Technologies

Buy or Wait Guide: How Tariffs Will Change Tech Prices and What to Do Now, According to Experts

From phones to TVs, electric cars to cameras, CNET experts weigh in on what you should consider buying now, before tariffs increase prices.

Prices for most major tech products will be driven up in the coming year thanks to US President Donald Trump’s steep new import duties, according to economists. The tariffs have already had a sharp impact on US stocks, which have been sinking rapidly on the back of the tariff implementations. Then, on Wednesday, the president paused most of the tariffs, with the exception of China, raising tariffs on that country to 125%.

The constant changes to the tariffs make it even harder to advise consumer purchases. Whether the tariffs will change the timing of your next tech purchase depends on what kind of tech you need. Before Wednesday’s announced tariff pause, we asked CNET’s experts for their thoughts on what devices you should consider buying now and what you can wait on, covering everything from phones, earbuds, TVs and laptops to gaming consoles, smart thermostats, electric vehicles and cameras.

Many of these products are either imported in their entirety or contain components that are not made in the US, like graphics processing units for PCs. Importing all those separate components will lead to higher costs under Trump’s barrage of tariffs.

Read more: Tariffs Explained: Impacts for You as Trump Confirms Worldwide Tariff Wave

The tariffs will have an effect on a sweeping range of consumer expenditures, well beyond just tech products. Your groceries will likely see bumps in the prices of bananas, coffee and seafood, among other things. Much of the clothing, footwear and furniture we buy is made overseas. It’s an indication of how the modern economy is built on a global scale with often complicated lines of interdependence. The Trump administration is hoping that the tariffs will lead to more manufacturing on American soil.

If you’re not ready to make a purchase now, don’t let yourself be rushed — especially for products priced in the thousands of dollars. You should always make sure that a purchase is a good fit for your budget. It’s also unknown at the moment how long the tariffs might be in effect.

«The tariffs are sweeping, and the effects are going to be even broader,» says Neale Mahoney, director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and professor of economics at Stanford University. «It’s not a good time to be a consumer.»

Read more: How Much Will iPhone and Other Apple Prices Increase With ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs?

Even goods that aren’t directly impacted by the new tariffs could increase in price, according to Mahoney. During the first Trump administration, tariffs increased prices on washing machines, not dryers, but dryer prices increased as well. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, used car prices increased along with new car prices.

«There’s going to be some uncertainty as we move to what economists call a new equilibrium,» he says.

Read more: CNET Survey: Worries Over Tariff Price Hikes Are Pushing Americans to Buy Tech Sooner

Mobile devices

Phones

While Trump’s tariffs are aimed at increasing US-based manufacturing and boosting sales of products already made here, CNET’s managing editor for the mobile team, Patrick Holland, points out that there isn’t a mainstream phone that’s completely made in the US.

«Components come from all around the world,» Holland says. «That’s true for Apple, Samsung or Xiaomi. So Apple being based in the US is at a similar disadvantage from tariffs as Samsung is being based in South Korea.»

Holland is optimistic that Apple will find a way to absorb some of the increased importation costs in the short term. Nearly all iPhones are made in China, with the rest also made overseas.

Read more: Mortgage Rate Predictions: Will Tariffs Impact Spring Homebuying?

Holland’s advice is to hold onto your current phone for as long as you can, rather than running out to buy one in the hopes of beating a possible price hike.

Other experts also warn against panic buying an iPhone, despite predicting that Apple’s prices could rise by around 10% in coming months. «[Tariffs] could lead to price increases of $50 to $150 on higher-end products like the iPhone Pro Max models and MacBook Pros,» Stephan Shipe, a certified financial planner and CEO of Scholar Financial Advising, told CNET earlier this week.

Wall Street analysts from Rosenblatt Securities, according to Reuters, anticipate that if the 43% tariff on China is passed to consumers, the cost of an iPhone 16 could rise from $799 to $1,142; the iPhone 16 Pro Max could increase from $1,599 to $2,300; and even the newly launched low-end iPhone 16E could increase in pricing from $599 to $856. A breakdown by the Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, looks at individual components and the retail price for an iPhone 16 Pro to show how much tariffs would raise manufacturing costs for Apple.

