Ars Live: Consumer tech firms stuck scrambling ahead of looming chip tariffs

This Ars Live session is happening right now, from 3pm through 4pm ET!

We're roughly six months into Donald Trump's trade war, and tech firms remain in a fog, unsure what tariffs or retaliations could be coming next.

To shed light on this struggle, we invite you to join us for an Ars Live talk at 3 pm ET on Tuesday, September 2, with Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Vice President of International Trade Edward Brzytwa. We'll be discussing how tech firms are responding to tariffs so far and how looming chip tariffs could pose the biggest hurdle yet in sourcing alternative supply chains. And anyone joining will have an opportunity to ask their biggest questions about how tariffs could impact consumer tech.

Before Trump even took office, experts had warned that his global trade war—imposing tariffs on imports of various goods from various countries in a bid to strike more favorable trade deals for the US—risked spiking prices of popular tech products like laptops, game consoles, and smartphones.

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Ars Live: Consumer tech firms stuck scrambling ahead of looming chip tariffs

This Ars Live session is today.

We're roughly six months into Donald Trump's trade war, and tech firms remain in a fog, unsure what tariffs or retaliations could be coming next.

To shed light on this struggle, we invite you to join us for an Ars Live talk at 3 pm ET on Tuesday, September 2, with Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Vice President of International Trade Edward Brzytwa. We'll be discussing how tech firms are responding to tariffs so far and how looming chip tariffs could pose the biggest hurdle yet in sourcing alternative supply chains. And anyone joining will have an opportunity to ask their biggest questions about how tariffs could impact consumer tech.

Before Trump even took office, experts had warned that his global trade war—imposing tariffs on imports of various goods from various countries in a bid to strike more favorable trade deals for the US—risked spiking prices of popular tech products like laptops, game consoles, and smartphones.

Read full article

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Slate Auto’s sub-$30,000 EV pickup is due next year—here’s the factory

The Blank Slate will be made from just 600 parts, with no paint or infotainment.

WARSAW, INDIANA—The Blank Slate pickup scratches a particular itch for some, fulfilling the desire for an EV powertrain without all the bells and whistles associated with a modern vehicle. Gone is the infotainment screen, the lane-keeping assistance, and, for those concerned about surveillance, a modem. Instead, it's an unpainted modular pickup and can be configured post-production into nearly anything the owner wants. Oh, and it's cheap.

This Old Factory

For decades, the RR Donnelley & Sons printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana, pumped out catalogs. Glossy shopping books from JCPenney, Sears, and—my personal favorite—Radio Shack left the plant and were shipped all over the country to eager shoppers looking for their next mail-order delight. Then the Internet broke all of that.

The last employees clocked out in 2023.

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Slate Auto’s sub-$30,000 EV pickup is due next year—here’s the factory

The Blank Slate will be made from just 600 parts, with no paint or infotainment.

WARSAW, INDIANA—The Blank Slate pickup scratches a particular itch for some, fulfilling the desire for an EV powertrain without all the bells and whistles associated with a modern vehicle. Gone is the infotainment screen, the lane-keeping assistance, and, for those concerned about surveillance, a modem. Instead, it's an unpainted modular pickup and can be configured post-production into nearly anything the owner wants. Oh, and it's cheap.

This Old Factory

For decades, the RR Donnelley & Sons printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana, pumped out catalogs. Glossy shopping books from JCPenney, Sears, and—my personal favorite—Radio Shack left the plant and were shipped all over the country to eager shoppers looking for their next mail-order delight. Then the Internet broke all of that.

The last employees clocked out in 2023.

Read full article

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Porsche’s next Cayenne is fully electric—we drove the prototype

A day driving camouflaged prototypes revealed some rather neat features.

Curved displays in cars are increasingly common, adding a bit of shape to the increasing pixel overload we face behind the steering wheel. The designers of Porsche's upcoming Cayenne Electric, though, decided to do something more dramatic with the touchscreen that commands the center of the forthcoming SUV's dashboard.

Its shape flows between dashboard and center console in a smooth, organic way, with a pronounced bend in the middle. The first time I dragged my finger from top to bottom, traversing that kink, I decided I was going to hate this layout. But a day behind the wheel of a prototype version of Porsche's electric SUV changed my mind. I was left wondering why nobody has used this shape.

That was just one feature out of dozens that impressed in this SUV that promises somewhere north of 1,000 horsepower (745 kW) and something in excess of 300 miles (482 km) of range on a charge. It won't hit dealerships until sometime next year, but early impressions are that it will be worth the wait.

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Porsche’s next Cayenne is fully electric—we drove the prototype

A day driving camouflaged prototypes revealed some rather neat features.

Curved displays in cars are increasingly common, adding a bit of shape to the increasing pixel overload we face behind the steering wheel. The designers of Porsche's upcoming Cayenne Electric, though, decided to do something more dramatic with the touchscreen that commands the center of the forthcoming SUV's dashboard.

Its shape flows between dashboard and center console in a smooth, organic way, with a pronounced bend in the middle. The first time I dragged my finger from top to bottom, traversing that kink, I decided I was going to hate this layout. But a day behind the wheel of a prototype version of Porsche's electric SUV changed my mind. I was left wondering why nobody has used this shape.

That was just one feature out of dozens that impressed in this SUV that promises somewhere north of 1,000 horsepower (745 kW) and something in excess of 300 miles (482 km) of range on a charge. It won't hit dealerships until sometime next year, but early impressions are that it will be worth the wait.

Read full article

Comments