Golden. Expensive. Late.
The Trump T1 phone finally starts shipping this week. Trump Mobile dropped the news on X. They’re sending update emails to anyone who pre-ordered. A Community Note popped up immediately to kill the hype cycle. The phone is just a reskinned T-Mobile REVVL 7 PRO. A device that already exists. Released in early 2024 essentially unchanged.
Phones start shipping this week !!!
The original target was August last year. Production issues derailed the launch. CEO Pat O’Brien gave CNET the standard excuse about the difficulty of hardware. Parts need testing. Quality assurances take time. He insists the delay was worth it. For what exactly. An “amazing product.”
CNET’s Patrick Holland put down his $100 deposit in June. He’s still waiting. No shipping date arrived. Instead. An account notice. His payment method needed updating. His preorder status sat there. “Confirmed but not processed.” A red bubble mocked him with “Awaiting Sim Assignment.”
Why buy this?
The service launched with a $47.40 monthly plan. They promised domestic manufacturing. August release. Then the reality of global supply chains hit. The “Made in the USA” badge vanished. Quickly. Now the website sells “American values.” And “American-proud design.” Words are cheap. Manufacturing isn’t.
The handset has changed faces three times. We saw a near-production model back in February. Now it sits on a revamped homepage. Specs look standard. 6.78-inch AMOLED. Snapdragon processor. Android OS.
The camera bump is massive.
- 50-megapixel front lens
- 50-megapixel main shot
- 8-megapixel ultra-wide
- Another 50-megapixel 2x telephoto
- 5,000mAh battery
Fingerprint unlock. Face AI. Standard Android features wrapped in a flag.
You can still send $100. The promotional price stays at $499. Or you can buy refurbished Apples and Samsungs ranging from $360 to $600. Maybe skip the politics.
The T1 ships this week.
