Technologies

Tariffs Are Raising Prices. Here’s How You Can Still Save On Tech

Higher prices don’t mean fewer options. Here’s how you can save on high-end electronics, despite the tariffs.

Over the past month, the global electronics market has experienced significant upheaval, and it’s probably only going to get worse. The Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs — up to 145% on Chinese imports — have disrupted supply chains and driven up prices on a wide array of consumer electronics.

Even with exemptions for smartphones and laptops, the threat of additional levies has led to price hikes across the board, from power banks and e-readers to toasters, microwaves and gaming consoles.

While the new Switch 2 won’t be affected by the tariffs (for now), several of the new Nintendo console’s accessories, like the Pro and Joy-Con controllers, have already increased in price because of the tariffs. Anker has raised prices for many of its power banks. The tariffs will likely also increase the price of iPhones.

Read more: Buy or Wait Guide: How Tariffs Will Change Tech Prices and What to Do Now

Amid this economic turbulence, consumers are increasingly turning to refurbished tech as a cost-effective alternative to buying brand new. This sector is not only growing rapidly, it’s also becoming a mainstream choice for savvy shoppers looking to save. The global refurbished electronics market is expected to grow from $47 billion in 2023 to over $123 billion by 2033, according to one report.

If you’re in the market for a new phone, new laptop or any other tech product, you’re better off buying used than new right now. For folks looking to navigate this burgeoning market, there are several reputable platforms that offer high-quality refurbished electronics.

Where you can shop for refurbished tech

Not everyone wants to buy used products, especially when there are risks. A used electronic item might look fine from the outside, but there’s always the chance of hidden hardware issues, like a degraded battery or water damage. Plus, there are rarely ever warranties or return policies on used items. Not to mention, the products could be stolen.

So that’s why you want to buy refurbished, not just used. The difference is that a refurbished item is usually sold by a manufacturer, retailer or certified refurbisher and is inspected, tested, repaired and restored to full working condition. This isn’t like buying a used computer from someone on Facebook Marketplace. Instead, you get a cleaned and repackaged product with a warranty, just like a new product. If you want the assurances of a refurbished item, there are many options.

Apple Certified Refurbished
Apple’s in-house refurbishment program is widely considered the gold standard. Every device — whether it’s a MacBook, an iPhone, an iPad or even an Apple Vision Pro — comes with a new battery and outer shell, so cosmetically it’s indistinguishable from new. All products are rigorously tested, cleaned and repackaged in an official Apple box, along with cables and other accessories. You’ll also get a one-year limited warranty and the option to add AppleCare Plus, making this one of the safest ways to buy refurbished Apple gear.

Amazon Renewed Store
Amazon’s refurbished technology storefront offers a pretty sizable catalog with everything from smartphones and laptops to home appliances, headphones and even electric toothbrushes. All these devices are inspected and tested by qualified suppliers to meet certain performance benchmarks. Most products come with a minimum 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee, which allows you to return or replace the product if it doesn’t work as promised.

Best Buy Outlet
Best Buy’s certified refurbished store includes TVs, tablets, laptops, smartphones, kitchen gadgets, gaming gear and more. Many items are Geek Squad Certified, meaning they’ve been restored and tested by its in-house technicians. And if you’re more about an in-person experience, Best Buy offers local pickup for many of these refurbished items, along with standard warranties that vary by product.

eBay Refurbished
eBay may seem like the Wild West at times, but the company partners with certified refurbishers and brands like Samsung, Lenovo and Dell to offer items with up to 50% off retail pricing. You can also check out product grading, which varies from good to excellent, and you’ll receive a one- or two-year warranty, as well as 30-day returns.

Swappa
Swappa is a peer-to-peer marketplace, but with guardrails. Sellers can only list fully functional devices, and every item is manually reviewed before it goes live on the website. All you need to do is find your product and then check out the price, condition and age, and you can buy directly from the seller. All transactions are protected via PayPal, which can help you in case a purchase never shows up or you’re unhappy with a product and need a refund.