And prices could be driven even higher after China on Friday retaliated by placing export restrictions on rare earth elements used in producing phones, EVs and other electronics.

If tariffs and general inflation are affecting your ability to pay for a brand new, high-end phone, Holland’s best budget pick for those looking for a deal on a phone is the $500 Google Pixel 8A. «It has one of the best values of any phone sold today,» he says. «But I look forward to testing the recently announced Pixel 9A that goes on sale Thursday, April 10.»

Smartwatches

Smartwatches may not be affected by the tariffs this year, according to Vanessa Hand Orellana, CNET lead writer for smartwatches and wearable technology. «I’m not sure if it will hit this year’s smartwatch production cycle despite reports,» she says. «At this point in production, it’s likely that all the manufacturing pieces for the 2025 watch models have already been ordered.»

But for next year’s watch production, she’s hopeful that Trump will realize the economic blow to businesses and individuals and reverse his stance on tariffs just like he did with the TikTok ban. Otherwise, tariffs will no doubt affect the pricing of 2026 smartwatches.

Hand Orellana also cautioned against panic buying: «I know a lot of people who are stocking up on products right now because of tariffs, and I can’t help feeling that this doomsday-style planning is just going to leave me with a pile of stuff,» she says.

Headphones and earbuds

If you’re in the market for a new set of headphones or earbuds, CNET executive editor David Carnoy says pricing will likely remain the same for existing inventory already in stores.

«But as inventory is depleted, prices could rise if the tariffs remain in place. And all bets are off for new products coming to market,» Carnoy says.

Current products should remain stable, but we could be in for «sticker shock» with new product releases from big names later this year. Carnoy has already seen Edifier increase its price of the NeoBuds Planar; they were initially set to be launched at $200, but when they hit the market on March 11, they were adjusted to $300 due to an increase in tariffs.

«As Edifier did, companies will bake in the price increase at launch. We were seeing $10 to $20 inflationary price increases on more premium next-gen earbuds and headphones even before the tariffs. We could see $40 to $50 price increases now with new products,» Carnoy warns.

TVs

Now is a good time to shop for a 2024 model if you’re looking for a new TV, according to CNET senior director of content David Katzmaier. TVs from last year are currently at their lowest prices as retailers clear out inventory for new stock.

«New 2025 TVs are hitting store shelves and online retailers this spring, but their prices will remain high until the fall and the holiday season,» he says.

But if you don’t need a new TV right now, Katzmaier advises against buying until you do need one.

«TVs last a long time,» he says. «Yes, tariffs could push prices higher on new TVs, but whether they’ll affect TV prices around sales times — think Black Friday and later in November and December — is an open question.»

Gaming consoles

High-end consoles

The question is whether retailers will instantly begin raising prices, or whether new pricing would only apply to inventory that’s imported from now on, CNET senior editor and gaming writer David Lumb says. He advises buying before the next restock in the next few days or the next week or two, just to make absolutely sure, if a purchase is something you’ve already budgeted for.

«If you really want a console already on the market, my instinct is to buy before the next restock to make absolutely sure — whether that means in the next few days or the next week or two,» Lumb advises. «Companies are reeling now, but still selling.»

The Nintendo Switch 2, introduced this week, is also likely to be affected. It won’t be available until June 5, but already US preorders of the Switch 2 have been delayed due to the tariffs. Preorders of the Switch 2 were supposed to begin on April 9, with a starting price of $450. It’s not yet known whether the pricing will increase, or what date preorders will begin.

«If people want a console currently on the market, like the PS5 or Xbox Series X, it might be smart to buy now,» Lumb says. «Even if retailers don’t need to raise prices, they might anyway out of uncertainty, panic or greed.»

Gaming PCs

Like laptops and phones, the biggest worry is over the internal components of gaming PCs. «These will almost surely get hit with tariff-related increases — especially since many are made by smaller companies than Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft that can absorb some or all of these tariff increases (if they want),» Lumb says.

