Follow these strategies and you can avoid paying a huge tariff-related price for a new iPhone

Will he or won't he? At this stage it is unknown what U.S. President Donald Trump plans to do about raising the tariff on smartphones built in China that are shipped to the U.S. At the peak, it appeared that Apple could have been liable to pay a 145% import tax on iPhone units assembled in China and flown to the U.S. Apple was facing the possibility of either eating some or all of the additional tax itself, a decision that could cripple Apple's prosperity, or force consumers to pay some or all of the tax putting a dent in demand for the product in the U.S.

Potential iPhone buyers in the U.S. were seriously whiplashed last week by the administration

Potential iPhone buyers in the U.S. experienced a whiplash last week when Trump first "paused" the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days except for China which received a higher tariff. That took place last Wednesday. Late Friday night, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection document revealed that the tariffs would exclude certain Tech items like smartphones, chips, and laptop computers to name a few. This included tariffs on these devices shipped to the U.S. from China seemingly making Apple a big winner.

But when it comes to Trump's tariffs "plan," nobody is ever sure of winning and any victory for the average guy or gal, whether it be financial or moral, is fleeting. The very next day Trump hinted at new tariffs for tech devices including the iPhone thanks to a Semiconductor-based tariff that the administration's financial team is supposedly working on.

Worrying about the next shoe dropping, current iPhone users have been trying to plan now to keep their current device for longer. One important issue to watch is the deterioration of the battery inside your iPhone. You can take your battery's temperature on the iPhone by going to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. A battery with a reading under 80% of maximum capacity should be replaced according to Apple. The price of a replacement starts at $99 for the iPhone 15 Pro Max; the oldest device that Apple will still service the battery on is the iPhone 6s. Changing that component will cost you $69.

Replacing the battery on your current iPhone is one way to give your older unit a shot in the arm without paying an incredibly high tariff-related price for a new phone. Having AppleCare+ can replace your battery for free, change your cracked screen (iPhone 15 and 16 lines) for $29, and even replace a lost or stolen iPhone. Conditions apply, of course, and AppleCare+ can cost you $13.99 per month which could still be less than the price of a new iPhone imported from China once new tariffs are announced.

If you're handy, Apple offers tools and parts to help owners fix up their own iPhones. For this to work, you'll need to be handy or else you could turn a paper cut into a staph infection. In other words, "Yikes!"

You will most likely see an increase in sales of previously owned iPhone units although price hikes in that market are likely too as fewer iPhone owners will be quick to trade in their older model for a new higher-priced iPhone. Others might decide to sell their iPhone and use the funds to replace it with a cheaper Samsung Galaxy A model which offers users a big battery and capable cameras. Other low-priced Android options are available from Motorola.

The problem is with changes in the tariff program taking place daily, U.S. consumers have no idea what strategy they should implement to prevent themselves from the rumored higher prices that might never come. The president has repeated that there will be no exceptions so at this point we have to assume that all smartphones imported into the U.S. will be hit with an import tax and that devices coming from China-like the iPhone-will still be taxed the most.

Perhaps the very best strategy is to pull the trigger on the purchase of a new iPhone right now before Apple sells out of all of the iPhone inventory it accumulated in the states prior to the enactment of whatever tariff strategy Trump eventually decides on.