Technologies

For CNET’s Daily Tariff Price Impact Tracker, I’m Watching 11 Key Products for Inflation

With the reality of tariff-driven inflation arriving in earnest, it’s more important than ever to keep tabs on the prices that most impact you.

The question of how new tariffs will affect prices is more relevant than ever, with President Donald Trump punting another major deadline down the road and a new Consumer Price Index summary showing that the inflation rate was 2.7% in June, the biggest jump since February. It’s enough to get anyone concerned about affordability in the US, as if we all weren’t worrying about it already.

To help manage those worries, I’ve been tracking prices every day for 11 key products likely to be hit by price increases from tariffs, and the answer I’ve come to so far is this: Not so much, at least not yet. The winding road of tariff inflation still stretches before us into an uncertain future, so the threat of price hikes continues to cloud the horizon.

To date, I’ve seen two noteworthy price increases, one for the Xbox Series X and the other for a popular budget-friendly 4K TV. Some other products have gone on sale for brief periods. Notably, other outlets have caught a number of major retailers hiking prices across the board, with CNBC finding some substantial inflation at Walmart specifically.

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. Based on the numbers so far, the average has gone up noticeably since the start of the year, but this has been driven mostly be a big shifts for a few products, as most price are still stable.

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 of the 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.

iPhone 16, 128GB
Duracell AA batteries, 24-pack
Samsung DU7200 65-inch TV
Xbox Series X
Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C case
HP 962 CMY Printer Ink
Anker 10,000-mAh, 30-watt power bank
Bose TV speaker
Oral-B Pro 1000 electric toothbrush
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook, 256GB
Starbucks 28-ounce ground dark roast coffee

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.

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.

After spending most of 2025 hovering around $400, this item has now seen some notable upticks on Amazon, most recently sitting around $450. This could potentially be in reaction to Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs against South Korea this week.

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.

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.

This product hasn’t seen its price budge one way or another most of the year, but while Prime Day might have come and gone, there’s still a $10 coupon listed on Amazon right now, letting you save a little bit of money for the time being.

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.

For now, its price has been largely unchanged in the last few months. You can, however, grab it on Amazon right now at a $20 discount, but we’ll have to see how long that actually lasts.

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. While this particular bag of beans from Starbucks hasn’t seen its price budge for most of the year, in recent days it ticked up by less than a dollar on Amazon, which could be a sign of further increases to come.

Other products

As mentioned, 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 that price will be affected by tariffs or the 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.

Technologies

Galaxy Z TriFold vs. Huawei Mate XT: One Is the Most Versatile Phone I’ve Ever Used

Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold and Huawei’s Mate XT, part of a new category of phones called «trifolds,» offer diverging experiences when it comes to using them.

Huawei introduced the world’s first «trifold» phone, the Mate XT Ultimate, last year and launched it outside of China in February 2025. Despite only actually folding in two places, the phone was called a trifold because its 10.2-inch display divides into three sections.

I’ve been using it on and off since February and I liked the Mate XT so much that it made me skeptical about the Galaxy Z TriFold‘s design when Samsung first showcased it at the APEC CEO Summit in October. But after trying Samsung’s first trifold for myself, during a brief hands-on test at a Samsung store in Dubai, I changed my mind.

As foldable phone sales are expected to rise 30% year over year in 2026, according to analysts at IDC, it’s important for both Samsung and Huawei to find their own hook for customers. Each of these foldable phones has their place in the market and offers a different appeal. One is a tablet that folds into a phone, while the other is a three-in-one and the most versatile smartphone I’ve ever used. One of them has «Z TriFold» in its name but the other actually folds in a «Z» shape.

Here’s how the newly-launched Samsung trifold phone compares to the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate — the phone that pioneered this category.

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold vs. Huawei Mate XT design

Both the Galaxy Z TriFold and Mate XT have large screens that divide into three panels (hence the name) and have two hinges to connect them. And yet, they’re vastly different.

The Huawei trifold phone has a single screen that folds in a Z shape to allow for three different forms. You can use it as a phone (fully folded), a mini-tablet (half-open), as well as a wide-screen tablet (fully opened). I’ve mostly used the Mate XT either in mini-tablet mode (one fold) or fully unfolded. And I found myself using it in phone mode (fully closed) only when I made calls.

In comparison, the Galaxy Z TriFold folds in a U shape as both panels fold inwards. You can only use it fully folded as a phone or fully opened as a wide-screen tablet, without the added ability to use it as a mini tablet.

