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Trump Mobile has quietly stopped claiming its forthcoming phone will be made in the U.S. The company now uses more vague language in its marketing. It has also reduced the technical specs for the phone and stopped offering a specific date for the launch of its service.
When the Trump Organization announced its cellular brand earlier this month, it touted that the devices would be “made in the USA,” keeping in line with Trump administration policies. Now, just 10 days later, the company is quietly erasing those claims.
The website for the device has removed all language indicating the phone would be manufactured in the U.S. Instead, it opts for language that still leans toward isolationism, but is much more vague now, saying it was “designed with American values in mind” and it was “brought to life right here in the USA.”
The Verge, meanwhile, noted that the specs for the T1 phone have been dialed down since the phone was introduced. The screen is now smaller (having been reduced from 6.78 inches to 6.25 inches) and all information about RAM has been removed.
In addition, while the phones were initially promised to be released in September, the company has since adjusted that language to read “later this year.” Wannabe subscribers will still have to pay $100 up front for the phone.
Skepticism about Trump Mobile’s claims was almost immediate when the company was announced.
“As someone who’s spent over a decade building a secure, privacy-first smartphone, focusing on manufacturing in the U.S., and I can say this with confidence: Producing a fully U.S.-made phone isn’t something you spin up overnight,” Todd Weaver, CEO of Purism, the only company currently producing a U.S.-made smartphone, told Fortune. “If the Trump phone is promising a $499 price tag with domestic manufacturing, this announcement looks to be classic vaporware.”
Purism’s phone costs $650 to produce and retails for $2,000.
Trump has been an avid proponent of reshoring U.S. manufacturing, using tariffs as a leverage to convince companies to build plants in the U.S. and attacking Apple for manufacturing its iPhones in Asia.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
The post The Trump Organization quietly rescinds ‘built in the U.S.’ promise for its T1 phone after analysts’ consensus pointed to production in China appeared first on Fortune.
