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The Verge
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Truth, lies, and the Trump Phone
The idea behind Trump Mobile is relatively straightforward. It's easy to launch a mobile carrier these days, and it can be extremely lucrative — just ask Ryan Reynolds! You should know, though, that Trump Mobile is a pretty bad deal. And the network's supposed flagship phone? We're willing to bet that this $500, made-in-America, coming-soon device will end up being hardly any of those things. If it exists at all. On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay's off doing business meetings or whatever, so David and Jake are joined by The Verge 's Dominic Preston to talk about all things Trump Mobile. They talk about the phones that resemble the Trump Mobile T1 Phone 8002, and whether any of them are a good deal in 2025. They talk about the rise in MVNOs, the many ways you can define 'made in the USA,' and whether there's an inkling of a good thing behind this obvious grift of a product. After that, David and Jake talk through some big news in the TV world: namely, that TV is dying faster than anyone expected. They discuss the ongoing rise of both Netflix and YouTube, the underrated success of FAST networks, and what this all means for Hollywood as a whole. Plus, we totally predicted a new feature in Max, and we're pretty proud of ourselves. Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about the Senate's confirmation of Olivia Trusty to the FCC, the onrushing of ads into WhatsApp, the GENIUS bill that's big news for crypto, Threads and the fediverse, and what we like — and don't — about the Framework Laptop 12. If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with Trump Mobile: And in streaming and TV news: And in the lightning round:
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Gavin Newsom Mocks Trump's ‘Made in China' Smartphone
California Governor Gavin Newsom has poked fun at the smartphone unveiled on Wednesday by the Trump Organization, jumping on the mounting doubts over whether it can honor its "made in America" branding. On Wednesday, the governor posted a link to a Daily Beast article entitled "Trump's New 'All-American' Smartphone Is Made in China," alongside the caption: "Oh." Newsweek has reached out to Trump Mobile, the new company marketing the phone, regarding its manufacturing origins. Despite the Trump Organization, the umbrella company for the president's business ventures, billing the phone as American-made, experts remain skeptical over whether the U.S. possesses the necessary infrastructure or technical know-how to manufacture the "T1" entirely on U.S. soil by its September launch or at the listed price of $499. Others have also noted similarities with other devices already on the market and which hail from China, raising further questions about this made-in-America designation. On Monday, the Trump Organization, control of which the president ceded to his eldest sons at the start of his second term, announced the launch of Trump Mobile, its flagship cellular service—"The 47 Plan"—and the T1 Phone, billed as a "sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States." Both Eric and Donald Jr. have repeatedly said that the phone will be manufactured in the U.S., though the former said that this would be done "eventually." A representative for the Trump Organization told The Wall Street Journal that manufacturing "will be in Alabama, California and Florida." But many have expressed doubts as to whether this is feasible, given the current disparity in manufacturing capabilities between the U.S. and China. Supply chain expert Tinglong Dai told Newsweek earlier this week that, "barring miracles, building a smartphone entirely in the U.S. by September is all but impossible." Many have also pointed out the striking similarities with existing Chinese-made models, casting further doubt on the "made-in-America" claim. The Daily Beast article mentioned by Newsom cited research from Apple Insider, which found that the body of the specifications of the new gold-colored phone match with the T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G, an Android built by Chinese company Wingtech and available on Amazon for as little as $169. Donald Trump Jr., vice president of the Trump Organization, in an interview with conservative host Benny Johnson, said the new phones were for users who want "American hardware, built by Americans here in America without the potential, you know, let's call it back door into the hardware that some of our adversaries may