- Framework Computer is ceasing the sale of its entry-level laptops because of tariffs.
- It indicates that it will sell at a loss, suggesting that it aims to prevent charging excessive prices to customers.
- It appears that Razer has halted the sale of Blade laptops in the US, probably because of the tariffs.
Cost has become a significant concern recently regarding PCs and gaming equipment; both Nvidia’s and AMD’s third-party graphics processing units have faced challenges because of inflation, scalping, and tariffs. prices rocketing well beyond their Manufacturer Suggested Retail Prices (MSRPs) However, a well-known laptop company has chosen an entirely different path.
On its X The former Twitter page indicates that Framework Computer has decided to stop selling its budget-friendly, entry-level laptops following the implementation of the new Trump tariffs effective from April 5. They cited that continuing sales under these conditions would result in them ‘operating at a loss.’ This led them to choose avoiding increased costs for customers and suspending their sales indefinitely instead.
Donald Trump’s confrontational tariffs have compelled numerous businesses to adopt extreme measures, such as Nintendo slowing down pre-orders for the Switch 2 for U.S. customers There's significant doubt regarding the extent of the effect it might have on its suggested retail price of $449.99 / £395.99 / AU$699.95.
Back in the laptop market, it's clear that Framework would prefer to maintain its consumer-friendly track record, keeping customers from overspending on less powerful hardware while also avoiding a potential major financial deficit.
It remains uncertain if this might also pertain to its higher-end versions equipped with AMD or Intel's robust System-on-Chips, such as the upcoming Framework Desktop For instance. However, even today’s high-performance laptops aren’t immune to issues caused by tariffs: it seems that Razer has stopped selling its Blade gaming laptops entirely in the U.S., as the official Razer USA website shows no availability of these models at present.
This could be seen as an even more surprising decision. Razer is widely recognized in the gaming community for PCs, and to abruptly halt the sale of their top-selling laptop series in the U.S., just following the release of their impressive new model—this development is quite startling. Razer Blade 16 — is quite frankly a bit unpredictable. That said, they can still be purchased from independent sellers, so it’s not entirely unavailable. The prevailing belief is that Razer — similar to Framework — might just be waiting for the current tariff issues to resolve before making their move.
I strongly believe this might occur with GPUs in the near future...
I don't want to sound like a repetitive robot, but the The GPU market is currently in disarray. If you plan to purchase any of Nvidia’s or AMD’s latest GPUs, one certainty remains: you won’t find them available at their suggested retail prices.
It should be mentioned that elevated prices for these GPUs were already a significant issue even prior to the introduction of the new tariffs—particularly affecting Nvidia’s RTX 5000 series, introduced in January. This was especially true for the most potent GPU available on the market, the RTX 5000. RTX 5090 , you'll notice the price is significantly higher than its initial release price of $1,999 / £1,939 / AU$4,039.
I’ll concede, few PC users truly require such high processing power for activities like gaming or rendering. Nonetheless, the same issue arises regarding whether to halt sales similar to what Framework did, particularly concerning Nvidia’s impending desktop RTX 5060 Ti. Although this GPU hasn’t been formally unveiled yet, leaked information indicates that it’s approaching and will likely cost less than its predecessor, the RTX 4060 Ti.
It’s difficult to imagine Nvidia selling at a loss considering it’s among the richest corporations globally. I’m curious whether the tariffs could lead to such significant price increases for their budget-friendly GPUs that it might force Assembly Integrated Businesses (AIBs) to stop selling them altogether.
Several elements remain at stake, notably how effectively the new GPU caters to gamers. If it falls short in performance coupled with increased costs due to both partner board inflation and tariffs, NVIDIA might struggle to convince consumers. TheGPU landscape is always evolving, and such tariff impacts could very well serve as the trigger for substantial changes ahead.
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