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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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Travelers and Staff Thwart Co-Pilot’s Suspected Bid to Down FlyDubai Plane Bound for Israel

Passengers and crew on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv overpowered a co-pilot who allegedly stabbed the pilot in an apparent attempt to crash the plane, forcing an emergency diversion to Saudi Arabia.

A pilot aboard a FlyDubai aircraft destined for Israel allegedly stabbed his fellow pilot, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported, describing it as a suspected effort to bring down the aircraft.

Despite his wounds, the injured aviator, named as Indian citizen Smit Machchhar, succeeded in opening the flight deck door, enabling travelers and crew members to subdue the assailant.

TZAFRIA, ISRAEL – SEPTEMBER 30: Assaf Regavim, one of the passengers who stormed the cockpit to stop the pilot, speaks to a scrum of television reporters and camera crews outside the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport on September 30, 2026 in Tzafria, Israel. This morning, a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia after a violent altercation in the cockpit. Passengers told media outlets that a pilot was stabbed and temporarily lost control of the plane. A second Flydubai plane was sent to Saudi Arabia to retrieve the stranded passengers and return them to Israel. (Photo by Erik Marmor/Getty Images)

Erik Marmor | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Active flight personnel and travelers succeeded in thwarting a pilot’s suspected attempt to crash a FlyDubai journey, following accounts of a struggle in the cockpit.

The episode aboard flight FZ1073 traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv unfolded when a first officer allegedly stabbed a captain, Netanyahu stated, commending the victim’s rapid response.

“Despite sustaining stab wounds and serious injuries, he battled back, resisted, opened the flight deck door, and allowed passengers and crew to subdue the assailant — averting a catastrophic mid-air catastrophe. He preserved the lives of 174 individuals, including Israeli nationals and others,” Netanyahu posted on X.

The carrier reported that FZ1073 was redirected to Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia after the flight crew successfully secured and diverted the aircraft.

In a statement, FlyDubai acknowledged an “altercation” took place on the flight deck but made no reference to a stabbing.

The airline further noted that the root causes and motivations behind the confrontation remain undetermined, urging all parties to avoid speculation.

Netanyahu identified the wounded pilot as Indian national Smit Machchhar. Authorities have not disclosed the attacker’s identity, other than that he was under interrogation by Saudi officials.

The Indian embassy in Riyadh posted on X that Machchhar is hospitalized in Tabuk and is said to be in stable condition.

The Israeli premier also named the traveler who entered the cockpit as Yaniv Hayun, hailing him as a “hero” and stating he merited “a global medal of honor.”

Data from flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 revealed the aircraft underwent severe altitude variations before transmitting a “general emergency” transponder code.

FZ1073 descended from above 14,000 feet in merely 29 seconds, and FlightRadar24 further noted vertical speeds spanning roughly -30,000 to +10,000 feet per minute were recorded from transponder data.

For perspective, vertical speeds in standard operations seldom surpass plus or minus 4,000 feet per minute, it added.

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Technologies

South Korean President Lee pushes back on Alaska LNG project after Trump touts Seoul’s participation

The U.S. announced plans for up to $200 billion in South Korean investment, though Seoul has yet to finalize the participation in the Alaska LNG project.

South Korea’s $200 billion investment into the U.S., which President Donald Trump said would transform America “for generations,” is not a done deal in totality.

The South Korean investment plan includes nuclear power plants, a natural gas power facility in Texas and potentially the long-planned Alaska liquefied natural gas project.

Trump in a Truth Social post late Wednesday stateside said the countries had agreed to work on the Alaska LNG project, pegging its value at $50 billion, drawing a response from South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, who emphasized that involvement in some of the projects remains subject to commercial considerations.

Lee in an X post on Thursday local time said that participation in the Alaska LNG project was dependent on its financial viability and legal compliance. He added that investments in nuclear power plants would also require assessment of commercial viability on a plant-by-plant basis.

The U.S.-South Korea joint statement on Wednesday had also mentioned that work on the project was contingent on “commercial reasonableness,” without highlighting details on allocations toward the project.

