According to Bloomberg, the next round of China tariffs won't include devices that receive and transmit voice data, a category that includes the Apple Watch, Fitbits, Sonos Speakers, and a host of other fitness trackers and home assistants.

The White House recently backed down on the rate at which the imports would be taxed. Over the weekend a list of goods which would be taxed was set at 10 percent. Trump had considered setting the rate at 25 percent.

Customs documents describe the category in vague terms, listing the devices as "machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data". But that vague category has come to encompass a wide range of personal tech, including fitness trackers and personal voice assistants.

The Apple Watch, AirPods, HomePod, BeatsWL, AirPort, and Time Capsule all fall under the code, according to the letter submitted by Apple to the US Trade Representative. Other categories of Apple products will still be affected by the tariff, including adapters, the Mac mini, and any circuit boards or internal components shipped individually to the United States.

But the fear in the Apple community is that the iPhone could face double taxation due to the trade war. The iPhone and other Apple products could reportedly take a hit not just from added tariffs on China proposed by the Trump administration, but retaliatory measures directed against the US. The Chinese government is considering restricting "sales of materials, equipment and parts key to US manufacturers", the Wall Street Journal said. The paper didn't go into details but indicated that the reaction would only come if the Trump administration follows through on $200 billion or more in tariffs.

Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Mark Vena told the paper that Apple should have enough component inventory for iPhones and Apple Watches to get it through the critical holiday season, but cautioned that it could face "a serious problem" beyond that point.

Apple will face a critical decision if the US-China trade war escalates — whether to raise prices to keep up profits or accept lower margins to avoid scaring off customers. The new iPhones have already drawn criticism for the fact that they are super expensive without actually producing any noticeable difference.