Samsung’s Z Trifold uses two different-sized hinges and three panels of varying thickness, allowing the device’s flaps to fold on top of one another. The left hinge is like the one on the Fold 7 and comparatively tighter than the right hinge (the wider one), which springs open after you push it to a certain angle. On the back of the phone is a second display that occupies the «middle» section to use when the phone is fully closed.

When fully folded, its lowermost panel has a protruding edge, giving it a solid lip to grab onto while unfolding. It’s a nice addition to the flat-sided design, which doesn’t leave much space between panels. I found it easier to unfold than its sibling, the flat-sided Galaxy Z Fold 7.

The Huawei Mate XT has curved sides and a single screen, but because of that Z shape, it gives you three ways to use it. The right hinge unfolds like the Galaxy Z TriFold — you pull it out — but you don’t need to unfold the other side. With just one panel unfolded, it becomes a usable mini-tablet.

You can unfold the third section, at the back of the left panel, to open it fully and use it as a wide-screen tablet. Because it uses a single flexible screen, part of the soft folding display is always exposed to the elements when the device is folded shut in phone mode. So far, I haven’t noticed any scratches on the display but it is definitely less protected than Samsung’s inner screen. However, Huawei bundles a case with an extended lip to protect the always-exposed right side of the screen.

Both of these trifold phones have minimal screen creases but Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold feels better when I run my finger over the folding parts. While Huawei’s creases are deeper, they don’t bother me in day-to-day use. The creases on both phones are visible under direct artificial light and at an extreme angle.

The Huawei Mate XT is slimmer than the Galaxy Z TriFold. It’s just 3.6mm thick at its thinnest part when fully unfolded and 12.8mm when folded. In comparison, the Samsung phone is 3.9mm thick at its thinnest part and goes up to 12.9mm when fully unfolded. At 309 grams, the Z TriFold is also slightly heavier than the 298g Mate XT.

The Huawei trifold phone feels more premium than the Galaxy Z TriFold — probably because of its faux leather back, curved sides and gold accents. Samsung’s foldable has a carbon-fiber finish, which feels durable but not as premium.

The Mate XT has an IPX8 rating, while the Galaxy Z TriFold is rated IP48 for dust and water resistance. The «4» in IP48 means it’s protected against dust particles measuring over 1mm but not against everyday dust and pocket lint. Neither of these phones is truly dust-proof, but both are rated for water resistance, just like a standard smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold vs. Huawei Mate XT displays

The Galaxy Z TriFold has two screens: a Galaxy Z Fold 7-like 6.5-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz variable refresh rate and a 422ppi pixel density. It unfolds to a 10-inch tablet-sized screen with a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate with a lower 269ppi pixel density.

The Huawei Mate XT has a single 10.2-inch OLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and 382ppi pixel density. It has a lower refresh rate but a higher resolution and slimmer bezels. You can use it as a 6.4-inch phone, a 7.9-inch mini-tablet or a 10.2-inch widescreen tablet which makes it a more versatile design than Samsung’s trifold phone. The Mate XT’s display when folded down into «cover screen» has a wider aspect ratio with slimmer bezels than the TriFold’s cover display.

I haven’t watched videos on the Galaxy Z TriFold, but I assume the experience would be better on the Huawei since the main screen has a wider aspect ratio (when fully unfolded). It has less letterboxing (thick borders on top and bottom) than the Galaxy Z TriFold, which provides a slightly narrower aspect ratio when fully unfolded. However, it could be better for multitasking, especially when running three apps side by side, but I’ll need more time with the Samsung phone to come to a conclusion.

Galaxy Z TriFold vs. Huawei Mate XT performance and battery

The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip, the same processor that powers its other 2025 flagship smartphones including the OnePlus 15. The chip is tuned for efficiency and I expect it to handle multitasking on a standalone DeX with ease. The TriFold also comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB or 1TB of storage.

In contrast, the Huawei Mate XT runs on an in-house Kirin 9010 chip and is paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB or 1TB of storage. It runs EMUI 14.2 operating system on global variants, which doesn’t have preinstalled Google apps. Despite the ban on US companies working with Huawei — including Google, the company behind Android — there are workarounds for installing the Play Store. You won’t encounter these kinds of hurdles on the Galaxy Z Trifold.

The Samsung trifold phone runs on One UI 8, based on Android 16. You get fast animations, smooth multitasking, a multitude of customization options and a better overall experience. The Galaxy Z TriFold will also get seven years of OS and security updates.

