ICYMI: Yup, the Prices of electronics are going way up
It's happening now
You can’t say you weren’t warned.
The prices you’ve been paying for everything are already starting to inch up, due to the Trump tarfiffs. And since this is a tech/photo/travel blog, let’s look at products in those categories.
DJI, which makes the popular Osmo 3 mini-camera, has quietly boosted the price of the unit from $519 to $799, per the Verge.
Wyze, which makes security floodlights, said this week that it had to pay $255,000 in tariffs on $167,000 worth of goods, and that’s more than its founders are paid yearly. It didn’t say it would be raising its prices, but then, it didn’t have to. (The company also said it would move production from China to Vietnam, where the tariffs aren’t as steep.)
Apple said the Trump Tariffs will cost the company $900 million in the next quarter. It didn’t say it will raise its prices to compensate, but you know it’s a given your iPhone is going to soon cost more.
Microsoft said its popular Xbox Series X videogame player will now cost $599 instead of $499, and that games will be as high as $90. It also upped the price on all consoles.
The New York Times had an excellent piece this week on how the prices of everything from baby strollers, dresses, knives, mattresses and sneakers had already gone up.
My recommendation is to shop now, if you need anything—a new camera, phone, accessory, like ASAP, and try to get it from the current pre-tarrif stock, if that’s possible, or buy used.
On eBay, I saw a “refurbished” iPhone 16 Pro with 128 GB of storage, which normally sells for $999, for $800, a good savings of $200. A Google Pixel Pro XL, with 256 of storage, is selling for $700 on eBay, again, a $200 savings.
(Not everything is a deal. That Pocket 3 with the dramatically raised price is also sky-high on eBay, in the $750to $800 range.)
A good place to shop for used electronics is the Amazon Renewed site on Amazon, which comes with a 90 day guarantee on purchases. I recently picked up an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 1 terabyte of storage for $800—Apple doesn’t sell this model anymore, but the comparable iPhone 16 Pro Max version would top off around $1,500. I bought before the tariffs were announced. Here’s a similar model, now selling for just under $900.
Remember that the idea of the tariffs is to urge companies to build their products in America. That would be great if it could be a reality, but seems unlikely, certainly in the short term, due to labor costs, hiring experienced workers who would be open to this line of work and quickly shifting manufacturing facilities.
Meanwhile, happy shopping everyone!
That Google app that will make a podcast for you
Have you heard the two-person co-hosted AI podcast that eerily sounds real, that you can make with Google’s Notebook desktop app? Now, on May 20th, you’ll be able to make it from your phone when Google releases the smartphone version. You can reserve the app from the Google and Apple stores now, and it will automatically download to your phone on the 20th. Go ahead and feed it a little info about yourself—it’s a hoot hearing these two chatbots talk about us like morning radio hosts.
Jeff Bezos backed EV Company targets 2026 for $27,000 Truck
Slate, a company backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, said this week it will begin building its low-cost electric truck in Warsaw, Indiana, which is near Fort Wayne, and have them available to the public by next year.
New timeslot for Photowalks on Scripps News, Sundays at 10 a.m. ET
The brilliant editors at Scripps News put together an amazing new promo for Photowalks, to plug the new timeslot for the show, effective Sunday, at 10 a.m. ET.
Photowalks actually airs as an hour block, with a new episode (South Dakota and the Badlands at 10 this week) followed by a rerun, last week’s visit to the maritime province of Nova Scotia. The block is then aired again at 10p.m. ET on Sunday. (Next week we’ll be in the amazing Tetons, namely Jackson Hole and the Teton Valley of Victor, Driggs and Tetonia, Idaho.)
I hope you’ll tune in! As always, you can catch replays on YouTube.
Greetings from OK City
When we arrived this week in Oklahoma City, I met up with a local PhotowalksTV viewer named Mike who reached out to me on YouTube and showed me the backroads of OKCity! Thanks Mike! It was a blast. The picture below never could have happened without you!
We’re 13 days into the three-week Route 66 adventure and have one more week to go. Please reach out if you’re in Shamrock/Amarillo, Tucumcari, Alburquerque, Gallup, Flagstaff, Williams or Needles in the coming week.
Thanks as always for taking the time to read, watch and listen. Happy trails to all of you.
Jeff