As tariffs continue to influence the tech industry, the refurbished market stands out as a great alternative for you to get the tech products you want at an affordable price and without compromising on quality. If you use any of these trusted platforms, you can mitigate the financial impact of tariffs and rising electronics prices, and also participate in more-sustainable consumption practices.

You can try secondhand but there are risks

A refurbished tech product might still be expensive. Enter the raw, unfiltered secondhand market: Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Craigslist and Nextdoor, to name just a few. These platforms are less about guarantees and more about opportunity. You can be smart and patient and scoop up a MacBook from a college student upgrading midsemester, or grab a highly discounted PS5 from someone cleaning house before a cross-country move. But there are trade-offs. No warranty. No refurbishment. No assurance it wasn’t dropped in a pool or «borrowed» indefinitely. You can still get some unbeatable prices with the right negotiation tactics.

These platforms are seeing increased tech activity, with anecdotal spikes in metro-area listings for iPads, AirPods and OLED TVs since tariff announcements started to dominate headlines. Some sellers are flipping open-box returns or reselling their own gear to upgrade in anticipation of price surges, which effectively creates a grassroots resale economy shaped by the current trade policy. Before you venture into the secondhand market, there are a few tips you should follow.

Meet in a public place and always test the item before handing over payment. You may want to handle the transaction quickly, but it’s best to ensure the item is in good condition. And doing it in public protects you (a bit) from getting ripped off.
Check battery health on phones and laptops. You can do this in the settings of the devices.
Verify serial numbers when possible to check warranty or theft status. There are websites that quickly allow you to use the IMEI of a phone to check whether it’s stolen. (IMEI stands for international mobile equipment identity, a 15-digit unique ID number.)
Use payment apps like Venmo or PayPal Goods & Services for added protection. Cash is great, because you can typically get a better discount, but you have to ensure that the product you’re buying is in good condition.

We don’t have the full picture of how tariffs will affect all the tech products in our lives, but as new devices become less affordable amid general economic uncertainty, buying used can be a smart choice. It doesn’t matter if it’s a refurbished iPad from Amazon or a gently used Nintendo Switch from OfferUp, sometimes pricing matters so much more than packaging. With the trade war showing no signs of cooling, the secondhand and refurbished tech ecosystem isn’t just a reaction. It’s a quiet rebellion we can all have a hand in.

Technologies

Kohler Wants to Put a Tiny Camera in Your Toilet and Analyze the Contents

The company’s new Dekoda toilet accessory is like a little bathroom detective.

Some smart litter boxes can monitor our pets’ habits and health, so having a camera in our human toilet bowls seems inevitable. That’s just what kitchen and bathroom fixture company Kohler has done for its new health and wellness brand, Kohler Health.

The $599 Dekoda clamps over the rim like a toilet bowl cleaner, pointing an optical sensor at your excretions and secretions. It then analyzes the images to detect any blood and reviews your gut health and hydration status. Depending on the plan you choose, the subscription fee is between $70 and $156 per year.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

At toilet time, you sign in via a fingerprint sensor so that the device knows who’s using the facilities. (Please wash your hands before signing out or tracking your progress.) Then, check in with the app for the day’s analysis and trends over time.

Wait until you’re off the pot, though, before you start doomscrolling your health. The device has a removable, rechargeable battery and uses a USB connection.

Kohler says it secures your data via the aforementioned fingerprint scanner and end-to-end encryption, and notes that the camera uses «discreet optics,» looking only at the results, not your body parts.

«Dekoda’s sensors see down into your toilet and nowhere else,» the company says.

Kohler warns that the technology doesn’t work very well with dark toilet colors, which makes sense. I’m sure there could be an upsell model with a light on it. Maybe the company could add an olfactory sensor, since smell reveals a lot about your gut health too. It could track «session» length or buildup under the rim to alert whoever has responsibility to clean it.

Kohler must have been straining to find appropriate lifestyle photos to include with the publicity materials. Many of the images are hilarious, featuring fit-looking men and women drinking water and staring off into space contemplatively — probably thinking about gas.

Technologies

Who’s Up to Fight Mega-Corporations in the Outer Worlds 2 on Xbox Game Pass?

