New tariffs are a great reason to keep the phone you have as long as you can
Did you know that there are a bunch of new tariff “stuff” happening? Of course you did because you can’t open the internet, turn on the television, or even look at the newspaper at the doctor’s office without seeing everyone screeching about them.
The end goal of these tariffs is to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. I’m no economist and have no idea if this is going to work, but I do know that prices for things like phones are going to get a little crazy. It would be a great idea to keep the phone you have as long as you can.
It also means that you need to remember this when you buy your next phone and put repairability higher on your list.
The Wall Street Journal did a great job explaining how the cost to make a phone is going to rise, and you should have a look at it. Because it’s a U.S. publication and the U.S. is iPhone-obsessed, the iPhone 16 Pro is used for the example, but this same process goes for every phone or other piece of electronic gear.
When the cost to make a phone goes up by hundreds of dollars, the company making it is going to pass as much of it on to you as it can get away with. That means you’ll be paying more — maybe a lot more.
I’m pretty certain that the “big” players in the U.S. economy (meaning giant corporations, of course) will do something to force changes before we hit some sort of economic collapse and have to think about eating each other. In the meantime, the stuff you love to buy and use is going to cost you. Being a tech enthusiast has always been a pay to play world.
Some people want to be the early adopters and buy something the minute it is released. That’s cool, but the rest of us might want to keep what we have right now and use it for a few more years. That means it’s important that the company making it supports it long enough, and that you can do minor repairs yourself or find someone who can do them for you.
I’ve mentioned several times how much I like my Motorola Razr. It fits me, and I’m glad I finally decided to try using a flippy phone and ignore the crease. I also regret the purchase because if anything happens, the phone is e-waste. There’s no way I can fix it myself, and the repair costs are going to be more than just buying something cheap like a Pixel A phone. I won’t make this mistake again, and neither should you.
I know this is going to mostly fall on deaf ears, but we all need to stop buying phones that don’t make it easy to replace the battery and the display. Full stop. I’m not suggesting we all run out and buy something like a Fairphone or one of HMD’s new repairable models (though, now that I think about it …) but I am suggesting that a company that forces you to spend $400 to $500 to swap out a dying battery or cracked screen doesn’t deserve your money.
In a worse-case-scenario you’ll end up using the phone you have right now for two or three more years. I hate to tell you this, but you’re going to hate it by then because the battery is going to suck. Batteries aren’t designed to wear out quickly, but it is a by-product of the tech. High capacity and fast charging mean a limited lifespan. And none of us can guarantee that we aren’t going to crack the screen before we’re ready to buy something else.
It may sound dumb, but this kind of pressure does work; we’ve seen it in action. Do you think companies support their products for seven years because they love us or because we complained and demanded it?
When you do go to buy your next phone, make sure you have a look at what it’s going to cost to keep using it for a while.
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