Technologies
Could iPhones Really Cost $3,500 With Trump’s Tariffs? We Do the Math
Trump blinked on ‘reciprocal tariffs,’ but prices will still rise. Experts advise against panic-buying if it puts you in debt.
President Donald Trump backed down from his sweeping «reciprocal tariffs» this week, but he upped the tax on goods from China to 125% and left the 10% tariff on other imports from other countries. Experts say you should expect to pay more for your next iPhone.
Trump announced the 90-day pause on his social media platform for all countries except China because «these countries have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape or form.» China, where Apple produces most of its products, has responded to each of Trump’s tariff hikes this year by increasing tariffs on US products. The White House said Thursday that the 125% tariff is on top of the 20% tariffs imposed since February, bringing the total tariff on China to 145%.
«Trump is playing hardball with China, which is unsettling on many levels,» Patti Brennan, a certified financial planner and CEO of Key Financial, said in an email. «As for Apple, expect the prices to double for their products.»
If Apple passed the China tariff costs on to customers, the iPhone 16 Pro Max with 1TB of storage could increase from $1,599 to nearly $3,600 — that’s assuming that the previously imposed20% tariff was already incorporated into the current price.
Apple has started to move some of its manufacturing to other countries, including India and Vietnam. Those countries were originally hit with their own «reciprocal tariffs» yesterday — Vietnam with a 46% hike and India a 26% increase — but were among the reprieved. However, they still face the 10% baseline tariff that went into effect last week.
And though experts don’t expect costs to rise on a 1-to-1 basis with tariffs on goods from China — and other countries — you should expect increases. It’s unclear, however, exactly how much of an impact the tariffs will actually have on prices. If rising prices cause demand to plummet, experts note that Apple and other producers could reduce their prices to stay competitive.
If you’re in the market for a new Apple device or an imported gaming system, like the Nintendo Switch 2 or PlayStation 5 Pro, here’s how tariffs could raise prices, and what you should do to prepare.
How much could iPhone prices go up with tariffs? We do the math
If the full cost of tariffs were passed on to shoppers, we’d see a 125% increase in prices on Apple products produced in China. Apple has moved some of its production to other countries, but most iPhones are still manufactured in China.
Here’s how it could affect the cost of an iPhone if the full tariffs were applied:
How could tariffs increase iPhone prices?
| Current price | China (125%) | Other country (10%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 15 (128GB) | $699 | $1,573 | $769 |
| iPhone 15 Plus (128GB) | $799 | $1,798 | $879 |
| iPhone 16e (128GB) | $599 | $1,348 | $659 |
| iPhone 16 (128GB) | $799 | $1,798 | $879 |
| iPhone 16 Plus (128GB) | $899 | $2,023 | $989 |
| iPhone 16 Pro (128GB) | $999 | $2,248 | $1,099 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max (256GB) | $1,199 | $2,698 | $1,319 |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max (1TB) | $1,599 | $3,598 | $1,759 |
But there’s a lot more that goes into the price of an iPhone than simply where it’s manufactured. Apple sources components for its products from a long list of countries, which could face higher tariffs after the pause. And a tariff on goods doesn’t necessarily mean prices will go up by the same amount. If companies want to stay competitive, they could absorb some of the costs to keep their prices lower.
«It won’t be as high as one-to-one in terms of the tariff increases,» said Ryan Reith, group vice president for IDC’s Worldwide Device Tracker suite, which includes mobile phones, tablets and wearables. «The math isn’t as clear cut as that on the tariffs.»
Will other tech products also see price hikes?
Smartphones aren’t the only devices expected to increase prices because of tariffs. Best Buy and Target warned consumers last month to expect higher prices for everything after the latest round of tariffs went into effect. February’s tariff hike had already prompted Acer to announce that it was raising prices on its laptops.
Apple announced a $100 price cut on its new MacBook Air last month, a day after the last round of tariffs took effect. In what was widely viewed as an attempt to persuade Trump to «carve out» an exemption from the latest tariffs, Apple announced in February that it would spend more than $500 billion in the next four years to expand manufacturing operations in the US.
«They already committed $500 billion to US manufacturing, and there was no carve out for Apple,» Brennan said. «They will have to pass along most of these costs to consumers.»