Save the universe by fighting one CEO at a time in The Outer Worlds 2, plus play other great games coming to Xbox Game Pass in October.

Space is the final frontier, and it’s packed with some devious mega-corporations who are out to make a buck in The Outer Worlds 2. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can fight them in the highly anticipated sequel starting on Oct. 29.

Xbox Game Pass offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, smart TV and PC or mobile device, with prices starting at $10 a month. While all Game Pass tiers offer you a library of games, Game Pass Ultimate ($30 a month) gives you access to the most games, as well as Day 1 games, like Hollow Knight: Silksong, added monthly.

Here are all the games subscribers can play on Game Pass soon. You can also check out other games the company added to the service in October, including Ninja Gaiden 4.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

PowerWash Simulator 2

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 23.

If you’ve ever spent hours watching people on YouTube clean dirty rugs, cars and other grimy objects, you should check out PowerWash Simulator 2. As the name suggests, this sequel is all about blasting away dirt and filth from pools, homes and other objects around town. You have a furry kitty companion, and yes, you can pet them when you’ve finished cleaning.

Bounty Star

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 23.

The American Southwest has devolved into a lawless, post-apocalyptic desert called the Red Expanse in this game. You’re out to clean the place up in this game by taking down major bounties issued by the government, and the best way to do that is by piloting and customizing a giant mech, of course. When you want to nurse your wounds, head back to your run-down garage to rest, grow and cook food and raise animals. It’s like a cozy Armored Core game.

Super Fantasy Kingdom (game preview)

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 24.

After returning from a hunting trip, you find your 8-bit kingdom wrecked in this game. You must rebuild your domain in this roguelite, city builder. But as night falls, hordes of monsters emerge to tear everything back down. Build, mine, cook and grow your home, and prepare to defend it from all dangers.

Halls of Torment

Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 28.

Get ready to descend into the deadly Halls of Torment in this retro, horde survival game. You can choose between 11 playable characters, each with their own playstyle, and equip various items and abilities to survive waves of enemies. This game is like Vampire Survivors, so if you like that game give this one a shot.

The Outer Worlds 2

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 29.

Clear your calendar for this sequel to the award-winning sci-fi adventure, The Outer Worlds. This time, you’re an Earth Directorate agent investigating the cause of devastating rifts that could destroy humanity. You have a new ship, new crew, new enemies and mega-corporation goons standing between you and the answers.

1000xResist

Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Nov. 4.

One thousand years in the future, humanity is hanging on by a thread after a disease spread by alien occupation forces people to live underground in this sci-fi adventure game. You play as Watcher, and you fulfill your duties well, until one day you make a shocking discovery. This game won a Peabody Award in 2024, and it was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Game Writing that same year, so get ready for a story like no other.

Football Manager 26

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can start playing on Oct. 29.

Get ready for a more immersive matchday experience in the latest installment of the Football Manager franchise. You can build a star-studded squad with new transfer tools, and this entry features official Premier League licenses and women’s football for the first time in the series’ history.

Game Pass subscribers can play the standard or Console edition of this game.

Games leaving Game Pass on Oct. 31

While Microsoft is adding those games to Game Pass, it’s also removing three others from the service on Oct. 31. So you still have some time to finish your campaign and any side quests before you have to buy these games separately.

Jusant
Metal Slug Tactics
Return to Monkey Island

For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now and check out our hands-on review of the gaming service. You can also learn about recent changes to the Game Pass service.

Technologies

Does Charging Your Phone Overnight Damage the Battery? We Asked the Experts

Modern smartphones are protected against overcharging, but heat and use habits can still degrade your battery over time.

Plugging your phone in before you head to bed might seem like second nature. That way by the time your alarms go off in the morning, your phone has a full charge and is ready to help you conquer your day. However, over time, your battery will start to degrade. So is keeping your phone plugged in overnight doing damage to the battery?

The short answer is no. Keeping your phone plugged in all the time won’t ruin your battery. Modern smartphones are built with smart charging systems that cut off or taper power once they’re full, preventing the kind of «overcharging damage» that was common in older devices. So if you’re leaving your iPhone or Android on the charger overnight, you can relax.

