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Pixel 7 Pro Actually Challenges My $10,000 DSLR Camera Gear

My full-frame Canon camera is better, but Google’s flagship phone opens creative options far beyond snapshots.

Google got my attention by bragging about the Pixel 7 Pro‘s «pro-level zoom» and asserting that the Android phone’s photography features can challenge traditional cameras. I’m one of those serious photographers who hauls around a heavy camera and a bunch of bulky lenses. But I also love phone photography, so I decided to test Google’s claims.

At its October launch event, Google touted the Pixel 7 Pro’s telephoto zoom for magnifying distant subjects, its Tensor G2-powered AI processing, its faster Night Sight for low-light scenes and a new macro ability for closeup photos. «It cleverly combines state-of-the-art hardware, software and machine learning to create amazing zoom photos across any magnification,» Pixel camera hardware chief Alexander Schiffhauer said at the phone’s launch event. Google wants you to think of this phone as offering a continuous zoom range from ultrawide angle to supertelephoto.

As you might imagine, I got better results from my «real» camera equipment, which would cost $10,000 if purchased new today. Even though my Canon 5D Mark IV is now 6 years old, it’s hard to beat a big image sensor and big lenses when it comes to color, sharpness, detail and a wide dynamic range spanning bright and dark tones.

But the Pixel 7 Pro’s photographic flexibility challenges my camera setup better than any other phone I’ve used, even outperforming my DSLR in some circumstances and earning a «stellar» rating from CNET editor Andrew Lanxon. While my camera and four lenses fill a whole backpack, Google’s smartphone fits in my pocket. And of course that $900 smartphone lets me share a selfie, check my email, pay for the groceries and tackle the daily crossword puzzle.

With the steady annual improvement in smartphone camera hardware and image processing, a smartphone isn’t just a better-than-nothing camera. These little slices of electronics are increasingly able to nail important shots and open up new creative possibilities for those who are discovering the rewards of photography.

I’ll keep hauling my DSLR on hikes and family outings. But because I won’t always have it with me, the Pixel 7 Pro — in particular its zoom and low-light abilities — means I won’t be as worried about missing the shot when I don’t.

My Canon 5D Mark IV, which costs $2,700 new these days, most often has the $1,900 Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens mounted. I also use the $2,400 EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM for telephoto shots, the $1,300 ultrawide EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM zoom, the $1,300 EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM for closeups, and the $429 Extender EF 1.4X III for more telephoto reach when photographing birds. Here’s how that gear stacks up against the Pixel 7 Pro’s 0.5x ultrawide, 1x main camera and 5x telephoto camera.

Google Pixel 7 Pro vs. Canon 5D Mark IV, main camera

With plenty of light, the Pixel 7 Pro’s 24mm main camera does a good job capturing color and detail in its 12-megapixel images. Check the comparisons here (and note that my DSLR shoots in a more elongated 3:2 aspect ratio than the Pixel 7 Pro’s 4:3).

Pixel peeping shows the phone can’t hold a candle to my 30-megapixel DSLR when it comes to detail. If you’re printing posters or need a lot of detail for photo editing, a modern DSLR or mirrorless camera is worth it. But 12 megapixels is plenty for most purposes. Check the below cropped images to see what’s going on up close.

Google missed a chance to shoot even higher resolution photos than my 30-megapixel DSLR, though. The Pixel 7 Pro’s main camera has a 50-megapixel sensor. It takes 12-megapixel photos using an approach called pixel binning that combines each 2×2 pixel group on the sensor into one effectively larger pixel. That means better color and low-light performance when shooting at 24mm. But you can use those 50 megapixels differently by skipping the pixel binning and shooting in the sensor’s full resolution when there’s sufficient light. That’s exactly what Apple does with the iPhone 14 Pro camera, and I wish Google did the same.

Pixel 7 Pro vs. DSLR, people and pets

The Pixel 7 Pro was capable at portrait photography. I prefer shooting raw and editing the shots myself because I sometimes find the Pixel 7 Pro makes faces look a little too processed, and I find its color balance a bit cool for my tastes. With the main camera, the Pixel 7 Pro does a pretty good job finding faces, tracking them and staying focused. For 2022, the Pixel 7 Pro now can find individual eyes, the ideal focus point of a camera and a weak point on my older DSLR.