have installed in there." Francisco Jeronimo, vice president at International Data Corp, told CNBC: "There is no way the phone was designed from scratch and there is no way it is going to be assembled in the U.S. or completely manufactured in the U.S. That is completely impossible." Leo Gebbie, principal analyst at CCS Insight, told Fortune there was "no serious chance" of the phones being made in the U.S. in time for their launch date, and that this "absolutely does raise the specter of the Trump Organization mobile falling foul of the tariffs that have been instigated by the Trump administration." Robert Atkinson, founder and president of tech-focused think tank the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, told Newsweek that the high costs of manufacturing a phone in the U.S. would preclude the possibility of the phone being sold at $499. "I suppose if tariffs were established on imported phones then it might be price competitive," he added, "but I doubt the price would be at or below $500, especially if the components (e.g., chips, camera, battery, screen, etc.) also had tariffs placed on them." Given the doubts expressed by experts, and conflicting messaging from the Trump Organization and Trump Mobile over whether and when the new phone will be manufactured in the U.S., questions remain over how the T1 will maintain the American-made designation that has marked its launch. Related Articles Gavin Newsom's Chances of Being 2028 Democratic Nominee Surge-PollMost Voters Back Sending Troops to Quell Riots, But Blame Trump for LA-PollGavin Newsom Responds to Donald Trump's ICE ThreatGavin Newsom Accuses Trump Administration of Spreading Fake Protest Images 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
Should you get a Trump phone? Here's why the Trump Mobile T1 device should scare you off
I've been covering phones these devices since the launch of the original iPhone 18 years ago. And believe me when I tell you that even if I were a full-throated Trump supporter, from the tips of my toes to top of my red baseball cap, I wouldn't want anything to do with Trump Mobile — not its 47 Plan with unlimited data and especially not its gold-colored T1 Phone. It's got nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with this not sounding like much of a phone. With the caveat that a shipping device always has a chance to surprise us all — and Trump Mobile's T1 Phone isn't supposed to be available for another couple of months — there's nothing in the handset's listed spec sheet that inspires any sort of confidence. And no, I'm not dwelling on since-corrected typos on the Trump Mobile webpage that used to tout the device's '5000mAh long life camera" — a thing that does not actually exist. Rather, the details about the T1 Phone that are listed are simply underwhelming and raise flags redder than those aforementioned baseball caps the president is so terribly fond of. Political persuasion aside, here's why you should steer clear of the T1 Phone from Trump Mobile unless and until it proves to be better in reality than it is on paper. The T1 phone product page lists three rear cameras — a 50MP main camera flanked by dedicated macro and depth sensors. That macro sensor helps snap up-close photos of things like plants and flowers, while the depth sensor can assist with the bokeh effect on portrait shots. It's not surprising that the T1 would lack a dedicated telephoto lens. Few phones in the $499 price range offer that kind of camera, though there are a handful like Nothing Phone's latest models. The more eyebrow-raising omission is an ultrawide camera, which is a pretty common sight on midrange phones. The $499 Pixel 9a has one, as does the Galaxy A35, which costs $100 less than both the Pixel 9a and the T1. Yes, Apple's $599 iPhone 16e has just one rear lens. But that's often cited as one of the biggest knocks on that particular phone, which also boasts AI and performance capabilities that the Trump phone is unlikely to offer. You don't necessarily need multiple camera lenses with big megapixel ratings to show up on our list of best camera phones, as the Pixel 9a proves. But skimp on the camera hardware, and you'll need some pretty impressive photo processing powers to produce acceptable shots. And the presence of two superfluous macro and depth sensors suggests that camera quality isn't a priority with the T1. In my experience, you can tell a lot about a phone by the information that's not included, and there's an omission on the T1 Phone spec sheet that speaks volumes. There's no system-on-chip (SoC) listed, which would suggest that the