That said, «won’t ruin your battery» doesn’t mean it has no effect. Batteries naturally degrade with age and use, and how you charge plays a role in how fast that happens. Keeping a phone perpetually at 100% can add extra stress on the battery, especially when paired with heat, which is the real enemy of longevity.

Understanding when this matters (and when it doesn’t) can help you make small changes to extend your phone’s lifespan.

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The science behind battery wear

Battery health isn’t just about how many times you charge your phone. It’s about how it manages voltage, temperature and maintenance. Lithium-ion batteries age fastest when they’re exposed to extreme levels: 0% and 100%.

Keeping them near full charge for long stretches puts additional voltage stress on the cathode and electrolyte. That’s why many devices use «trickle charging» or temporarily pause at 100%, topping up only when needed.

Still, the biggest threat isn’t overcharging — it’s heat. When your phone is plugged in and running demanding apps, it produces heat that accelerates chemical wear inside the battery. If you’re gaming, streaming or charging on a hot day, that extra warmth does far more harm than leaving the cable plugged in overnight.

Apple’s take

Apple’s battery guide describes lithium-ion batteries as «consumable components» that naturally lose capacity over time. To slow that decline, iPhones use Optimized Battery Charging, which learns your daily routine and pauses charging at about 80% until just before you typically unplug, reducing time spent at high voltage.

Apple also advises keeping devices between 0 to 35 degrees Celsius (32 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit) and removing certain cases while charging to improve heat dissipation. You can read more on Apple’s official battery support page.

What Samsung (and other Android makers) do

Samsung offers a similar feature called Battery Protect, found in One UI’s battery and device care settings. When enabled, it caps charging at 85%, which helps reduce stress during long charging sessions.

Other Android makers like Google, OnePlus and Xiaomi include comparable options — often called Adaptive Charging, Optimized Charging or Battery Care — that dynamically slow power delivery or limit charge based on your habits. These systems make it safe to leave your phone plugged in for extended periods without fear of overcharging.

When constant charging can hurt

Even with these safeguards, some conditions can accelerate battery wear. As mentioned before, the most common culprit is high temperature. Even for a short period of time, leaving your phone charging in direct sunlight, in a car or under a pillow can push temperatures into unsafe zones.

Heavy use while charging, like gaming or 4K video editing, can also cause temperature spikes that degrade the battery faster. And cheap, uncertified cables or adapters may deliver unstable current that stresses cells. If your battery is already several years old, it’s naturally more sensitive to this kind of strain.

How to charge smarter

You don’t need to overhaul your habits but a few tweaks can help your battery age gracefully.

Start by turning on your phone’s built-in optimization tools: Optimized Battery Charging on iPhones, Battery Protect on Samsung devices and Adaptive Charging on Google Pixels. These systems learn your routine and adjust charging speed so your phone isn’t sitting at 100% all night.

Keep your phone cool while charging. According to Apple, phone batteries perform best between 62 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit (16 to 22 degrees Celsius). If your phone feels hot, remove its case or move it to a better-ventilated or shaded spot. Avoid tossing it under a pillow or too close to other electronics, like your laptop, and skip wireless chargers that trap heat overnight.

Use quality chargers and cables from your phone’s manufacturer or trusted brands. Those cheap «fast-charge» kits you find online often deliver inconsistent current, which can cause long-term issues.

Finally, don’t obsess over topping off. It’s perfectly fine to plug in your phone during the day for short bursts. Lithium-ion batteries actually prefer frequent, shallow charges rather than deep, full cycles. You don’t need to keep it between 20% and 80% all the time, but just avoid extremes when possible.

The bottom line

Keeping your phone plugged in overnight or on your desk all day won’t destroy its battery. That’s a leftover myth from a different era of tech. Modern phones are smart enough to protect themselves, and features like Optimized Battery Charging or Battery Protect do most of the heavy lifting for you.

Still, no battery lasts forever. The best way to slow the inevitable is to manage heat, use quality chargers and let your phone’s software do its job. Think of it less as «babying» your battery and more as charging with intention. A few mindful habits today can keep your phone running strong for years.