{"id":713,"date":"2026-05-22T15:10:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=713"},"modified":"2026-05-22T15:10:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:10:43","slug":"trump-mobile-t1-phone-still-hasnt-shipped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=713","title":{"rendered":"The Trump phone is not here"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Where\u2019s the Trump phone? We\u2019re going to keep talking about it every week<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>We\u2019ve reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone\u2019s whereabouts. It\u2019s now been more than a week since Trump Mobile announced that phones would \u201cstart shipping this week.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Last week Trump Mobile announced<\/a> that the T1 Phone was ready to start shipping by the end of the week. Almost two weeks later, there\u2019s no sign that\u2019s actually happened \u2014 and the company still hasn\u2019t shipped either of the two phones ordered by The Verge<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Depending on where you get your news, you might believe the company when it says the phone has now launched: The phone is \u201chere\u201d according to Newsweek<\/em><\/a>, has \u201cfinally released\u201d according to The Daily Beast<\/em><\/a>, and is now \u201cshipping\u201d according to Reuters<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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None of this appears to be true. Neither of The Verge<\/em>\u2019s two ordered phones have shipped and for the moment can\u2019t \u2014 Trump Mobile still hasn\u2019t asked for our shipping address and hasn\u2019t charged us beyond the initial $100 deposits. Beyond us, I can\u2019t find a single regular buyer claiming to have received a phone or even an email confirming their phone is ready to ship or that the company intends to charge them for the remaining $399 after their deposit. The company\u2019s promised wide rollout doesn\u2019t seem to have yet begun.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At least two phones have<\/em> gone out, though not through normal channels. Both NBC<\/a> and CNET<\/em><\/a> have received T1 Phones; the former said that it received its phone following an email from the company promising \u201cdevices were going out to the media,\u201d while CNET<\/em> says its order was \u201cexpedited\u201d by Trump Mobile, \u201cbecause we are cnet.com.\u201d I\u2019ve reached out to Trump Mobile for the umpteenth time and have now been told that we\u2019ll have our own order expedited, though at the time of writing there\u2019s been no change to our order status.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The good news is that both the phones sent to NBC and CNET<\/em> match what was in the company\u2019s latest promo video. Each shipped with a braided USB-C cable, a wall charger, and a plastic case, and looks identical to the latest advertised design \u2014 11-stripe US flag<\/a> included. You also get two unusual preinstalled apps: Trump\u2019s social network Truth Social<\/a>; and Doctegrity, the telehealth service included with Trump Mobile plans. Neither NBC or CNET<\/em> has yet reviewed the phone, though NBC at least \u201ctested its basic features, such as calling, texting, browsing the internet and taking photos, all of which functioned normally.\u201d It\u2019s a low bar, but the Trump phone clears it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Trump phone\u2019s release isn\u2019t the only unsubstantiated claim I\u2019ve seen reported recently. Plenty of outlets are still repeating that 590,000 buyers preordered the phone, which I explained in January was unevidenced<\/a> \u2014 and this week\u2019s leak of customer data<\/a> suggests that at most 30,000 phones were ordered. Others say the phone is based on the $250 T-Mobile Revvl 7 Pro 5G \u2014 we considered the same<\/a> back when the T1 was first announced, but the latest version of the phone doesn\u2019t match the Revvl at all. Some publications are even reporting that the phone is made in China \u2014 it might well be, but we don\u2019t know, and if anything the available evidence suggests that Taiwan is more likely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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All that noise aside, Trump Mobile seems to have gotten what it wanted. By announcing a plan to ship the phones and sending two out to the media, the impression has been generated that the phone is here, buyers are satisfied, and the whole thing is wrapped up. Nothing to see here, folks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Over 11 months covering this company, I\u2019ve learned not to take Trump Mobile at its word. This is a company that\u2019s missed every deadline it\u2019s ever set, changed its phone\u2019s design and specs multiple times, and fibbed about where it\u2019s built.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I\u2019ve said it before, and I\u2019ll said it again: I\u2019ll believe the Trump phone is here not only when the two models that The Verge<\/em> bought are in our hands, but when plenty of other buyers also have their own. Until then, the Trump phone has not been released, it has not shipped, and it is not here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Got inside information on Trump Mobile or the Trump phone? Reach out securely from a personal device to tips@theverge.com<\/a>, or see our How to Tip Us<\/a> page.<\/em>
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