phone is going to turn to unpowered silicon, likely as a concession to keep costs down. A lesser-known chipset doesn't necessarily mean noticeable performance lags, particularly in midrange devices. But it could translate to less-than-speedy app switching and struggles with graphically-intense games. Because the power management features on a chip play an outsized roll in how long the phone can last on a charge, you'd wonder what that portends for the T1 Phone, even with its advertised 5,000 mAh battery. It's possible that the phone could wind up powered by a perfectly fine chipset. But until that rather important bit of information gets disclosed, I'd keep a tight grip on my phone. I wouldn't say I have a strict cash-on-delivery policy for purchases. But if I put up any money upfront, I want a firm idea of when I'll have the goods in hand. Trump Mobile wants a $100 down payment for the T1 Phone, and the best it can promise is that the phone is "coming soon." That — plus a checkbox on the order site that signifies "you authorize T1SM MOBILE LLC to charge your card on a recurring basis" — makes me nervous about the fate of my down payment. Yes, I know that when you preorder phones from other device makers, you're usually paying the full amount before your device arrives. But outfits like Apple and Samsung have multi-year track records of delivering on preorders. And normally, they provide a firm ship date when you place your order. It doesn't help that at least one reporter from 404 Media placing a down payment on the T1 Phone not only couldn't get the order to go through but wound up with a charge on his credit card. Sure, it's just one incident, but you never get a second chance to make a first impression — particularly when you already have a reputation for not living up to your end of agreements involving cash exchanged for goods or service, as USA Today reported. One of the chief selling points of the T1 Phone is that it's supposed to be built in America — at least, eventually. It's all in line with President Trump's stated goal of bringing more manufacturing jobs back to the country, particularly in the tech space. If that's the long-term goal, then fine, but short term, there's not a lot of facilities in the U.S. capable of producing phones at any sort of volume. So the initial run of T1 Phones is likely to come from overseas. The Trump Organization seems to have conceded as much. "Eventually all the phones can be built in the United States of America," Eric Trump, the president's son, said in an interview posted to X. "Eventually" is doing enough lifting in that sentence to place highly in a strongman competition. If Trump Mobile is serious about meeting that August ship date for the T1, it's likely going to do what a lot of phone company's with branded devices do — turn to China for an off-the-shelf solution. Indeed, a CNN report talks to analysts who believe the likely source of the phone will be Wingtech out of China, which supplies the Revvl 7 Pro 5G phone sold through T-Mobile — a pretty relevant comparison as that device shares a lot of specs with the T1 phone. We can argue the relative merits of that device, but one thing you can't say about it is that it's American-made. And isn't that supposed to be the whole point of this operation. It's true that you'll pay less for unlimited data with Trump Mobile's $47.45/month plan than you would for coverage from a major U.S. carrier — but not by much. T-Mobile and AT&T each have monthly unlimited data plans that start at $50 and $51, respectively, which is close enough for government work (if you'll excuse the turn of phrase). A case could be made that the Trump Mobile 47 Plan has better perks than those bare-bones offerings, but on a strict cost basis, you're essentially paying the same. But plenty of smaller carriers offer much better rates on unlimited data, with the added bonus of having established track records of providing dependable coverage. Two of the best unlimited data plans come from Visible and Mint, who use the cellular towers of their respective parent companies (Verizon and T-Mobile). Visible's plans start at $25/month while Mint charges just $30/month when you pay for a year's service up front. Both carriers currently offer deals on their unlimited plans which drop the cost even further. You can bring any phone you like to the Trump Mobile wireless service, but if you buy the T1 phone, you're tied to that $47.45 monthly plan. So not only are you getting a phone of questionable pedigree, you're also paying more for wireless service than you would if you shopped around.
