Retailers in the United States and Europe have launched an aggressive round of discounting on consumer electronics ahead of the back-to-school season, trimming prices by as much as 55 percent on flagship smartphones, laptops and accessories. The markdowns, promoted primarily through Amazon, AliExpress and Best Buy, signal a broad stock-clearance effort as manufacturers prepare for autumn product launches. Samsung’s high-end Galaxy S25 Ultra is selling at 40 percent below list price, while its mid-range Galaxy A56 is 43 percent cheaper. Xiaomi has matched the depth of the cuts, offering 40 percent off the 14T Pro and up to 45 percent on the Poco X7 Pro. Honor’s 512-gigabyte Magic 7 Pro and Motorola’s 2025 Razr+ have each fallen by about US$300, and Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 7 models are uniformly US$300 cheaper than at launch. Computing hardware is seeing similar pressure. Apple’s 2025 M4 MacBook Air has dropped to a record-low US$799 on Amazon—US$200 below its debut price—while Best Buy has slashed nearly US$3,000 from a 64-gigabyte, 2-terabyte Dell 16-inch notebook. Storage maker Crucial cut the price of its 2-terabyte X10 USB-C external SSD by 22 percent to US$163. Camera, audio and power-supply makers are also taking part. GoPro’s Hero 13 Black action camera is down 40 percent to €270, Insta360’s X4 8K model is 55 percent cheaper than in January, and Sony’s WH-1000XM5 noise-cancelling headphones have been reduced by 41 percent. Anker’s 2.4 kilowatt-hour Solix F2000 portable power station is available at half price, or just under US$1,000. Analysts say the breadth and depth of this week’s promotions point to accelerated inventory draw-downs before the industry’s next hardware cycle, including Apple’s expected iPhone 17 unveiling in September. The timing also allows brands to capture seasonal demand from students and remote workers seeking technology upgrades before classes resume.