On this comparison, I find the DSLR did a better job with skin tones, but the Pixel 7 Pro capably exposed the face in tricky lighting.

Using the Pixel 7 Pro’s portrait mode, which artificially blurs photo backgrounds, I find the processing artifacts distracting, especially with flyaway hair, though that’s not a problem with the example below. The shot is workable for quick sharing and looks fine on smaller screens, but I wouldn’t make a print of it. For the DSLR shot, I used my Sigma 35mm f1.4 lens, shooting wide open at f1.4 for the smoothest possible background blur. It’s much better than the Pixel 7 Pro, though its shallow depth of field blurs the hands and plastic toys.

For pets, the Pixel 7 Pro again did a great job finding and focusing on eyes. Here’s my dog, up close. The main camera at 1x zoom, or 24mm, isn’t ideal for single subjects, though, and the camera’s performance at 2x isn’t as strong, so bear that in mind.

To see how much more detail my SLR can capture — as long as I get focus right — check the cropped views below. And note that new mirrorless cameras from Sony, Nikon and Canon do a good job with eye tracking for easier focus.

DSLR vs. Pixel 7 Pro, telephoto cameras

Telephoto lenses magnify more distant subjects, and the Pixel 7 Pro has a remarkable range for a smartphone. Its sensors can shoot at 2x, 5x and 10x zoom modes with minimal processing trickery. It’ll shoot at intermediate settings with various combinations of cropping and multi-camera image compositing that I find fairly convincing. Then it reaches up to 30x with Google’s AI-infused upscaling technology, called Super Res Zoom. Here’s the same scene shot across the Pixel 7 Pro’s full range from supertelephoto 30x to ultrawide 0.5x:

The image quality is pretty bad by the time you reach 30x zoom, an equivalent of 720mm. But even my expensive DSLR gear only reaches 560mm maximum, and venturing beyond 10x on the Pixel 7 Pro can be justified in many circumstances. Not every photo has to be good enough quality to make an 8×10 print.

Bigger telephoto photography

Telephoto lenses are big, which is why those pro photographers at NFL games haul around monopods to support their hulking optics. Canon’s RF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens, popular on the sidelines, weighs more than six pounds, measures more than 14 inches long, and costs more than my entire collection of cameras and lenses. My Canon 100-400mm zoom is smaller and cheaper but doesn’t let in as much light, but it’s still gargantuan compared with the Pixel 7 Pro. I’m delighted to be able to capture useful telephoto shots on a Pixel phone, an option that previously was available only on rival Android phones from Samsung and others.

Google exploits the Pixel 7 Pro’s 50-megapixel main camera sensor for the first step up the telephoto lens ladder, a 2x zoom level good for portraits. The Pixel 7 Pro uses just the central 12 megapixels to capture a 12-megapixel photo in 2x telephoto mode, an equivalent focal length of 48mm.

The dedicated telephoto camera kicks in at 5x zoom, an equivalent of 120mm. Instead of a bulky telephoto protuberance, Google uses a prism to bend light 90 degrees so the necessary lens length and 48-megapixel image sensor can be tucked sideways within the Pixel 7 Pro’s thicker «camera bar» section. It also can use the central megapixels in its 10x mode, or 240mm, an option I think is terrific. This San Francisco architectural sight below is pretty good:

Using AI and software processing to zoom further, the camera can reach 20x and even 30x zoom, which translates to 480mm and 720mm. By comparison, my DSLR reaches 560mm with my 1.4x telephoto extender.

My DSLR would have trounced the Pixel 7 Pro for this scene of Bay Area fog lapping up against the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, shot somewhere between 15x and 20x. (I wish Google would write zoom level metadata into photos the way my Canon records lens focal length settings.) But guess what? I was mountain biking and didn’t take my DSLR. The best camera is the one you have, as the saying goes.

Back at 10x zoom, I was pleased with this shot below of my pal Joe mountain biking. I’ve photographed people in this very spot before with smartphones, and this was the first time I wasn’t frustrated with the results.

