President-elect Donald Trump set to be inaugurated for a second term on Jan. 20, and the economy could see an immediate shift if he follows through on his promise to impose tariffs on his first day in office. Trump wrote on Truth Social in November that he would charge a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China.
So what does this mean for your shopping habits? You may soon be paying higher prices for many goods, according to economists.
As Monica Morlacco, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Southern California, previously told HuffPost, “Trump’s proposed tariff policies, especially at higher rates, would disproportionately harm middle- and low-income Americans while failing to deliver meaningful economic benefits.”
While it’s not certain yet what types of goods will be most affected, multiple experts quoted in the previous HuffPost story pointed to personal electronics like laptops and tablets as one category that could see price hikes. (Luckily, we have guides to buying tech like AirPods and robot vacuums.)
“They are already a high-ticket item, and many consumer electronics are manufactured in China or use components sourced there,” said Vivian Tu, host of the podcast “Networth and Chill” and the author of “Rich AF: The Winning Money Mindset that will Change Your Life.” “If tariffs are imposed, the heightened cost of production and increased import costs on components like microchips will likely be passed on to consumers, meaning higher retail prices.”
So if you’ve been hoping to buy a new smart watch, e-reader or other personal electronics in 2025, you might want to jump on that purchase sooner rather than later. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the tech worth adding to your cart ASAP. They’re splurges even now, but you could be saving money in the long run, and reviewers say these devices are worth having.
HuffPost and its publishing partners may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change. The experts consulted for this story do not necessarily endorse the products ahead unless otherwise noted.
The ninth-generation iPad was a top-selling product among HuffPost readers in 2024, despite being an older model. It's lower-priced, but it's still a great tablet, with a 10.2-inch display, an A13 Bionic chip and all-day battery life, making it great for streaming, reading, drawing, gaming, making video calls and so, so much more. You can get it now in two colors and storage capacities (64GB or 256GB).
If you prefer Android products, CNET recommends the Google Pixel Tablet as a great option, especially for families. You can get it with or without a charging speaker dock at Amazon (Target currently only sells it with the dock, but CNET does recommend including the dock for an enhanced experience). The 11-inch tablet features Google AI, as well as Google apps like Gmail, Docs, Photos and more. This includes the Google Home app, which lets you control any Google smart devices you have, from the popular Nest thermostat to lights, cameras and more. Find them in three colors and two sizes.
In the market for a new smartphone? Now's the time to grab one, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra just might be the one for you. Not only is it stunning, available in four sleek colors including the titanium yellow shown here, but it has a professional-grade camera, 5G connectivity and an included stylus pen to make tapping, swiping and more even easier. The phone also lets you play around with Galaxy AI, in case you want to test out the Portrait Studio, live translations and other functions. You can choose from three memory storage sizes.
The 2024 model of the MacBook Air has the M3 chip for faster performance, and can last up to 18 hours before needing a charge. Available in four colors and with three capacities, other features of the laptop include a 13.6-inch liquid retina display and half-inch thin design, so you can easily stick this in a backpack or tote and take it on the go with you. As someone who bought a MacBook Air last year (though I have the older M2 version) and used my previous MacBook Air for over eight years before that, I can attest to the performance and ease of setup of these computers. Trust me, this is worth the investment.
A great option for PC fans is the Acer Aspire 5 laptop — this 14-inch laptop has a 1080p webcam, an efficient cooling system and a similarly thin design that's less than an inch thick. It also has a headphone jack, for those of you who miss the days of wired connectivity, in addition to a USB-C port, two USB ports and an HDMI port. The Intel Core processor promises power and fast performance, and the Wi-Fi 6E allows for crisp 4K streaming.
If you’ve been waiting for the right time to purchase a new smart watch, that time is now. And there are few smart watches more popular than the Apple Watch Series 10, which is an Amazon bestseller. The watch is equipped with safety features like fall and crash detection, which can notify emergency services in the case of an accident. You can also use Emergency SOS to call for help with one touch.
Of course, smart watches are also known for health and fitness tracking, and the Series 10 lets you monitor your workouts, plus health metrics like heart and respiratory rate. The watch case is crack- and dust-resistant, and comes in two sizes; you can also choose among multiple band sizes and color combos.
No Apple products? No problem. This Samsung Galaxy smart watch is one of the highest-rated smartwatches on Consumer Reports, where it earned a score of 92 out of 100 for its ease of use, accuracy in measuring metrics like heart rate and durability.
