Trump family business delays launch of $499 gold smartphone - Lemmy.World
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Trump Mobile, the phone company launched by Donald Trump’s family business, has pushed back plans to deliver a $499 gold-coloured smartphone by the end of the year. The T1 smartphone, described by the company as “proudly American”, was initially promoted as a US-made rival to devices from Apple and Samsung. Almost all smartphones sold in the US are made overseas, primarily in China and South Korea but also increasingly in India and Vietnam. It remains unclear who could manufacture the T1 handset, given the low levels of domestic smartphone production in the US.

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  • CerebralHawks@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    4·
    5 months ago

    It was always a grift.

    If it’s made entirely in the US (which is nearly impossible, they don’t have the facilities), it’s going to cost more because labour costs more in the US than it does in Asia. It’s also not expected, by anyone, to be competitive in terms of power with flagship Android phones. Which means it’s even further behind the iPhone. And it’s probably not as good as the $500 or $600 (I forget which) iPhone 16e. Sure, that only has one camera and the T1 shows three, but that one camera is probably better than the T1’s three. The T1 only shows one superficial advantage: the pinhole-sized front-facing camera could be seen as an advantage.

    We aren’t even getting into the software (phone guy, BTW). So we know it runs Android because it’s not an iPhone. Unless they throw us for a loop and use Linux, which would make it a very interesting device, like if Drumpf wants to smite Google entirely. If he’s got some smart people working for him (I’m sure he does), he could go this way, but it would be a steeper climb to get into the software ecosystem, and his fans would consider it a weaker move than going Android. So it’s going to run Android. Best bet is plain jane stock Android from Google (so, AOSP with a custom launcher that includes the wallpaper, and possibly the inability to change it), and possibly some bundled crapware as well (that his fans might appreciate).

    To rival Android/Google is one thing. Android can be forked, so they can do that and say they’re doing something. But you can’t fork iOS, that’s Apple’s product. Third-party sellers of the iPhone (like retail stores, and cell carriers) are not allowed to modify the phone’s software, so like, whereas my wife’s Galaxy S22 got a bunch of shovelware games installed on it, that would never happen with my iPhone. So that is one advantage to an iPhone, you own it, third parties can’t compel you to install their software on it. Android guys prefer Android for it being open so they can install APKs (Android Packages) from the Web, but the flip side of that is phone manufacturers and carriers can force software on it that is not part of Android (such as things that can track you… from Facebook, to that thing India tried to get companies to preinstall). And I feel like Trump would weaponise it. The app might present itself as a “voter information” tool that would help you find your polling place, and give you a guide on who to vote for (his allies, essentially), but it could also track your movement and report you if you visit some liberal place, like, I dunno, a library or a museum.

    Of course, anyone here doesn’t need speculation discouraging them from buying a T1. Hell, I didn’t even get into how the carrier is like twice the price of comparative plans (it sounds like Mint Mobile rebranded since it uses T-Mobile towers). But these are things you should have in mind when your conservative/MAGA-leaning family members say they want one to support their Glorious Leader. You can tell them to just get Mint Mobile for the same coverage or Visible for Verizon coverage at about half as much, and just get an iPhone 16e or a gently used Android phone from Swappa, and support their political views in the voting booth. The billionaire class does not need their charity. They get enough of that from the 1% and corporations.