However, regardless of the exact amount, expect tariffs on goods from China and other countries to translate into higher prices for consumers. That means the tech you use daily, like imported smartphones, tablets, laptops, TVs and kitchen appliances, could get even more expensive this year.
What’s going on with tariffs?
Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports plus «reciprocal tariffs» on imports from more than 180 countries on April 2, which he dubbed «Liberation Day.» He’s long touted tariffs as a way to even the trade deficit and raise revenue to offset tax cuts, although many economists say that tariffs could lead to higher prices and may end up hurting the US economy. Stock prices plummeted after Trump’s announcement as markets reacted poorly to the sweeping tariffs.
Trump has taken an especially hard stance on China, which was already subject to tariffs that Trump ordered during his first term in office. He started in February, imposing 20% in tariffs, then announced last week a 34% tariff on goods from China. Earlier this week, he added another 50% tariff before landing yesterday on the 125% tariff against China. China has responded with its own tariffs after each of Trump’s announcements.
Tariffs, in theory, are designed to financially impact other countries because their goods are being taxed. Tariffs are paid by the US company importing the product, and this upcharge is usually — but not always — passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices.
Should you buy tech now to avoid tariffs later?
If you were planning to buy a new iPhone, gaming console, MacBook or other tech, buying it now could save you money.
But if you don’t have the cash on hand and need to use a credit card or buy now, pay later plan just to avoid tariffs, experts say to make sure you have the money to cover the costs before you start accruing interest. With credit cards’ average interest rates currently more than 20%, the cost of financing a big purchase could quickly wipe out any savings you’d get by buying before prices go up because of tariffs.
«If you finance this expense on a credit card and can’t pay it off in full in one to two months, you’ll likely end up paying way more than a tariff would cost you,» said Alaina Fingal, an accountant, founder of The Organized Money and a CNET Money Expert Review Board member. «I would recommend that you pause on any big purchases until the economy is more stable.»
One way to save on Apple products, even if prices go up, is to buy last year’s model instead of the newest release.
«If you aren’t planning to upgrade in the next year, there is no need to rush out to buy a new smartphone,» Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at IPC, a manufacturing trade association, said in an email. «Technology is naturally deflationary, meaning that over time performance goes up and prices generally go down for products of similar quality.»
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, April 18
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 18.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword is maybe a medium-difficulty puzzle. For every clue I couldn’t figure out, like 1-Across, there was a nice easy one, like 2-Across. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Lack of practice, metaphorically
Answer: RUST
5A clue: The width of your thumb, if you need a rough approximation
Answer: INCH
6A clue: It has many private entries
Answer: DIARY
8A clue: Disc golfer’s obstacle
Answer: TREE
9A clue: Emoji that can mean «I’m intrigued»
Answer: EYES
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Dispose (of)
Answer: RID
2D clue: Bring together
Answer: UNITE
3D clue: Like graveyards at night
Answer: SCARY
4D clue: Shortest allowable number of letters for a New York Times crossword answer
Answer: THREE
7D clue: «Totally with you!»
Answer: YES
How to play more Mini Crosswords
The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.
Technologies
Nike Workout Shoes With Compression and Heating Will Cost $900
The Nike Hyperboot shoes will be available next month and are intended to help you warm up before and recover after workouts.
Those warmup compression shoes Nike and Hyperice showed off at CES 2025 finally have a launch date and price. The Hyperboot will be available to buy online in North America starting May 17, for a cost of $899.
The high-tops, which Nike and Hyperice say are a wearable much like your smartwatch, help your feet warm up before and recover after a workout. The footwear does this with heating and air-compression massage technology right there in your shoes, taking the idea of heating pads and compression socks and making them mobile.
CNET former mobile senior writer Lisa Eadicicco got the chance to try these shoes on in January.
«You can definitely feel the heat in here,» Eadicicco said at the time, as she walked across a demo room in Las Vegas wearing the fancy footwear. The boots massage and compress your ankles and feet, and in CNET’s test, we could especially feel the heat around the ankles.
Buttons on the shoes let you adjust compression and the amount of heat, with multiple settings for each.
«The Hyperboot contains a system of dual-air bladders that deliver sequential compression patterns and are bonded to thermally efficient heating elements that evenly distribute heat throughout the shoe’s entire upper,» Nike explains.