Several factors have already made GPUs a high-cost component, and this will likely only worsen with tariffs.

«GPUs have seen skyrocketing prices in the last 6 to 8 years due to successive event trends that caused scarcity — namely the crypto mining craze and pandemic-related supply chain issues, during which the world’s biggest GPU maker, Nvidia, steadily raised its prices,» Lumb explains. That, combined with its central role in the gen AI boom, caused stocks to skyrocket and Nvidia to become one of the richest companies in the world, he says. «So they won’t blink at raising GPU prices even more.»

AMD told CNET that while semiconductors are exempt from the new tariffs, it is «assessing the details and any impacts on our broader customer and partner ecosystem.»

Handheld consoles

As for handheld gaming consoles, like the Steam Deck, Lenovo Go S and the other smaller PC-on-the-go handhelds, Lumb predicts tariff pricing increases will kick in pretty quickly as these devices «don’t have the institutional resistance to keep prices low.»

«If you’re thinking about a handheld, it’s probably better to buy one now,» he advises.

So the gamers who are most advised to «buy now» are those buying PCs or handheld gaming devices.

Computers

Laptops and PCs

The tariffs are going to require buyers to be smart shoppers, hunting for bargains.

«I’ve already seen prices increase on laptops since the threat of tariffs were known,» says Matthew Elliott, CNET senior editor for laptops and computers. «But most vendors and online retailers offer rotating sales, so you can still find a good deal if you have the time and patience to monitor pricing, and time your purchase for when a discount hits the model you want.»

Tariffs have already affected laptop pricing. Acer CEO Jason Chen said in February that the company would raise its prices by 10% in anticipation. «We will have to adjust the end user price to reflect the tariff,» the CEO of the Taiwan-based company said. «We think 10 (percent) probably will be the default price increase because of the import tax. It’s very straightforward.»

Even if computer companies want to shift and obtain their parts from the US, it’s not likely to be practical.

«All computers and peripherals are likely to be touched by these global tariffs in some way,» says Josh Goldman, CNET managing editor for computers. «While there are companies big and small that assemble PCs in the US and there are US component makers, it’s unlikely all parts can currently be sourced from US manufacturers.»

His advice is to get that computer soon if you need one, but — as Elliott notes above — look for sales and deals, like the upcoming Memorial Day sales.

«I wouldn’t wait to see if prices go up and out of financial reach,» Goldman recommends. «That said, spring is typically filled with sales on tech for Memorial Day weekend, dads and grads and then back-to-school. Discounts might not be as deep as in the past, but if you keep an eye on a model you want, you should be able to minimize the impact of the tariffs on your purchase.»

One tiny bit of good news is that you may not have to worry about the pricing of used and refurbished tech devices and laptops. They could be a good way to save money and keep tech out of landfill.

But don’t get too excited: «If the tariffs do drastically increase the prices on new computers for an extended time, it’s possible even the prices on refurbished devices will go up with demand,» Goldman warns.

Home tech

Now is also a good time to buy smart home tech like higher-end security cameras, video doorbells, smart thermostats and smart displays, according to the advice of Tyler Lacoma, CNET smart home and home security editor. Especially if you’re eyeing home devices in the over-$200 price point.

«The impact of tariffs will be most noticeable among smart home technology that already has higher prices,» Lacoma says.

But don’t expect to find a secret cache of smart-home products that will go untouched by the tariffs.

«Home tech devices are a combination of computer chips, electronic components and many different frame materials,» he says. «I doubt there is any device that will be unaffected by the latest tariff news.»

Cameras

If you’ve got a camera on your wish list, you shouldn’t wait to buy it, says CNET senior writer Jeff Carlson — who’s written numerous books about photography and who co-hosts the PhotoActive.co podcast.

«I hate to inspire panic-buying, but I’d say if you’re already planning on buying a camera now but wanted to wait until the next revision rolls around, it’s possible that waiting will cost you more,» Carlson warns.

