Buy or Wait
Is now a good time to buy?
The worst time to buy a gadget is four weeks before its replacement lands. We track when each product line has actually refreshed, sourced to manufacturer press releases with the link on every page, and cross it with our own recorded price history. Two honest inputs, one dated verdict, and no predictions about products nobody has announced.
10 product lines tracked. Every verdict below shows its confidence and when we last re-checked the cycle dates against their source. How this works.
A refresh is close
Late in the cycle. A successor usually pulls the outgoing model's price down with it, so waiting tends to pay twice.
GoPro HERO13 Black: 24 months into a 12-month cycle.
High confidence · cycle data verified Jul 2026
Pixel 10: 13 months into a 12-month cycle.
Medium confidence · cycle data verified Jul 2026
iPhone 17: 12 months into a 12-month cycle.
Medium confidence · cycle data verified Jul 2026
Good time to buy
Early in the cycle and priced on the good side of its own tracked history.
No strong signal
Mid-cycle, or the price is simply typical. We would rather say so than manufacture urgency.
iPad (A16, 11th generation): 18 months into a 24-month cycle.
Low confidence · cycle data verified Jul 2026
Kindle Paperwhite (12th generation): 23 months into a 36-month cycle.
Low confidence · cycle data verified Jul 2026
Sony WH-1000XM6: 16 months into a 30-month cycle.
Low confidence · cycle data verified Jul 2026
Galaxy S26: 6 months into a 12-month cycle.
Low confidence · cycle data verified Jul 2026
MacBook Air (M5): 6 months into a 12-month cycle.
Low confidence · cycle data verified Jul 2026
AirPods Pro 3: 12 months into a 36-month cycle.
Low confidence · cycle data verified Jul 2026
Release-cycle dates come from manufacturer newsrooms and press releases, linked on every line's page. Price commentary uses our own recorded history, never a manufacturer's list price. We do not publish rumours or leaks about unannounced products.