Look, I didn’t want to do this. I had all sorts of other weekend poll ideas planned for today. I was going to write 600 words about the benefits and drawbacks to slimmer phones, or maybe ask our readers about how they felt about our first round of Pixel 10 leaks. We’re getting closer by the day to Google I/O too — plenty to discuss and theorize on the long road to Mountain View. But, unfortunately, there’s no other way around this. The biggest story in the US — and, frankly, the world — are tariffs, and they’re likely going to affect how much you pay for your next smartphone.
In case you’re living under a rock — or just trying to shy away from political stories, no matter how much they may affect you — President Trump announced massive tariffs well above expectations during an event he referred to as “Liberation Day” this week. While the full set of tariffs have yet to go live (some started on April 5th, other reciprocal tariffs kick off on April 9th), we’ve already seen repercussions start to ripple out. I’m not just talking about the stock market either — although, yes. I’m talking about the Nintendo Switch 2.
Announced hours before Trump’s tariff event, the Switch 2 shocked some people with its $450 price tag (including me, frankly). The missing price in the Direct followed by a quick confirmation via press release might’ve made it seem like Nintendo was embarrassed over the price, but I’m not so sure. To me, it came across as a company that needed to finalize its video presentation by a specific date, and (correctly) didn’t feel comfortable sticking a price in the video. While I have no evidence of this, the existence of a region-locked Japanese-only Switch 2 that costs significantly less than it does here hints at a world where the Switch 2 starts at just $400.
But we don’t live in that world. Instead, we live in one where Trump’s tariffs were so over the top — and reportedly miscalculated, potentially using AI — Nintendo has fully postponed its upcoming preorder date for the Switch 2. While the rest of the world can start ordering consoles on April 9th, those of us here in the US will need to keep waiting to find out just how much the privilege of playing Mario Kart World will cost starting on June 5th.
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Just pretend this is the Switch 2 I’m not allowed to buy.
Even if you don’t play video games, though, you should still be thinking about your next moves. Thanks to their collection of components, smartphones are a product category practically destined to balloon in price for however long these tariffs linger — and that’s assuming any inflationary prices ever return back to earth. China is getting hit with 54 percent tariffs. Vietnam is at 46 percent. And while some companies might end up eating some of these additional taxes, it’s all but guaranteed some of these costs — likely 20 percent or more, MSU professor Jason Miller told The Verge — will be passed on to consumers.
That makes right now a pretty good time to buy a smartphone, if you ask me. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading, the clock is ticking before we start to see electronics manufacturers increase their respective prices in the US. Whether you’re looking to buy from Samsung, Google, Motorola, OnePlus, or even Apple, they all build their electronics in affected countries. To be fair, of course, it’s hard to find a country not getting hit with tariffs after this week.
Personally, I’ve recently — within the last year or so — upgraded most of the electronics in my life outside my laptop, which I’ve owned for two years this month. Although I’ve thought about taking the plunge on that final piece of kit to save some cash in the long run, I’m pretty happy with the performance I’m still seeing from my trusty all-AMD Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. Fingers crossed nothing goes bad in the long run.
If I were thinking of upgrading my smartphone though, I’d consider taking the plunge as soon as possible. While monthly payment plans through carriers can help split things up, a 20 percent price increase on your next smartphone is going to be felt no matter what. It might not be affected quite to the level of automobiles, but price hikes are coming for the next device to slip in your pocket.
So, have your smartphone purchasing plans shifted since the announcement of Trump’s tariffs? Obviously, as a site focused on the US market specifically, the writers at AP have a fairly American-centric point of view. But I’d love to hear from shoppers across the board, even if you’re residing outside the US. Have your shopping plans changed after this week, or are you holding out hope for the eventual release of Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge? Let us know in both the poll and the comments below.