A lot of camera equipment comes from Japan, and as recently as a week ago, some photography experts were hoping that country wouldn’t be affected by the tariffs. But Carlson still found himself in an exceptionally crowded camera store recently, as buyers worried that any electronics from Asia might jump in price.

«And now we know that Japan is included, so they were right to come in,» Carlson notes.

Electric vehicles and other cars

Most Americans can’t rush out and stock up on SUVs just because of the new tariffs, even though car prices will almost certainly go up. But you might not realize that vehicles aren’t the only automotive item that will be affected — things like dashboard cameras and EV chargers for your home could also become more expensive.

«The tariffs will also likely affect automotive parts and accessories, so if you’re on the fence about picking up a dash cam, portable jump starter or extra EV charger, now might be a good time to pull the trigger,» says Antuan Goodwin, CNET writer and automotive and EVs expert.

The tariffs aren’t good news for car junkies, Goodwin notes.

«Many of the tariffs are laser-targeted at the automotive industry, so there’s not much that won’t be affected,» he says. «From the vehicles themselves to the parts they’re made of, consumers should expect that everything automotive, even for domestic makes, will get more expensive.»

The tariffs could also mean more expensive repairs and replacement parts for the cars we already own.

Technologies

Marvel Rivals Season 2: The 6 Best Heroes to Start Learning Now

Every balance patch shakes up a hero shooter’s meta compositions. These are the best heroes you can learn to be flexible in your matches.

Everyone’s favorite heroes are attending the Hellfire Gala in Marvel Rivals Season 2. As Ultron attacks Krakoa, the sentient island and sanctuary for all mutants, it’s time to take up arms and leave the dancing for the afterparty.

But not every hero is built the same way. As a competitive live service game, Marvel Rivals’ seasonal patches change how heroes function, shifting stats around health pools, damage output and ability cooldowns. Some heroes lose abilities and other heroes gain more, fundamentally changing their base kits — which could shift the balance through the whole season, empowering some characters and limiting others.

Any character is viable in the right hands and the most important variable for success in a hero shooter is the ability to play around your team. If you make character picks that synergize with your teammates and work together, you can even overcome players with more mechanical skill than you.

If you’re serious about ranking up, it’s important to find a character or two that fits your playstyle in each role so that you can remain flexible enough to fill in your team’s needs. While certain characters have undeniably gained key strengths in the Season 2 patch, you should play who you feel comfortable with.

That said, you have a whole season to adapt to the current power balance and grow your roster of playable picks. If you’re looking to learn a new hero, these characters are some of the best ones you can invest time into this season.

The biggest winners in Marvel Rivals Season 2

The Marvel Rivals Season 2 patch introduced some critical buffs for struggling characters, making them better all-rounders that bring more utility to the table for their team.

Players who have put in the time to master these characters will benefit the most from their increased competitive viability this season. Ranking up requires just as much flexibility as it does mechanical skill in a hero shooter like Marvel Rivals, so you’d do well to add these characters to your roster this season.

Peni Parker

While Peni Parker has always been a very strong pick on defense for certain maps, she has struggled to find success in other situations. Her slow movement and massive hitbox led her to get shredded by characters like Punisher and Hela, who can keep up constant pressure with hitscan firepower.

Recognizing that Peni could lock down an area but wasn’t great at defending herself, the Marvel Rivals devs gave the character a series of buffs increasing her firepower, mobility and survivability in one patch. Peni is now able to shoot her primary fire Cyber-Web Clusters with a 20% movement penalty, rather than the extremely punishing 40% movement penalty that she shipped with. She also gained a 100 health point increase up to 750 to help her stay in fights longer. This is massive for a character that can generate a small amount of passive healing for themselves.

Perhaps most important, Peni is now able to land critical hits with her primary fire, drastically increasing an accurate player’s damage potential — which will be especially helpful if you’re able to web up one of the flying heroes zooming around. If you want to lock down defensive zones and provide utility for your team, Peni Parker has always been a solid pick — and now her poking capabilities are a whole lot stronger, too.