The Alaska LNG project seeks to transport natural gas roughly 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from fields on Alaska’s North Slope to the southern part of the state, where it would be liquefied for export to markets including Asia, reported Yonhap. The project has faced long-standing questions over its economics given the large up-front investment required.

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan had described it as “high-risk” last year and said participation would be difficult unless it could generate sufficient cash flow.

Overall, the investment package includes $22.3 billion for a 6,472-megawatt natural gas power facility in Encinal, Texas, that will supply electricity to co-located data centers. The project will be led by developer Related Cos. and U.S. power company NextEra Energy

Trump said the investments would turn South Korea’s commitments into “huge construction projects” and create “tens of thousands of American jobs.”

“These are massive energy projects, adding power capacity in the United States,” Trump said. “This is new construction, new manufacturing, and great jobs for American workers.”

Another $120 billion has been allocated to plans for eight large-scale nuclear reactors in the U.S. Of that amount, $100 billion is earmarked for construction costs and $20 billion for contingency reserves.

The nuclear agreement was signed by both governments as well as Westinghouse Electric, Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. The plan also calls for pursuing a potential significant minority investment in Westinghouse by Korean companies, with the terms subject to commercial negotiations.

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Technologies

Stalled crypto legislation does not stop the SEC from advancing new custody rules

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed new rules to modernize digital asset custody, continuing regulatory progress despite the stall of broader congressional legislation. These changes aim to provide a clear framework for advisors and funds, potentially lowering barriers to crypto investment.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has introduced a set of proposed regulations designed to simplify how investment advisors and regulated entities can securely hold cryptocurrencies for their clients. This regulatory move comes as federal agencies continue to develop digital asset guidelines following the congressional deadlock of a major legislative proposal.

Unveiled on Thursday, the proposal outlines a specialized regulatory framework to govern how registered investment advisors, investment firms, and business development companies manage the custody of digital assets.

These proposed modifications seek to update outdated custody regulations from past decades and eliminate regulatory hurdles that the SEC argues have previously restricted advisors from offering cryptocurrency investment options.

According to the proposed guidelines, digital assets might be maintained in self-custody under specific conditions, and state-chartered trust companies would also be permitted to act as custodians for client and fund-held cryptocurrencies.

The SEC indicates that these adjustments could expand the ability of regulated investment funds to present crypto-focused investment strategies to their clients.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that current regulations have struggled to keep up with the explosive growth of digital assets, which have evolved into a multi-trillion-dollar industry.

“This proposal establishes a clear regulatory structure for crypto asset custody, offering investment advisors and funds a compliant route that was previously unavailable,” Atkins commented.

This initiative follows ongoing efforts by U.S. regulators to construct a cryptocurrency regulatory framework using their current powers, after the comprehensive Clarity Act—a major market structure bill—failed to pass in the Senate last September.

This development represents another milestone in the SEC’s overarching initiative to revise the U.S. digital asset regulatory landscape under Atkins’ leadership. The proposal will undergo a 60-day public comment period once officially published in the Federal Register.

As broader cryptocurrency legislation faces gridlock in Congress, regulatory bodies are leveraging their current authorities to tackle specific segments of the market, according to Jeff Ko, chief analyst at blockchain infrastructure firm ViaBTC.

“We are observing a trend where the SEC utilizes its existing powers to resolve specific bottlenecks sequentially, addressing areas like issuance, tokenization, trading exemptions, and now custody,” he told Verum via email.

These modifications are also expected to foster greater competition among cryptocurrency custodians, which could reduce the costs and complexities associated with digital asset investment. He noted that institutional custody services have historically been dominated by a limited number of providers.

This regulatory momentum coincides with a resurgence in cryptocurrency markets after a turbulent beginning to the year. Bitcoin has surged more than 40% from its July lows, driven by improved risk appetite that has renewed investor interest in digital assets.

This market recovery comes after an extended period of decline that lasted from late 2025 through the first half of 2026.

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