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Tariff Wars - What To Do?

The Tariff Wars are in full swing, and reports are Asus, Lenovo, and perhaps HP are suspending shipments and redirecting sales to the EU and Asian buyers, while Apple loaded up 5-7 Boeing 747's with iPhones and Macs to try to have 1 week supply stateside. No idea what M$ is doing, but apparently their manufacturing is in China and Vietnam, with Vietnam having 46% and China (after yesterday) allegedly 104%. Insanity (at short supply) reigns supreme.

What is the tribe going to do? For me, it means I will hang on to both the M4 MBP and SP11-5g for a little while to see how thi effects the resale market. Looking at Amazon, prices on new M4 MBP 14 (like mine) are heading back up to full retail for now.

24 comments

Comments (24)

Dellaster

אתמול

I don’t pay attention to news so I missed it. Smartphones, computers, and other related tech stuff are exempt now.

https://www.tomsguide.com/tech/trump-exempts-smartphones-and-computers-from-latest-tariffs-heres-what-it-means-for-you

Of course I noticed that detail after I ordered a M4 Pro Mac mini this morning… I think I’ll let it ride anyway. It’s Apple refurbished and on the veteran discount ($1070+tax) so it’s not gonna be any cheaper if I wait.

Dellaster

לפני 8 שע׳

Replying to

Frankly, I feel safer with ALL my Apple gear than Microsoft and/or Android

Ditto, as long as they’ve learned their lesson about on-device scanning (the CSAM debacle) I feel more secure with Apple iStuff than anything else, including Linux. Safari + Private Relay FTW.

james!

לפני 4 שע׳

Replying to

I guess the things I use my phone for I care less about privacy and more about functionality and not being annoying to use. Maybe I should rethink that though. Annoying to use might encourage me to use it less.

Dellaster

לפני 55 דק׳

Replying to

Pretty much all I use my iPhone for is mobile hotspot for the iPad mini, text when away from the iPad (I prefer to text on it), calls, camera and GPS/maps. Everything else is much more pleasant on the iPad mini.

Another privacy feature I often use is Hide My Email. For throwaway signups and repeated use with things like UPS tracking notifications. Apple creates them on the fly or suggests the one used before for an email entry. No need to leave the page and create/look up one as with many other services (e.g. ProtonMail).

dstrauss

לפני 5 ימים

SHOCKER - Trump just exempted phones, laptops and other computer gear from the reciprocal tariffs AND the Chinese tax! Guess he couldn't stand the heat (right now) of disgruntled consumers - wonder if Timy begged...

Edited

Kumabjorn

לפני 5 ימים

Replying to

He knows his constituents.

Kumabjorn

לפני 6 ימים

You guys realize this is a golden opportunity for consumers in Europe and Asia. Makers will now have to flood those markets with products that was destined for the U.S. market and this will inevitably press prices downward.

james!

לפני 5 ימים

Replying to

It might push prices down everywhere else. What a lot of this has done so far with the various taxes and tarrifs on smartphones is just make us in the US have less options.

Kumabjorn

לפני 5 ימים

Replying to

So far I thought it was mostly related to the issue of Google support.

dstrauss

לפני 6 ימים

Is this going to end up being a boon for Samsung? They are already in the 90 day pause of the tariffs, and if the war continues with China, Samsung is going to have an incredible pricing advantage over iPhone, at least in the short term.

As he pours over the rumors of the Fold 7...

james!

לפני 6 ימים

Replying to

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see. I was assuming they were trying to push out Samsung, not Apple. But president Orange may not actually know what he's doing....

james!

Apr 10

Well, even with the 90 day pause, I can't really trust anything with this madman at the helm.

I'm glad I already got my M4 Mac Mini and my M2 IPP is still plenty for the foreseeable future. The only thing I want/need is a better phone for both my wife and myself. I was thinking of getting her the Pixel 10 or 10 Pro when they drop. We'll see what prices are like at that time.

For me, I was eyeing the 10 Pro XL or maybe the Nothing Phone 3 since it's far less entrenched in AI. The current pause should still be in effect when it launches. I wish there was a good alternative to Samsung for something with a pen, but the government has pretty much ensured there is little to no competition outside Apple, Samsung, and Google, and it looks like they're trying to push out Samsung now too. So much for the free market.

Bronsky

Apr 09

Funny, I came here to post about the tariffs as well. I was wondering what impact the tariffs would have on your dstraussing plans? I'm of a like mind about keeping my current tech. The ProX is performing okay still. My poor secretary needs a new unit. Hers is an old Pentium that is below Windows 11 standards. Don't know what I'm going to do about that.

The one thing I am really happy about is my Fold 6 purchase. I got it at a great price and I can't imagine that Samsung can keep the price stable in light of the South Korea assessment. The phone is great. The large screen and pen has really freed me from taking my computer along on weekend trips.

May you live in interesting times. One positive outcome of all this chaos is that my youngest, a recent computer science graduate, is studing for the LSAT.

dstrauss

Apr 09

Replying to

First - Congratulations on the LSAT - with a computer science major that could be an incredible win over the next few years.

Second - I have until 4/22 to send my SP11 5g off to ItsWorthMore before my offer expires, but I wonder if it won't be more valuable after that. It's a double quandry because this M4 MBP 1tb that I picked up at Best Buy last week for $1589 is already starting to look like a real bargain.

Third - what does this do to Microsoft and the alleged smaller Surface Pro 11? Since their stuff is manufactured in Vietnam and China thats 46%-104% tariff territory...

Fourth - I wish I could muster the courage to go Fold 6 - because I am afrain Fold 7 may not see the light of day in the US if this trade war goes on another three months...

Edited

Bronsky

Apr 09

Replying to

Looks like the wars are over, at least temporarily. Except for China, of course. Market rebounded by +2900. So, I guess I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best.

dstrauss

Apr 09

Replying to

Saw that as well - as long as the EU falls in line it should be pretty stable but for China - thought Trump and Xi were like best buds - so much for that. However, that's still a big mess for Big Tech.

violajack

Apr 09

I think I'm going to have to (*gasp*) be content with the hardware I already have. Ubuntu 25.04 should be out any day now.

violajack

Apr 10

Replying to

Update, the beta is good enough for now. Older thinkpad, Ubuntu, Breezy plug in sending virtual displays to my Xreal glasses. This'll do for now.