Scarlet Witch

Wanda was always a decent anti-dive duelist pick but she lacked the firepower to play around enemy strategists and her ultimate ability requires a lot of dedicated support from the team to be truly effective. In Season 2, the Scarlet Witch is able to put out some more consistent damage, making her a more effective all-rounder — and she becomes truly dangerous in her new team up with Doctor Strange.

Scarlet Witch’s primary fire now does 80 damage per second (up from 60), which means she can delete squishy targets in just three seconds if they’re not getting any healing. Her small area-of-effect alternate fire, Chthonian Burst, now does 80 damage on direct impact as well, which means she has a strong burst damage option for beginning and ending engagements. These simple number tweaks go a long way in helping Scarlet Witch players challenge opponents in one-versus-one situations, where they’d previously be forced to retreat from battle.

The real lynchpin of Wanda’s kit this season is her team up ability: Sorcery Surge transforms Chthonian Burst into a field of magic missiles capable of shredding even the bulkiest vanguards and it can be used in tandem with primary fire.

As long as a Doctor Strange player is on the team, I expect to see Scarlet Witch rotating her presence throughout the battlefield much more in Season 2, using Sorcery Surge to shred the frontlines before retreating to peel for the strategist backline in a pinch.

Psylocke

While Psylocke didn’t receive any direct changes to her damage output or cooldowns for this patch, she was part of the first team up ability mix ups. While the mutant assassin definitely benefited from Magik’s stepping discs, she already has impressive survivability from the escape tools in her base kit.

Now Psylocke is part of Emma Frost’s team up, which lets players create an AI-controlled copy of the character that can use her primary fire as well as the Psi-blade Dash and Wing Shuriken abilities when the player activates them.

Unlike a Loki clone, Psylocke’s copy stays mobile, diving on any enemies the player does. This effectively doubles Psylocke’s damage output — and the cloned projection will stay and fight enemies even if players activate Psylocke’s ultimate.

The new team up ability makes Psylocke an even deadlier assassin, and if you believe you can time your assaults from the shadows to catch the enemy team off guard, you’ll be able to make crucial picks before anyone is able to react. There are very few characters that can so quickly skew a fight in their team’s favor, making Psylocke an important duelist to learn in Season 2.

Hawkeye

The Avengers’ crackshot bowman was built with intentional weaknesses to balance out his ability to one-shot enemy duelists and strategists. He moves slowly, charges his primary fire up by aiming at enemies and doesn’t have much mobility. The Season 2 patch removes some of these restraints, letting Hawkeye move slightly quicker while drawing his bow and building his ultimate even faster than before.

Hunter’s Sight, Hawkeye’s ultimate ability, now only takes 3,100 ultimate charge to build up instead of 3,700 charge, and it’s gotten a pretty massive buff this season. The sharpshooter now draws his bow 1.5x as quickly while his ultimate is active, letting him fire additional volleys of high-damage arrows into his enemies and their afterimages.

Hawkeye’s Hypersonic Arrow ability also got buffed: Each hit now does 55 damage. This is another indirect buff for Hawkeye’s ultimate, as the arrow can pierce through enemies and their afterimages to reach crucial KO breakpoints for duelists and strategists alike. Skilled Hawkeye players will once again be able to pluck off members of the enemy team before anyone can react, creating a version of this character that is somewhat reminiscent of the Season 0 balance patch.

Rocket Raccoon

This rascally weapons specialist was a controversial pick in Season 1 — his team up and revive offered some of the best utility to a coordinated team but his lack of burst healing and mediocre ultimate ability compared to other strategist heroes made Rocket a tough pick against certain team compositions. In Season 2, Rocket Raccoon’s healing and ultimate have been completely revamped, making him perhaps the biggest winner of the patch.

The wily trash panda now puts out a whopping 55 burst healing when his healing orbs make initial contact with teammates, and they still provide 50 healing per second afterwards as well. Rocket’s ultimate also received big changes — teammates in the Cosmic Yarn Amplifier’s area of effect will now receive a lessened 25% damage boost but they’ll also gain 100 bonus health points per second while they maintain the link. This is a huge buff that brings Rocket’s ultimate ability more in-line with the healing power of other strategists.