The battery lasts for 1 to 1.5 hours on max heat and compression settings, or 8 hours if you’re only using the massage setting. It takes 5 to 6 hours to charge via USB-C cable. The boots come in five sizes: S, M, L, XL and XXL.
Technologies
Marvel Rivals’ New Costume Customization Is Fairly Priced, but There’s a Problem
A couple dollars isn’t much to pay for in-depth skin customization, but you can’t spend your existing Units on the new feature.
Marvel Rivals’ latest Season 2 feature is targeted at all the fashionistas out there. Costume customization lets players change the color palette of their skin, creating a new in-game look that suits them best.
The new palette swap customization isn’t free and isn’t available on every skin, though more skins will be available to customize as time goes on. Four reskins shipped with the feature’s introduction.
Unlocking costume customization will cost you the in-game currency equivalent of $6 per skin, but you can freely change the color to any variation released for a skin you bought customization on as they are released.
The pricing of these reskins is actually generous compared with Rivals’ largest competitor: Overwatch 2. Palette-swapped legendary reskins in Blizzard’s first-person hero shooter have typically cost just as much as the original skin, and unlocking the black-and-gold customization for special Mythic skins costs the equivalent of $20.
The $6 price tag for Marvel Rivals costume customization is a tame monetization practice in comparison. But the biggest problem with the new feature isn’t the price tag — it’s the introduction of Unstable Molecules, which feels like an unnecessary additional currency introduced to lure players into spending more money.
Marvel Rivals is developing a currency bloat problem
There were already three separate currencies to manage in the game, alongside the occasional addition of special tokens that let players interact with limited-time events like Galacta’s Cosmic Adventure.
Of the three existing currencies, most players will interact with Chrono Tokens, the purple currency, as it’s available to free-to-play Marvel Rivals players. These tokens unlock rewards on the battle pass. Whereas most games have experience points that unlock battle pass tiers, Chrono Tokens are a currency that disappears at the end of a season.
Units and Lattice are the current premium currencies in Marvel Rivals. Lattice is the gold coin that you directly pay — most microtransactions convert your money into this currency to spend in-game, at a rate of $1 to 100 Lattice.
Units, the blue currency, are what you need to buy most of the premium costume bundles in the game — so you need to convert your Lattice to Units at a one-to-one exchange rate when you’re buying costumes.
That brings us to the new cosmetics system. As if that wasn’t overly complicated enough, costume customization now requires a new currency: Unstable Molecules. Unstable Molecules aren’t Units, but they might as well be. You exchange Lattice to Unstable Molecules at the same one-to-one rate.
The only difference between these currencies is that you use Units to purchase costumes, emotes, sprays and account name changes, and you use Unstable Molecules to purchase the costume customization feature for skins you already own.
The decision to add another currency for no reason needlessly complicates Marvel Rivals’ microtransactions — and the system was already pretty opaque as it stands. Maybe that’s by design, as trading in multiple fictional currencies helps obscure the real dollar cost that players are sinking into their in-game cosmetics.
The addition of Unstable Molecules feels like an anti-consumer move. The costume customization prices are fair when you compare them with the competition’s asking prices for similar cosmetic tweaks, but the new feature should be bought and paid for with Units. There’s no need to add another currency to Marvel Rivals, unless the entire point is to create another way to obfuscate and inflate player spending.
How to unlock costume customization in Marvel Rivals
You can rock palette-swapped versions of some of your favorite Marvel Rivals costumes right now. Costume customization is live in Marvel Rivals — for a handful of skins. Here are the skins the new feature is compatible with right now:
-
Magik Punkchild: Rosy Resilience skin variant
-
Psylocke Vengeance: Phantom Purple skin variant
-
Luna Snow Mirae 2099: Plasma Pulse skin variant
-
Winter Soldier Blood Soldier: Winter’s Wrath skin variant
Each costume customization is available for purchase for 600 Unstable Molecules. The customizations are purchasable as part of the costume’s listing under the store tab in the main menu. You need to own the base skin before you can purchase the costume customization color variants.
Unstable Molecules are currently only available in a one-to-one exchange with the Lattice premium currency, but the costume customization announcement in the official Marvel Rivals Discord server mentioned that there will be new ways to earn Unstable Molecules in Season 3.
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