Newsweek
a day ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Gavin Newsom Mocks Trump's 'Made in China' Smartphone
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. California Governor Gavin Newsom has poked fun at the smartphone unveiled on Wednesday by the Trump Organization, jumping on the mounting doubts over whether it can honor its "made in America" branding. On Wednesday, the governor posted a link to a Daily Beast article entitled "Trump's New 'All-American' Smartphone Is Made in China," alongside the caption: "Oh." Newsweek has reached out to Trump Mobile, the new company marketing the phone, regarding its manufacturing origins. Why It Matters Despite the Trump Organization, the umbrella company for the president's business ventures, billing the phone as American-made, experts remain skeptical over whether the U.S. possesses the necessary infrastructure or technical know-how to manufacture the "T1" entirely on U.S. soil by its September launch or at the listed price of $499. Others have also noted similarities with other devices already on the market and which hail from China, raising further questions about this made-in-America designation. What To Know On Monday, the Trump Organization, control of which the president ceded to his eldest sons at the start of his second term, announced the launch of Trump Mobile, its flagship cellular service—"The 47 Plan"—and the T1 Phone, billed as a "sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States." Both Eric and Donald Jr. have repeatedly said that the phone will be manufactured in the U.S., though the former said that this would be done "eventually." A representative for the Trump Organization told The Wall Street Journal that manufacturing "will be in Alabama, California and Florida." California Governor Gavin Newsom at Gemperle Orchard on April 16, 2025, in Ceres, California. California Governor Gavin Newsom at Gemperle Orchard on April 16, 2025, in Ceres, many have expressed doubts as to whether this is feasible, given the current disparity in manufacturing capabilities between the U.S. and China. Supply chain expert Tinglong Dai told Newsweek earlier this week that, "barring miracles, building a smartphone entirely in the U.S. by September is all but impossible." Many have also pointed out the striking similarities with existing Chinese-made models, casting further doubt on the "made-in-America" claim. The Daily Beast article mentioned by Newsom cited research from Apple Insider, which found that the body of the specifications of the new gold-colored phone match with the T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G, an Android built by Chinese company Wingtech and available on Amazon for as little as $169. What People Are Saying Donald Trump Jr., vice president of the Trump Organization, in an interview with conservative host Benny Johnson, said the new phones were for users who want "American hardware, built by Americans here in America without the potential, you know, let's call it back door into the hardware that some of our adversaries may have installed in there." Francisco Jeronimo, vice president at International Data Corp, told CNBC: "There is no way the phone was designed from scratch and there is no way it is going to be assembled in the U.S. or completely manufactured in the U.S. That is completely impossible." Leo Gebbie, principal analyst at CCS Insight, told Fortune there was "no serious chance" of the phones being made in the U.S. in time for their launch date, and that this "absolutely does raise the specter of the Trump Organization mobile falling foul of the tariffs that have been instigated by the Trump administration." Robert Atkinson, founder and president of tech-focused think tank the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, told Newsweek that the high costs of manufacturing a phone in the U.S. would preclude the possibility of the phone being sold at $499. "I suppose if tariffs were established on imported phones then it might be price competitive," he added, "but I doubt the price would be at or below $500, especially if the components (e.g., chips, camera, battery, screen, etc.) also had tariffs placed on them." What Happens Next? Given the doubts expressed by experts, and conflicting messaging from the Trump Organization and Trump Mobile over whether and when the new phone will be manufactured in the U.S., questions remain over how the T1 will maintain the American-made designation that has marked its launch.
The Hill
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
Trump Mobile faces roadblocks
The Big Story The Trump family's new mobile phone venture promises to build its golden smartphones in the U.S., an endeavor that experts warn will be nearly impossible in the current manufacturing environment. © AP Photo/Richard Drew Trump Mobile's T1 Phone will instead likely be forced to grapple with international supply chains that rely heavily on China and have been complicated by President Trump's own tariff regime. 'It is exceptionally difficult to see how a smartphone like the T1 device would be truly made in the U.S.,' said Leo Gebbie, an industry analyst with CSS Insight. '[For] anyone who digs beneath the surface, it will be incredibly clear that this simply is not a realistic claim and ultimately devices cannot be made in the U.S. because of the strength of the Asia supply chain, which is so far advanced and significantly further ahead of anything that exists in the U.S. at this moment in time,' he added. The Trump Organization, currently helmed by the president's sons, announced it would be launching a mobile phone business Monday — the anniversary of Trump's descent down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, which marked his entrance into politics. Trump Mobile plans to offer a $47 phone plan, an homage to Trump's tenure as the 47th president, as well as the golden smartphones. The T1 Phone is meant to go on sale in August for $499. 'You can build these phones in the United States,' Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, told podcaster Benny Johnson. 