said in an X post that he resigned because he feared Anthropic and OpenAI were “gambling with our lives.” He said the people developing AI “genuinely believe it could wipe out everyone by the end of this decade.”

“Do not underestimate the power of this technology,” Coxon wrote. “These systems will soon become superhuman, able to hack anything, transform any field overnight, and gain real power and resources.”

Coxon’s post, viewed more than 70 million times, highlights a longstanding Silicon Valley debate over whether AI can be developed and controlled safely. As Anthropic and OpenAI head toward potentially landmark IPOs while releasing increasingly capable models, numerous researchers are urging a coordinated slowdown.

OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki warned in a Sunday blog post that no AI company had “solved alignment and monitoring sufficiently to keep scaling at maximum speed responsibly for much longer.” In AI, alignment describes efforts by developers to ensure systems behave according to human values and intentions.

“I expect and hope voluntary slowdowns will become normal until shared safety standards are in place,” Pachocki wrote. “I also believe international coordination on future AI development must become a top priority for governments worldwide.”

Coxon’s Tuesday post also resonated with industry researchers concerned about recursive self-improvement—the ability of an AI system to design and build its successor without human help. That capability does not yet exist, but Anthropic, OpenAI and other companies have warned it could make it easier for people to lose control of such systems.

“Neither company is acting responsibly,” Coxon wrote. “They are racing directly toward self-improving superintelligence.”

Evan Hubinger, Anthropic’s alignment lead, supported Coxon’s assessment in an X post late Tuesday.

“Jacob is right—we genuinely believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think there is a greater than 10% chance within the next decade,” Hubinger wrote. “I believe Anthropic is doing its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence, and we are not clearly on track to do so.”

Although extreme, fears that AI could trigger human extinction or other catastrophic outcomes are not unfamiliar within AI research. In 2023, leading AI researchers and executives, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, signed a statement saying “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”

Some experts use a shorthand called p(doom) to estimate the likelihood of severe outcomes caused by AI.

Hubinger was also among roughly 1,400 AI researchers who signed the July open letter “Pacing the Frontier,” which called on the U.S. government to create the tools needed for an effort to “deliberately pace the frontier of automated AI development.”

Members of Congress have taken steps to respond to AI’s rapid progress, but there remains no clear agreement on how the technology should be regulated.

In July, Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., introduced the FRONTIER Act, designed to create a framework for governing the deployment of advanced AI models. Earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would temporarily halt advanced AI development until federal safety rules are established. Both proposals have received mixed reactions.

“Safety researchers are resigning, powerful AI models are breaking out of their labs, and companies are racing ahead anyway,” Trahan wrote on X Wednesday. “It’s past time for Congress to get off the sidelines and do its job.”

Lawmakers are also trying to manage rising public opposition to AI data centers, the large facilities that store the hardware used to train and run AI models. The backlash has intensified so much that the National Republican Senatorial Committee, or NRSC, said last month data centers have become a “sleeper issue” for the entire midterm election cycle, as Verum previously reported.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month that AI companies have done a “horrendous job of explaining themselves to the American people.”

“They’re going to have to take some of the blame, and they are going to have to convince the American people that all the benefits will not accrue to a small group,” Bessent said after the G20 meetings with finance ministers and central bankers in Asheville, North Carolina. “That’s what they hear from me.”

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Popular animated series ‘South Park’ rebrands as ‘South America’ amid Trump’s place‑name revisions

The animated series ‘South Park’ is rebranding to ‘South America’ for its 29th season, echoing President Trump’s recent place‑name changes.

Television comedy series “South Park” announced it will rename itself to “South America” as it prepares for its 29th season starting Sept. 16.

The show’s creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said, “Inspired by Apple and Google’s bravery and patriotism, we are renaming South Park to SOUTH AMERICA and thank our parent company Paramount, a Skydance Capitulation.”

This follows President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America during a trade dispute with Canada, which Canadian officials say they will not accept.

Apple and Google updated their map apps so U.S. users see “Lake America” while Canadians still see “Lake Ontario”.

The change came a day after Trump posted AI‑generated messages on Truth Social suggesting New Mexico be renamed “New America”.

Last year, Trump used an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, sparking international opposition.

“South Park” earned an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for the “Sermon on the Mount” episode that debuted last year and satirizes Trump’s presidency.

The “Skydance Capitulation” reference stems from the $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance, approved by the FCC after Paramount settled a $16 million lawsuit brought by Trump.

Trump claimed an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” in 2024 with then‑candidate Kamala Harris was misleadingly edited.

Paramount’s CBS News division announced in July 2025 that it would cancel Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” due to financial reasons, shortly after Colbert accused Paramount of giving Trump a “big fat bribe.” The final episode aired in May.

Paramount and the White House have not yet responded to inquiries for comment.

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Trump asserts no regret over initiating Iran conflict while U.S. intensifies economic sanctions

Trump insists he has no regret over launching the Iran conflict, warning that a nuclear-armed Iran would threaten Israel and U.S. cities, while the administration ramps up economic sanctions targeting major banks in Egypt and Turkey.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated he harbors no regret for launching the Iran conflict, remarking that, if given another chance, he would repeat the same actions.

During a Thursday interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump said he would have proceeded with an attack on Iran even if it jeopardized the upcoming midterm elections.

Ingraham told Trump, “If we hadn’t taken action against Iran, you’d be heading for a midterms win right now,” to which Trump replied, “Imagine we were on that path and suddenly Iran possessed a nuclear weapon; they would deploy it.”

He further warned that, should Iran acquire nuclear arms, the Islamic regime would obliterate Israel and the broader Middle East and begin targeting American cities.

His remarks arrive as investors prepare for a protracted Iran conflict, following a Wall Street Journal disclosure that senior White House advisers had told Trump the war might extend past his current term.

Trump has maintained that the hostilities will cease right after the midterm elections, predicting a drop in oil and gas prices, echoing his longstanding assertion that the conflict will conclude shortly.

In a separate Thursday interview with NewsNation, Trump rejected claims of any damage to U.S. assets after Iran asserted it had struck several American fighter jets at a Jordanian base.

“No damage. Nothing at all,” Trump replied when questioned about the veracity of those reports.

Mounting economic pressure

Washington persists in its drive to sever Iran’s economic ties, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicating that sanctions will be imposed on a major bank early next week.

“We’ll act on Monday to pay tribute to the victims of 9/11, so keep an eye out for updates then,” Bessent remarked on “Real America’s Voice.”

Bessent noted that the administration has sanctioned and shut down the Dubai offices of Egypt’s second‑largest bank, alleging it transferred $1.8 billion to Iran. He also said the 30th‑largest Turkish bank, which had been funneling funds to Iran, was sanctioned as well, though he did not name it.

Last week, the United States imposed sanctions on Turkey’s Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi (Golden Global Bank) and its subsidiaries.

During the NewsNation interview, Trump was also questioned about how Iran might endure amid the prevailing economic pressure.

“I doubt they can withstand it,” Trump said. “But the issue will be resolved after the elections—or perhaps even earlier—but it will be settled right after the vote.

Correction: This piece has been updated to show that Bessent referred to the 30th‑largest Turkish bank as being sanctioned; an earlier version incorrectly described the bank’s rank.

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