Trump’s tariffs will likely hurt Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T, which will in turn probably hurt you

When it comes to the US mobile industry, most analysts and regular consumers seem to have fixated on the inevitable impact of President Trump’s shocking new tariffs on iPhone prices and Apple’s business in general. After all, we are talking about the country’s third-largest company by revenue (behind only Walmart and Amazon), which just so happens to have key partners and suppliers in many of the places slapped with the highest tariffs.

Smartphone prices will rise (even though it might not seem like it)

Because the big three US mobile network operators care so much about their bottom line, expecting smartphone prices to remain unchanged after the new tariffs start to wreak havoc through Apple or Samsung’s supply chain is unrealistic. 

If (or rather when) both Apple and Samsung (and even smaller brands like Motorola and Google) start bumping up their handset prices, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are all likely to follow suit as far as devices purchased through them are concerned. But if you’re not going to pay for said phones outright, you may not notice the increase.

That’s because analysts think carriers could employ various all-too-familiar tricks to disguise their price hikes and try to keep sales as steady as possible. We’re talking things like trade-in value “adjustments” and financing terms “extensions”, so you can probably expect to get less dough for your used phone and have to pay monthly installments for longer periods of time for new devices soon. And no, that will almost certainly not be true just for iPhones.

All in all, there’s a strong possibility that you’ll need to spend between $150 and $200 more for a new phone in the coming months than before, whether you make your purchase directly from a manufacturer or through a major carrier. The difference is the device makers will probably be more honest with you. 

On the bright side, Trump’s tariffs shouldn’t lead to increases in your monthly wireless bills, at least in the short run… in theory.

Network upgrades will slow down

With companies like Nokia and Ericsson supplying most of the equipment needed to maintain and improve T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T‘s infrastructure, those costs are very likely to go up as well, forcing carriers to choose one of two options.

For the time being, you can treat that as a joke, but please don’t shoot the messenger if my poor attempt at dark humor pans out in the real world.