Tick-tock: President Donald Trump‘s golden smartphone is late. Again.
Trump Mobile, the cellular business endeavor led by Trump’s children, has yet to bring its flagship product to market, despite its initial claims that the Trump-branded cellphone would shake up the industry amid rising prices.
The T1 Phone was originally set to ship in August (later pushed to October, reported The Verge) and would reportedly retail for just $499. The announcement came alongside information on the new mobile network’s 47 plan, which boasted unlimited talk, text, and data for $47.45 per month — a nod to Trump being the 45th and 47th President.
Like its competitors, Trump Mobile would offer customers 24/7 roadside assistance and free international calling, but also advertised “no contracts and no credit checks.” Future customers were invited to preorder the phone with a simple $100 deposit.
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But Trump Mobile has gone silent as the phone’s shipping deadlines have passed, last posting to its public social media channels on Aug. 27, USA Today reports. The white-label venture has removed shipping dates from its website and instead added several refurbished Samsung and Apple phone options for purchase. The T1 Phone is still up for preorder.
At the time of its launch, Trump Mobile claimed the new device was entirely American-made, a pitch intended to catalyze American tech companies, including Apple, to transition to domestic manufacturing. The Trump Administration’s tariff plan, which targeted foreign countries that perform the bulk of the tech manufacturing work, was set to skyrocket phone and laptop prices.
Just hours later, internet sleuths deduced the phone’s mock-up images and limitedly disclosed specs bore a striking resemblance to the Wingtech REVVL 7 Pro 5G base model, a device manufactured by Chinese supplier Luxshare. Industry experts agreed: There was no way the T1 phone could be entirely “made in America.”
Trump Mobile has since relabeled the smartphone as a device “designed with American values in mind.” What could that mean for a 5G Android device offered by a company also selling “renewed” South Korean- and Chinese-built tech? Only time will tell.
Topics
iPhone
Donald Trump