In exchange, the raccoon’s escape ability got nerfed: Each dash takes longer to regenerate and doesn’t take Rocket as far away from the action as it previously did. But Rocket is one of the only strategists with the ability to heal himself. A small constriction of his mobility doesn’t damper his immense survivability, which means this character will have some of the most consistent healing and utility this season.

If you want to support your teammates with healing and utility and never get caught without an escape route, Rocket is one of the best characters you can pick up in Season 2.

Mantis

Rocket isn’t the only member of the Guardians of the Galaxy that got a massive buff this season. Mantis lost 25 base health this season, bringing her down to 250, so she’s squishier than ever before — but her sleep is still an effective anti-dive tool that should allow skilled players to offset this survivability nerf.

What makes Mantis a winner in the Season 2 patch are the changes to her Healing Flower and Allied Inspiration buffs. Casting these abilities on allies gives them 20 health points per second and a powerful 12% damage boost, respectively, for eight seconds. That damage boost is a crucial bit of utility that isn’t usually available outside of Rocket Raccoon and Luna Snow ultimates.

Before Season 2, recasting the ability on the same target would refresh the eight second timer but now Mantis can stack these buffs on her teammates until they have 16 seconds of healing and damage boosts.

If you’re a strategist player who often plays with dive DPS teammates, the change to these boosts helps you enable these players to disrupt the enemy backline and return alive much more frequently. You just might not want to force this character into single or double strategist team compositions — she works much better as a third, flexible strategist.

Heroes who took a hit in Marvel Rivals Season 2

While most of the Season 2 patch notes detailed buffs for characters across the Marvel Rivals roster, some heroes received a mixed bag of adjustments or outright nerfs. These characters aren’t unplayable — in fact, some of them will still be able to outperform the rest of the lobby in a skilled player’s hands — but they won’t be operating in top form like they were in Season 1.

Doctor Strange

The Sorcerer Supreme has been hit with another nerf — and while previous adjustments have focused on decreasing the magician’s health pool, the Season 2 stat changes affect the character’s damage output. Each dagger in Strange’s primary fire now does two less damage, which means the good doctor loses 10 damage total from a full volley. This is a devastating blow to the combo-reliant vanguard, preventing him from reaching elimination breakpoints with his fully-charged Maelstrom of Madness, which could leave enemies alive with very low health where they’d previously be reliably taken down.

Doctor Strange was also removed from Hulk’s Gamma Charge team up, which means the Gamma Maelstrom ability no longer exists. Strange’s dark magic is still a real threat but the extra damage that this team up afforded him helped him hit important breakpoints to eliminate key enemy threats, especially when paired with his group stun ultimate ability, the Eye of Agamotto. There’s also no way to negate Doctor Strange’s self-imposed anti-heal now, which means players will need to remain ever mindful of dark magic accumulation.

As one of the only main tanks in the game, Doctor Strange will still be incredibly useful to pick up and learn in Season 2 — in fact, Groot, Magneto and Strange are all pretty evergreen picks in different Marvel Rivals metas. But if you’re used to playing this mystical vanguard, you’ll probably find you have less individual agency when it comes to securing key eliminations this season.

Bucky

Bucky got hit with a one-two punch at the beginning of Season 2, receiving a handful of direct nerfs to his most powerful abilities and losing his infinite ammo team up with Rocket Raccoon. The Winter Soldier is still capable of some very scary burst damage but he won’t be able to take as much space this season.

The Bionic Hook cooldown has been increased to 12 seconds so vanguards won’t have to worry about getting yanked into the middle of Bucky’s team as often. The Winter Soldier’s Kraken Impact ability also does less damage this season, and now players will have to drop enemies to 15% of their health pool to instantly eliminate them after they’ve been hit with the ultimate.

Bucky gained a new team up that allows him to leap toward Captain America to slam his shield to attack nearby enemies, dealing 80 damage to and slowing enemies in a 10 meter radius while temporarily giving Bucky 30 bonus health points. I can’t imagine this will be useful outside of niche situations, as Winter Soldier just doesn’t have the dive capabilities that Cap does, and this ability could get players into a dire situation very quickly

The previous iteration of the infinite ammo team up was much more useful for Winter Soldier players, but the character is by no means terrible in Season 2 — he has just gone from being absurdly strong to being more in line with other duelists.