Google’s optics and image processing methods are clever but not magical. The Pixel 7 Pro produces a 12-megapixel image, but the farther beyond 10x you shoot, the more you’ll cringe at its blotchy details that look more like a watercolor painting. That’s the glass-is-half-empty view. I’m actually on the glass-is-half-full side, appreciating what you can do and recognizing that a lot of photos will be viewed on smaller screens. Image qualityof 10x is respectable, and that alone is a major achievement.

Here’s a comparison of a rooftop party photographed with the Pixel 7 Pro at 30x, or 720mm equivalent, and my camera at 560mm, but cropped in to match the phone’s framing. The DSLR does better, of course. Even cropped, it’s an 18-megapixel image.

Practical limits on Pixel 7 Pro’s telephoto cameras

To really exercise the phone, I toted it to see the US Navy’s Blue Angels flight display over San Francisco. Buildings and fog blocking my view made photography tough, but I found new limitations to the Pixel 7 Pro.

Fiddling with screen controls to hit 10x or more zoom is slow. Framing fast-moving subjects on a smartphone screen is hard, even with the aid of the miniature wider-angle view that Google pops into the scene and its AI-assisted stabilization technology. Focus is also relatively pokey. With my DSLR, I could rapidly find the jets in the sky, lock focus, track them as they flew and shoot a burst of shots.

I didn’t get a single good photo of the Blue Angels with the Pixel 7 Pro. Google’s «pro-level zoom» works much better with stationary subjects.

DSLR vs. Pixel 7 Pro, shooting in the dark

Here’s where the Pixel 7 Pro beats out a vastly more expensive camera. There’s no way you can hold a camera steady for 6 seconds, but Pixel phones in effect can thanks to computational photography techniques that Google pioneered. Google takes a collection of photos, using AI to judge when your hands are most still, then combines these individual frames into one shot. It’s the basis of its Night Sight feature, which I’ve used many times and, at its extreme, powers an astrophotography mode I’ve used to take 4-minute exposures of the night sky.

Below is a comparison of a nighttime scene with the Pixel 7 Pro at 1x, where it’s best at gathering light, and my DSLR with its 24-70mm f2.8 lens. The DSLR has more detail up close, but the Pixel 7 Pro does well, and its deeper depth of field means the leaves in the foreground aren’t a smeary mess.

Here’s a comparison of a 2x zoom photo with the Pixel 7 Pro and the best I could do handheld with my 24-70mm f2.8 lens. The longer your zoom, the harder it is to hold a camera steady, and even with my elbows on a railing to steady the camera, the Pixel 7 Pro shot was vastly easier to capture. I had to crank my DSLR’s sensitivity to ISO 12,800 to get the shutter speed down to 1/8sec, and even then, most of the photos were duds. Image stabilization helps, but this lens doesn’t have it.

Just for kicks, I used a tripod to take three exposure-bracketed shots with my DSLR and merged them into a single HDR (high dynamic range) photo in Adobe’s Lightroom software. The longest exposure was 30 seconds. That’s how much effort it took to beat a Night Sight photo I took just standing there holding the phone for 6 seconds. Check the comparison below.

Parked cars

Here’s where my DSLR completely trounced the Pixel 7 Pro, even with Night Sight, though: the nearly full moon. Here’s the Pixel 7 Pro at 30x zoom vs. my DSLR at 560mm, cropped so the framing matches.

DSLR vs. Pixel 7 Pro, dynamic range

One of the best measures of a camera is dynamic range, the span between dark and light it can capture in a single scene. To exercise the Pixel 7 Pro here, I shot in raw format, which allows for more editing flexibility. Then I edited the photos, cranking the exposure up 4 stops to reveal noise problems in shadowed areas and then down 4 stops to see how well it captured detail in bright areas.

In short, I’m impressed. Google squeezes a remarkable amount of data out of its relatively small sensor with its processing methods.

Two techniques are relevant. With Google’s HDR+ system, the Pixel 7 Pro combines multiple underexposed frames and one regularly exposed frame to record shadow detail without blowing out highlights in bright areas. And Google includes this data in a «computational raw» format that packages that detail in Adobe’s very flexible DNG format. It’s not truly raw, like the single frame of data pulled from my DSLR’s image sensor is, but it’s an excellent option for smartphone photography.