The watch comes equipped with Galaxy AI, which among other things, can provide you with a daily Energy Score of your physical readiness each morning based on the previous day’s data. And just like how an Apple Watch can pair with your iPhone, you can connect the Galaxy Watch 7 to a Samsung Galaxy phone to answer texts and calls, play music and more. The watch comes in two sizes and three colors.
Promising Amazon review: “I got this so I could check messages while I'm working, tattooing, without having to remove my gloves. I wound up using it for so much more and don't know why I didn't pull the trigger and buy one a couple of years ago. I haven't worn a watch in 30 years and was worried about comfort. It was super comfortable straight out of the box. Buy one!” — Saltass
Both myself and shopping writer Haley Zovickian are Kindle Paperwhite devotees. She previously wrote, "With the Kindle, instead of lugging around a 15-pound bag of books from place to place, I can hold thousands of titles at a fraction of the weight in my bag or a large pocket, completely comfortably. This has been nothing short of game-changing."
My Kindle Paperwhite is the reason I was able to more than double the amount of books I read in one year, from 12 in 2022 to 28 in 2023. My Kindle has essentially paid for itself, too, since I use the Libby app to check out digital copies of library books to read on my Kindle for free — no more time or money spent agonizing over bookstore prices, and I can have my next read in my hands within minutes of adding it to my TBR list.
If you’d prefer an e-reader from a different brand, The Verge named the Kobo Libra Colour the best non-Amazon option in 2024. As the name implies, this e-reader does have color, but that’s not the only cool feature: If you buy the Kobo Stylus 2 (sold separately) you can annotate and highlight your books, as well as write in the built-in notebook feature, turning your the e-reader into a kind of journal, too.
The Libra Colour also has physical page-turning buttons (so you can avoid accidental swiping), and no lock screen ads — something you have to pay extra for with the Kindle. The Libra Colour also supports a ton of file types, including EPUBs. You can get it in white or black.
Promising Amazon review: “I am an avid reader, but have always preferred physical books. I decided to take a chance on this e-reader because of all the positive video reviews I saw. It does not disappoint. I’m soaring through books faster than ever. I love that I can see the book covers in color. When the book is in “sleep mode” you can still see the cover of the book that you were reading, which makes it feel akin to picking up and setting down a physical book. I’m also grateful for how It seamlessly imports e-books borrowed from the library. It’s going everywhere with me now!” — Jenna
While the experts we spoke to didn't specifically name headphones as one of the subcategories likely to be affected by tariffs, we think they count as personal electronics, too. And ICYMI, we chose the AirPods Pro 2 as our top pick for the best value among all the different models in our AirPods buying guide.
Why? Well, they have active noise cancellation, as well as a transparency mode and adaptive audio, so when you do want to hear your surroundings, you can. The conversation awareness feature even automatically lowers the volume of whatever you’re playing when you start speaking to someone. That’s in addition to their six-hour listening time and dust-, water- and sweat-resistant design.
You can charge the case wirelessly with a MagSafe charger or use the included USB-C cable. This is also the only AirPods model with silicone tips; you can ensure they fit your ear using the four pairs of different sizes included in the box.
Finally, the Pros debuted a hearing health experience this year. You can use them to take hearing tests and track your data, set up a hearing aid feature if you need it and protect your ears by preventing excessive exposure to loud noise.
If you prefer an over-the-ear style, look no further than Bose's beloved QuietComfort headphones. Available in seven colors, these bad boys are noise-canceling (a feature you can toggle on or off), have high-fidelity audio and provide 24 hours of battery life on a single charge. They also come with an audio cable so you can listen to them without Bluetooth, too. And as the name suggests, the ear cushions can keep your ears nice and comfortable as you listen.
Calling all gamers: You might want to add that console you've been eyeing to your cart ASAP — like the Nintendo Switch, for example. You can operate the Switch as a handheld, as a tabletop console or by connecting it to your TV. The Joy-Con controllers are detachable, for local wireless multiplayer gaming. This version comes in a fun neon red and blue color scheme.
With 4.7 stars across over 9,800 ratings on Amazon, the PlayStation 5 console is worth its steep price, according to reviewers. Enjoy immersive sound as you play, thanks to Tempest 3D AudioTech, not to mention fast loading times and a terabyte of storage, so all your favorite games can be ready for you to jump in and play.