Namor

There’s no doubt in my mind that Namor will still see play this season. He might even remain one of the best characters in the duelist roster. But the king of the sea still lost one of his most important abilities as his team up anchor moved from Luna Snow to the Hulk, marking him out as one of the losers in this patch.

While Namor’s new Gamma Monstro team up ability is incredibly strong if you can keep an enemy pinned down, it takes five seconds of continuous fire for the damage to ramp up. The 20 meter range on the gamma beam is useful but a good diver will play around the ability before it can really start taking a substantial chunk out of their health pool.

The Ice Monstros that Namor lost this season were the easiest way to shut down divers in Marvel Rivals, functioning as auto-aim turrets that slowed down the escape of some of the most movement-dependent characters in the game.

Namor’s stats and base kit were left untouched, though, so he’s one of the characters that got hurt the least by an unfavorable change to his team up. This character will still be one of the most important picks against a dive team composition — and one of the most important bans for any Spider-Man, Black Panther, Psylocke or Magik mains looking to prey on strategists in the backline.

Adam Warlock

The golden boy is rolling with the punches this season. Adam Warlock got a small buff to his ultimate ability — he’ll now resurrect teammates with 30% of their maximum health pool, which should stop Winter Soldier players from clip farming their ultimate ability on poor strategist mains. But that’s all the good news there is for players in pursuit of embodying the perfect human.

With no real mobility options, Adam Warlock depends on careful cooldown management to be consistently effective during battle. The Season 2 patch introduces a 10 second increase on the cooldown of his health-sharing and heal-over-time ability Soul Bond, raising it up to 40 seconds, interrupting the flow of this character’s resource management. Dive team compositions will have a much easier time jumping on and eliminating Adam Warlock in this balance patch.

Players with impeccable aim and careful positioning will still be able to wring a lot of value out of an Adam Warlock pick, especially if they’re able to consistently land the entire Cosmic Cluster charged volley (his secondary fire). It’s just going to be much harder — and far more resource intensive — to stay alive against certain teams.

Technologies

Apple Foldable iPhone May Have Face ID Embedded in the Screen

Apple is planning to put its facial recognition technology into the long-rumored folding iPhone, according to a new leak this week.

Apple has long been rumored to be working on a foldable iPhone and a new leak this week suggests it’ll have another feature that has yet to appear in any Apple phone: a camera embedded under the screen for Face ID.

The latest rumor offers possible dimensions for the anticipated iPhone Fold and indications that it could have under-screen camera technology. Leaker Digital Chat Station, as reported earlier by 9to5Mac, suggested a 7.76-inch inner screen with a 2,713×1,920-pixel resolution and a 5.49-inch outer screen with a 2,088×1,422-pixel resolution.

Previous rumors have estimated a potential 2026 or 2027 release for an iPhone that folds like a book. A 2027 release would tie into the iPhone’s 20th anniversary. The dimensions in this leak align with those in this previous rumor, with an expected price tag between $2,000 and $2,500.

Rumors have been split on which format of foldable Apple is releasing or even releasing first. This report suggests a book-style foldable is coming akin to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, while older ones suggested Apple was working on a clamshell foldable like the Motorola Razr.

Read more: Why Apple Needs to Launch the Foldable iPhone Flip This Year

Apple remains the only major smartphone maker not offering a folding phone. Challenges with the hinge and the display screen have reportedly held up the development.

Apple has also reportedly been working on a giant folding iPad. That product is rumored to open to the size of two iPad Pros and could be eyed for a 2028 debut.

If Apple does move forward with a folding iPhone, CNET’s Andrew Lanxon has some suggestions, namely that the software needs to take advantage of the folding ability and that the company should offer high-end models alongside more affordable options. «A foldable iPhone needs to be more than just a regular iPhone with a screen that can bend,» Lanxon wrote last month.