Below is a cropped photo with the Pixel 7 Pro’s 1x camera, underexposed by 4 stops to see if was able to record a range of tones even in the very bright pampas grass plumes. It was.

Shooting at 2x, which uses only the central pixels on the 1x camera, poses more of a challenge when going up against my DSLR, which suffers no such degradation in hardware abilities when I zoom in. Overexposed by 4 stops, you can see a lot more noise and color problems with the Pixel 7 Pro in the comparison below. But overall, it’s got impressive dynamic range on the main camera.

DSLR vs. Pixel 7 Pro, ultrawide

Google made the ultrawide lens on the Pixel 7 Pro an even wider field of view compared with last year. What you like is a matter of personal preference, but I appreciate the dramatic perspective that you can capture with a very wide angle. When I don’t need it, the 24mm main camera still qualifies as wide angle.

Here’s a comparison of a scene shot with the Pixel 7 Pro and my DSLR’s 16-35mm ultrawide zoom.

DSLR vs. PIxel 7 Pro, macro

The new ultrawide camera now has autofocus hardware, and that opens up the world of macro photography for close-up subjects. Apple’s iPhone Pro models got this ability in 2021, and I’ve loved macro photos for years as a way to shoot flowers, mushrooms, toys and other small subjects, so I’m delighted to see it on the higher-end Pixel phones.

As with the iPhone, though, the macro is useful as long as the subject fits in the central portion of the frame. Note in this comparison below how blurred the image gets toward the periphery of this butterfly coaster with the Pixel 7 Pro.

No, it’s not as good as my DSLR. But with macro abilities, Night Sight and a zoom range from ultrawide to super telephoto, the Pixel 7 Pro is more than just useful for snapshots. It lets you start exploring a much bigger part of photography’s creative realm.

Technologies

Your Phone’s a Germ Magnet. How to Disinfect It Properly

Want to keep your iPhone or Android germ-free? Follow these phone cleaning tips.

Your phone goes everywhere with you — on your commute, your lunch break, even the bathroom (don’t lie). But for something that spends so much time in your hands and against your face, it’s probably way dirtier than you think. In fact, studies have shown that the average smartphone can carry more germs than a toilet seat. Yeah, really.

All that touching, tapping, swiping and setting it down on random surfaces adds up fast. If you’re not regularly disinfecting your phone, you’re basically carrying a pocket-sized petri dish. The good news? Cleaning it the right way is quick, easy and doesn’t require fancy gear. Here’s how to sanitize your device safely — without damaging the screen or frying your electronics.. 

The Federal Communications Commission suggests disinfecting your phone daily, but not all cleaning methods are safe. Harsh chemicals and abrasive materials can damage protective coatings and potentially harm your screen. To keep your phone both clean and intact, it’s crucial to use the right cleaning techniques.

We’ll guide you through the best methods and products for keeping your device germ-free, from iPhones to Samsungs, and whatever their level of water resistance may be.

For more cleaning tips, here’s how to clean wireless earbuds and AirPods. 

What are the best products for daily cleaning?

After touching surfaces that see a lot of action from the public — such as door handles, seats on public transportation, grocery carts and gas pumps — you might think you need a heavy-duty cleaning agent to use on your phone. However, you should avoid rubbing alcohol or products made of straight alcohol, since they can damage the protective coatings that prevent oil and water from harming your screen.

Some suggest making your own alcohol-water mix, but getting the concentration wrong can damage your phone. The safest option is using disinfectant wipes with 70% isopropyl alcohol. For daily cleaning, consider a UV light product like PhoneSoap, which kills 99.99% of germs and bacteria. We can also turn to phone manufacturers and cell service companies for guidance, too. 

Apple now approves using Clorox Wipes and similar disinfectants, which was not recommended before the pandemic since they were thought to be too abrasive on the screen’s coating. AT&T advises spraying a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution on a soft, lint-free cloth and wiping your device down. Samsung also recommends using a 70% alcohol solution with a microfiber cloth. Always make sure your phone is powered off before cleaning it. 

What are the best methods for removing fingerprints, sand and makeup?