'We can do it cheaper. We can do it better. And eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America. We have to bring manufacturing back here.' Trump Jr.'s focus on reshoring manufacturing largely lines up with the efforts by his father's administration, which has repeatedly cited an expansion of U.S. manufacturing capabilities as the driving factor behind its wide-ranging tariff regime. However, experts have cautioned that bringing smartphone manufacturing back to the U.S. is largely unrealistic, requiring billions of dollars of investment over decades. 'I think it's a nonstarter that you could produce phones in the U.S.,' Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said. 'Could they produce a few hundred, a few thousand? Possibly.' 'But we don't see this getting off the ground,' he continued. 'And I think they're going to encounter the same problems that Apple and other smartphone makers have had and why they don't produce in the U.S.' Read more in a full report at Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: WhatsApp blasts 'false' Iranian reports accusing app of spying for Israel WhatsApp said Wednesday it is 'concerned' the messaging platform will be blocked in Iran after the country's state television urged users to remove the app. Iranian state television released reports Tuesday alleging WhatsApp was being used to gather and send information to Israel amid its ongoing conflict with Iran, The Associated Press reported. 'We're concerned these false reports will be an excuse … 5 takeaways from Tucker Carlson's interview with Ted Cruz Pundit Tucker Carlson published a nearly two-hour interview with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday, during which the two conservative firebrands debated President Trump's foreign policy, the future of the Middle East and America's place in the world. The conversation was decidedly contentious, at times deteriorating into shouting and insults, punctuated by a short clip Carlson published Tuesday evening showing him quizzing … Amazon CEO: AI will reduce corporate workforce Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Tuesday he is anticipating artificial intelligence (AI) will reduce the technology company's corporate workforce over the next few years. In a blog post shared with Amazon employees Tuesday, Jassy explained how the company is rolling out more generative AI and agents for internal operations, which should 'change the way our work is done.' 'We will need fewer people doing some … Bessent: Musk 'more of a Viking,' I'm 'more of a ninja' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed his reported feud with tech billionaire Elon Musk in a new interview, arguing that the two men merely have different operating styles. 'We have had disagreements, but we both want to get to the same place,' Bessent told New York Post columnist Miranda Devine in an episode of her 'Pod Force One' podcast released Wednesday. 'We both want to eliminate the … The Refresh News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: Crypto Corner Crypto caught up in Iran-Israel conflict Welcome to Crypto Corner, a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington. An Israeli-linked group appears to have hacked Iran's largest crypto exchange — Nobitex — amid increasing conflict between the two nations. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic estimated the Israeli group, known as Gonjeshke Darande or Predatory Sparrow, transferred more than $90 million out of Nobitex's crypto wallets. The Israeli group claimed they conducted cyberattacks against Nobitex on Wednesday, one day after also claiming it was behind the hack of a state-owned Iranian bank. The group said it targeted Nobitex for facilitating terrorism financing and sanctions evasion. The hacked funds are currently held by addresses featuring explicit language aimed at Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Elliptic said. The funds appear to have been effectively destroyed by the hacking group and Elliptic suggested it is 'computationally infeasible' to create addresses with such long text strings, meaning the hackers likely do not have the private keys to access the funds. Incidents like this have sparked security concerns in the past about the crypto industry and the potential for crime on these platforms. Crypto advocates often dismiss these concerns, arguing it is easier to track and block illegal transactions over the blockchain. In 2023, a bipartisan group of more than 100 lawmakers demanded answers from the former Biden administration about the role crypto played in financing Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel that year. Speculation was stoked by a Wall Street Journal report in 2023 that Hamas received about $41 million in crypto over the previous two years. In Other News Branch out with other reads on The Hill: X sues New York over social media disclosure law Elon Musk's social platform X sued the state of New York on Tuesday over a law requiring social media sites to detail how they moderate hate speech, extremism, misinformation and other types of content on their platforms. X argues the law, which is set to go into effect Thursday, violates the First Amendment by compelling companies to disclose 'highly sensitive and controversial speech.' 'The law thus impermissibly … What Others are Reading Two key stories on The Hill right now: Appeals court won't let Justice Department step in for Trump in E. Jean Carroll's $83M verdict A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday refused the Justice Department's effort to put itself on the hook for an $83.3 million defamation award … Read more Senate GOP leader faces pushback after members blindsided by Trump bill Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is facing strong pushback from members of the GOP conference over the Finance Committee's piece of … Read more What Others are Reading Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!
