It's been almost a year since the made-in-America Trump Mobile T1 smartphone for true patriots was announced. It's still not out, but this week, we got some conflicting information about whether or not it will ever come out.
Today, Trump Mobile CEO Pat O'Brien said the phone would finally start shipping this week. However, the Trump Mobile terms and conditions make it perfectly clear that the upstart mobile brand doesn't actually have an obligation to ship anything.
Over the past day or so, multiple news outlets such as The Hill and content creators such as moistcr1tikal (who paid the deposit and has been waiting for the phone to arrive) noticed strange language on the terms and conditions page on the Trump Mobile website
The terms explicitly state that "Trump Mobile does not guarantee that: the Device will be commercially released," that "production will commence or continue," or that "delivery will occur within any specific timeframe."
For the past year, the company has been accepting $100 deposits on the phone, with the promise that paying that price would "lock in your T1 phone promotional pricing" of $499 for early adopters. However, the terms and conditions page directly contradicts this language.
According to the latest terms and conditions, a $100 deposit only gives you the opportunity to buy a phone if it ever comes out. And if it does, the terms also say it doesn't have to cost $499.
"A preorder deposit provides only a conditional opportunity if Trump Mobile later elects, in its sole discretion, to offer the Device for sale," the website reads. "The deposit does not lock in pricing...Pricing and promotional terms may change any time prior to purchase."
There's also one last interesting nugget from the terms and conditions page regarding the specs and other features of the phone.
"Device specifications, features, software, hardware components, storage capacities, bundled accessories, colors, and configurations are subject to change prior to final sale. Images, prototypes, beta demonstrations, and marketing renderings are illustrative only and may not reflect final production units," the website reads.
This shouldn't be surprising, as the T1 has already changed quite a bit since it was first announced. Trump Mobile famously dropped its "made in America" branding, for example.
This is probably a bit discouraging to read if you're really looking forward to the T1 phone, but it is worth noting that there are some real signs that it exists. The website was recently updated with new specs (which, again, could change at any time), and it appeared in an FCC listing.
In other words, the Trump phone will either come out this week, or not at all, or maybe some other time in between those two. It's impossible to say.
Sad!