Both phones pack a 5,600-mAh battery but it remains to be seen how they fare against each other. I haven’t pushed the Mate XT to its limits and it delivers an entire day of use on a single charge. When I need to top up the battery, I use the bundled 66-watt charger or use wireless charging at up to 55 watts. The Galaxy Z TriFold supports 45-watt fast charging and Qi wireless charging.

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold vs. Huawei Mate XT cameras

Both phones have three rear cameras that are identical to those found in the Galaxy Z Fold 7. The Galaxy Z TriFold has:

a 200-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and a f/1.7 aperture
a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field of view
a 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom telephoto camera with OIS and support for 30x digital zoom
two 10-megapixel front-facing cameras — one inside the cover display and the other inside the folding screen

In comparison, the Huawei Mate XT has:

a 50-megapixel main camera with OIS and a variable aperture (f/1.4 — f/4.0)
a 12-megapixel 5.5x optical zoom telephoto camera with OIS
a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field of view
a 8-megapixel selfie shooter

Based on my experience with the Fold 7, you can expect vibrant colors, good dynamic range and balanced processing in low-light photos on the Samsung trifold phone. Images from the Huawei tend to have an over-processed look and it doesn’t do well with certain skin tones. But the Mate XT captures better portraits than my Fold 7. I’ll be able to test the photography chops from both phones once I have the Galaxy Z TriFold.

Here’s how the two foldable phones specs compare:

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold specs vs. Huawei Mate XT Ultimate

	Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold	Huawei Mate XT Ultimate
Cover display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	6.5-inch AMOLED, 2,520×1,080 pixels, 1-120 Hz refresh rate	none
Internal display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	10.0 AMOLED, 2,160×1,584 pixels, 1-120 Hz refresh rate	10.2-inch AMOLED, 3,184×2,232 pixels, 90Hz refresh rate
Pixel density	Cover: 422 ppi; Internal display: 269 ppi	382 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	Open: 6.27×8.43×0.15 inches (leftmost panel) / 0.17 inches (center panel) / 0.16 inches (rightmost panel with the side button); Closed: 6.27×2.95×0.50 inches	Open: 6.17×8.62×0.14-0.19 inches; Half-open: 6.17×8.62×0.19-0.29 inches; Closed: 6.17×2.89×0.50 inches
Dimensions (millimeters)	Open: 159.2×214.1×3.9mm (leftmost panel) / 4.2mm (center panel) / 4.0mm (rightmost panel with the side button) Closed: 159.2×75.0x12.9mm	Open: 156.7x219x3.6-4.75mm; Half-open: 156.7x219x4.75-7.45mm; Closed: 156.7×73.5×12.8mm
Weight (grams, ounces)	309g (10.9 oz.)	298g (10.51 oz)
Mobile software	Android 16 with One UI 8	HarmonyOS 4.2 / EMUI 14.2
Cameras	200-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (telephoto), 10-megapixel (cover screen, selfie)	50-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (periscope telephoto), 8-megapixel (front-facing)
Internal screen camera	10-megapixel	10-megapixel
Video capture	8K	4K
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy	Kirin 9010
RAM/storage	16GB + 512GB, 1TB	16GB + 512GB, 1TB
Expandable storage	No	No
Battery	5,600 mAh	5,600 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Yes	Yes
Connector	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	No	No
IP rating for dust and water resistance	IP48	None
Special features	45W wired charging speed, Qi wireless charging, Galaxy AI, NFC, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4	66W wired charging speed, 50W wireless charging, NFC, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 24, #927

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 24 #927

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. Ooh, that purple category! Once again, you’ll need to look inside words for hidden words. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Cash out.

Green group hint: Chomp

Blue group hint: Walleye and salmon.

Purple group hint: Make a musical sound, with a twist.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Slang for money.

Green group: Masticate.

Blue group: Fish.

Purple group: Ways to vocalize musically plus a letter.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is slang for money. The four answers are bacon, bread, cheese and paper.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is masticate. The four answers are bite, champ, chew and munch.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is fish. The four answers are char, pollock, sole and tang.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ways to vocalize musically plus a letter. The four answers are hump (hum), rapt (rap), singe (sing) and whistler (whistle).

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

Toughest Connections puzzles

We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.

#5: Included «things you can set,» such as mood, record, table and volleyball.

#4: Included «one in a dozen,» such as egg, juror, month and rose.

#3: Included «streets on screen,» such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.

#2: Included «power ___» such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.

#1: Included «things that can run,» such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Dec. 24

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 24.

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.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I’m Irish-American, but yet 6-Down, which involves Ireland, stumped me at first. Read on for all the answers.. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

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 to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.