Sometimes your phone needs a more specific treatment when washing up. The recommended process for daily cleaning may not be enough to remove pesky grains of sand after a beach vacation or tough foundation stains. 

Get rid of fingerprints

Fingerprint smudges are inevitable since your skin produces oils. Every time you pick up your phone, your screen will get fingerprints. The safest way to make your screen print-free is with a microfiber cloth. For a deeper clean, dampen the cloth with distilled water (never apply water directly to the screen) and wipe down the surface. This works for the back and sides of your phone as well.

Alternatively, try a microfiber screen cleaner sticker that sticks to the back of your phone for easy wiping.

Remove sand and small particles

Grains of sand and lint can easily get stuck in your phone’s ports and crevices. To remove it, we recommend you use Scotch tape. Press it along the creases and speaker, then roll it up and gently insert it into the ports. The tape will pull out any debris. You can then just simply throw away the tape for easy cleanup. 

For smaller speaker holes, use a toothpick gently or a small vacuum crevice tool to suck out the debris. These tools work well for other small appliances or hard-to-reach areas in your car too.

Cleanse makeup off your phone screen

When you wear makeup and skin care products, such as foundation and moisturizers, you’ll leave residue on your phone screen. While makeup remover works for your face, it’s not safe for screens due to potentially harmful chemicals. Instead, try a screen-safe makeup remover like Whoosh, which is alcohol-free and gentle on all screens.

Alternatively, use a damp microfiber cloth to clean your phone, then wash the cloth afterward. Make sure your cloth is only slightly wet to avoid soaking your phone in water. 

What if my phone is waterproof?

For waterproof phones (IP67 and above), it’s best to clean the device with a damp cloth instead of submerging or running it under water — even if the phone advertises that it can withstand submersion for a certain amount of time. 

Afterward, dry your phone with a soft cloth, ensuring all ports and speakers are patted dry. While your phone can withstand water, submerging it can lead to water in the ports, delaying charging. Remember, water resistance is meant for accidents, not swimming or regular cleaning.

Things to avoid when cleaning your phone

We’ve already covered why you should avoid makeup remover and rubbing alcohol, but those aren’t a comprehensive list of harmful cleaning agents. Here are a few other items and products you should never use to clean your phone: 

  • Hand sanitizer: Fragrances and ethyl alcohol found in many sanitizers can harm your phone. 
  • Window or kitchen cleaners: Harsh cleaners can strip the protective coating on your phone and leave it more vulnerable to scratches.
  • Paper towels: Paper can shred, making the debris on your phone much worse, and the rough texture can leave scratches on your screen. 
  • Dish and hand soap: Most soaps require you to combine them with water, and since you should keep water away from your phone, it’s best to stick to a damp cloth.
  • Vinegar: Like cleaners and alcohols, vinegar will strip your phone screen’s coating.
  • Compressed air: Blowing intense and direct air into your phone’s portals can cause damage, especially to your mic. Apple specifically warns iPhone owners not to use compressed air.

For more cleaning tips, explore how to clean your Apple Watch. 

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Technologies

Tariff Impacts Are Real: I Found 13 Companies With Official Price Hikes

A popular brand of smart lights is among the latest products to suffer an official price hike in the wake of Trump’s tariffs.

In a lot of ways and for a lot of products in the US, the biggest impacts of President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff plans are still a ways off in the near future. Still, numerous companies have already hiked prices or said that they will be increased in the near future — including, most recently, a popular and CNET-approved brand of smart lights.

The fact of the matter is that tariffs — a tax placed on the importing of certain products into a country — will ultimately cause prices to go up, with Walmart characterizing these eventual price hikes as «inevitable» during its earnings call last month. Given Trump’s push to place historically high tariffs on goods from almost every country in the world, you can also expect these price hikes to hit a huge variety of products.

This truth has begun to sink in for a lot of Americans, if a recent survey conducted by CNET is anything to go by. According to the results, about 38% of consumers feel pressured to make certain purchases before tariffs cause them to go up in price. About 10% said that they had already made certain purchases out of the hope that they’ll avoid a future price hike, and 27% said they had delayed purchases for products that cost more than $500. Overall, these concerns about prices were felt the most around popular tech pieces like smartphones, laptops and home appliances.

