It looks like Trump’s tariffs are starting to affect Chromebooks prices, too

Last week, we saw a jump on the price of Samsung’s latest Galaxy Chromebook Plus over at Best Buy, driving the cost of one of my favorite devices up from $699.99 to $749.99. And then this morning, another top-tier Chromebook just jumped up by a whopping $100, bringing the full asking price up to $799 for the well-outfitted Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714.

As I said about the Samsung, this price jump is a bit alarming simply because Google stated Chromebook Plus’ top-end price range was to be set at $699.99. Now that Acer’s joined Samsung in this, we have two of the best Chromebook Plus models now well over that limit.

First, I have to clarify that this is Best Buy’s pricing and Samsung’s current list price for the Galaxy Chromebook Plus is still holding strong at $699.99. Acer doesn’t explicitly list the MSRP for the Spin 714 on their site, so there’s a chance that these price hikes are only on Best Buy’s side for the time being. However, even if that is the case, I don’t think Best Buy would randomly ramp up prices unless their wholesale prices were increased on the back end.

Second, we have to infer that these price increases are likely due to the Trump administration’s aggressive tariffs that are now in place. As the world economy is still in a state of shock and adjustment, this could be just the beginning of wildly fluctuating Chromebook prices.

Again, we’ll have to wait and see what manufacturers are listing Chromebooks for before we completely throw up the red flag, but this trend doesn’t bode well. As these tariffs continue, the price of many consumer goods are simply going to rise. Chromebooks aren’t immune to this, and as such, anyone in the market for a device probably needs to consider this.

While we know at least a few new devices are on the horizon, there’s no way to accurately forecast how those devices will be impacted by Trump’s tariffs; so if you need a device now and one that fits your needs is on sale, I’d scoop it up sooner than later. With price hikes definitely on the way, there’s just no way to tell what the Chromebook landscape is going to look like over the next few months.