To help you keep score, I’ve put together a list of all the companies that have either confirmed or warned of price hikes due to Trump’s tariffs. As other companies make such announcements, you can expect new names to be added here.

Continue on for all those details, and for more, find out why it’s best if you wait on buying a new iPhone.

Best Buy

Without getting into specifics, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry told the Wall Street Journal late last month that it has already raised prices on certain products as part of its response to the tariffs.

e.l.f.

Known as an affordable option in the beauty world, e.l.f. announced in late May that it would be implementing a $1 price hike across its product line in response to the tariffs. CEO Tarang Amin claimed that the reaction from customers was positive, on account of the company’s transparency.

«We’re not trying to pull anything over on anyone,» Amin told Fortune. «This is exactly what we’re facing, and they understand.»

Macy’s

Speaking to CNBC in late May, Macy’s CEO Tony Spring said that price hikes will be implemented on some products due to tariffs, while also emphasizing that other tactics — like discontinuing certain products altogether — will also be a response to rising costs.

Mattel

Known for brands like Barbie and Hot Wheels, Mattel sounded the alarm over likely price increases during an early May earnings call. While it’s unclear how much the toymaker’s prices have increased since then, the company told investors that it would be, «where necessary, taking pricing action in its US business,» or to put it plainly, raising prices for consumers to mitigate the impact of tariffs.

Nikon

Camera-maker Nikon will introduce price hikes in response to Trump’s tariffs, effective June 23. This move will only target lenses and accessories the company makes and sells, so the cameras themselves are safe for now.

«We will be carefully monitoring any tariff developments and may adjust pricing as necessary to reflect the evolving market conditions,» a statement from Nikon explained. «We wish to thank our customers for their understanding and know that we are taking every possible step to minimize the impact on our community.»

Philips Hue

Parent company Signify announced that prices for its popular and highly regarded Philips Hue brand of smart lights will see price hikes effective July 1. The company also confirmed that this decision was made «as a direct result of tariffs.»

«Signify reserves the right to modify prices based on new or additional tariffs becoming effective in the future,» the company’s official statement explained

Ralph Lauren

Sales at the luxury goods retailer Ralph Lauren have apparently remained steady amid recent uncertainty, but the company is still forging ahead with a plan to combat tariff impacts by raising prices more than it had already intended to, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Shein and Temu

Trump’s tariffs have made a notable target of China, hitting the country with a 30% rate only after initially hiking it all the way to 145%. Online retailers like Shein and Temu rely on direct shipments from markets like China in order to offer the rock-bottom prices that made them famous, so it’s little surprise now that they’ve had to raise prices.

The Trump administration has furthered the issues faced by these companies by doing away with a rule known as the «de minimus» exception, which used to exclude smaller purchases under $800 from import taxes. With that rule gone, Trump’s China tariffs will now apply to both bulk orders of industrial building materials and those shoes you’ve been looking to buy from Shein.

Subaru

Subaru has hiked prices across almost its entire line. The increase ranged from $750 to $2,055, depending on the model, with only the EV Solterra avoiding any change.

As has become a trend with some companies, Subaru avoided attributing the price hikes to Trump’s tariffs, citing only the common refrain of «market conditions.» Trump has notably disparaged companies that explicitly lay the blame for price hikes on his policies.

«The changes were made to offset increased costs while maintaining a solid value proposition for the customer. Subaru pricing is not based on the country of origin of its products,» a Subaru spokesperson said in a statement to Car & Driver.

Stanley Black & Decker

In an earnings report published April 30, toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker addressed «Price Actions in Response to US Tariffs,» stating that it had «implemented an initial price increase in April and notified our customers that further price action is required,» and was also looking into ways to shift its supply lines to minimize the impact of tariffs.

Volvo

The price impact of tariffs at Swedish automaker Volvo are confined, for now, to just one model: the electric EX30. Initially it was set to start at $34,950 in the US — a competitive price for an EV — but tariffs targeted at imported cars forced the company to raise the price to $46,195, a 32% bump.

Walmart

The biggest grocery chain in the US, Walmart is perhaps the most prominent company yet to announce imminent price hikes due to Trump’s tariffs. During the company’s earnings call in May, CEO Doug McMillan said price hikes would begin by the end of May and impact things like food, electronics and toys.

For more, see why buying refurbished tech helps you dodge tariffs and helps the planet.

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Technologies

As Tariffs Have Consumers Worried, Here’s What I’ve Found Watching Key Products for Price Hikes

There’s a lot of concern and uncertainty going around the economy amid Trump’s tariff plans, prompting a lot of early purchases to avoid price hikes.

For CNET’s tariff price tracker, I’ve been keeping tabs on several key products we suspect will be vulnerable to President Donald Trump’s contentious tariff policies, watching their price moves every day for possible long-term price hikes. 

For the most part, prices for these items have remained steady in the last few weeks, aside from notable increases for the Xbox Series X and a budget-friendly 4K TV. A few have also gone on sale for brief periods, but as of now, they’ve all mostly reverted back to normal — though you should expect the sale prices to return as Prime Day approaches in July, a good time overall to make purchases that might get more expensive later.

With all that said, the broader impact of these import taxes is still on the horizon, especially as Trump now claims that tariff rates against China are going back up to 55% soon. The Trump administration has also been working to undo a trade court ruling, which found that Trump has no authority to set tariffs as he has been — a move now being argued before an appeals court. We’ll see how that ultimately plays out, but for now, the possibility that the president’s tariff policies will lead to price hikes remains likely. 

CNET Tariff Tracker Index

Above, you can check out a chart with the average price of the 11 products included in this piece over the course of 2025. This will help give you a sense of the overall price changes and fluctuations going on. Further down, you’ll be able to check out charts for each individual product being tracked. 

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, and stick around till the end for a rundown of some other products worth noting.

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 because of 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.

Something to note about this graph: The price listed is the one you’ll see if you buy your phone through a major carrier. If you, say, buy direct from Apple or Best Buy without a carrier involved, you’ll be charged an extra $30, so in some places, you might see the list price of the standard iPhone 16 listed as $830.

Apple’s been taking a few steps to protect its prices in the face of these tariffs, flying in bulk shipments of product before they took effect and planning to move production for the US market from China to India. A new Reuters report found that a staggering 97% of iPhones imported from the latter country, March through May, were bound for the US. This latter move drew the anger of Trump again, threatening the company with a 25% tariff if they didn’t move production to the US, an idea CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly shot down in the past. This came after Trump gave a tariff exemption to electronic devices including smartphones, so the future of that move seems in doubt now.

Apple’s flagship device is still the top-selling smartphone globally, as of Q1 of this year, although new research from the firm Counterpoint suggests that tariff uncertainty will cause the brand’s growth to stall a bit throughout the rest of 2025.

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. This model was most recently listed on Amazon at $421, up from the $400 price tag it’s hovered around for most of the year.

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 also were 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. For most of the year, they’ve hovered around $199, which is a notable savings on its list price of $249.

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. 

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.

Other products

As mentioned before, we occasionally swap out products with different ones that undergo notable price shifts. Here are some things no longer featured above, but that we’re still keeping an eye on:

  • Nintendo Switch: The baseline handheld-console hybrid has held steady around $299 most places — including Amazon — since it released in 2017. Whether or not that price will be impacted by tariffs or the impending release of the Switch 2 remains to be seen. This product was replaced above with the Xbox Series X.
  • Overture PLA 3D printer filament: This is a popular choice on Amazon for the material needed to run 3D printers. It has held steady around $15 on Amazon all year. This product was replaced above by the HP 962 printer ink.

Here are some products we also wanted to single out that haven’t been featured with a graph yet:

  • Razer Blade 18 (2025), 5070 Ti edition: The latest revision of Razer’s largest gaming laptop saw a $300 price bump recently, with the base model featured an RTX 5070 Ti graphics card now priced at $3,500 ahead of launch, compared to the $3,200 price announced in February. While Razer has stayed mum about the reasoning, it did previously suspend direct sales to the US as Trump’s tariff plans were ramping up in April.
  • Asus ROG Ally X: The premium version of Asus’s Steam Deck competitor handheld gaming PC recently saw a price hike from $799 to $899, coinciding with the announcement of the company’s upcoming Xbox-branded Ally handhelds.
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