The Trump household is coming into the smartphone enterprise. On Monday, the Trump Group introduced the September launch of Trump Cell and the T1 smartphone — a $499, Android-based gadget. A Trump Cell press launch describes the cellphone as “sleek” and “American-made.”
Trump Cell itself seems to be a licensing deal constructed on the again of Liberty Cell, a “freedom-focused” cellular digital community operator. (The Trump Cell phrases of use say the corporate is “powered by Liberty Mobile Wireless.”) MVNOs are carriers, like Increase or Mint, that do not personal any telecommunications infrastructure — as an alternative piggybacking off networks like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Cell. Trump Cell says it’s going to additionally present additional perks to prospects reminiscent of entry to roadside help and telehealth companies.
Unveiled by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower on Monday — marking 10 years since their father introduced his 2016 marketing campaign — Trump Cell is one other entry within the Trump Group’s white labeling enterprise. Like meme cash, footwear, and steaks earlier than it, this one banks on the enduring worth of their dad’s identify.
Donald Trump has lengthy pressured Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner to convey iPhone manufacturing to the US, a transfer that analysts say may push the iPhone’s retail worth as excessive as $3,000. Now, the Trump camp is promoting its personal “Made in America” cellphone to supporters who care the place their gadgets come from. The way it plans to drag off this manufacturing feat, we do not know.
So, how would the T1 evaluate to the bottom mannequin iPhone 16?
The Trump Cell T1 vs. Apple iPhone 16
As a result of nobody has really seen a T1 cellphone, we’re relying totally on Trump Cell’s promised specs for this comparability. The T1’s specs fall firmly in mid-tier territory.
Mashable Mild Pace
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12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage
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A 6.8-inch AMOLED display screen
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R120Hz refresh price (with no listed decision)
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50MP fundamental digital camera, two 2MP auxiliary cameras
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16MP selfie digital camera
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5000mAh battery
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Fingerprint sensor and AI face unlock
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Processor: Unknown
Now we have to notice that the omission of the processor that powers the Trump Cell T1 cellphone may be very uncommon.
For comparability, listed here are the important thing iPhone 16 specs:
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8GB of RAM and 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage
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48MP fundamental digital camera, two 12MP auxiliary cameras
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12MP selfie digital camera
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6.1‑inch OLED show
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As much as 2,000 nits of peak brightness
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60Hz refresh price (2,556 x 1,179 decision)
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3,500 mAh battery (as much as 22 hours of video playback)
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Face ID
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A18 Bionic chip
That ought to say “battery.”
Credit score: Trump Cell
How does the T1 evaluate to different smartphones?
The Google Pixel 9a, extensively praised as the most effective worth in Android telephones this 12 months, prices the identical because the T1 and runs on Google’s customized Tensor chip. The T1’s pricing additionally mirrors that of the now-infamous Freedom Telephone, a 2021 MAGA-branded gadget that turned out to be a rebranded funds handset from China.
The iPhone 16, Apple’s newest flagship, begins at $799. For that worth, you are getting Apple’s A18 chip — one of the highly effective cellular chipsets available on the market.
However let’s get granular. Evaluate the Trump T1 to Apple’s budget-friendly iPhone 16e, which prices $599, simply $100 extra. The 16e presents 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, the identical A18 chip (with a 4-core GPU), and a 6.1-inch show.
Trump’s followers may argue that the Trump Cell service plan is the actual draw, since it really works with any unlocked cellphone. Nonetheless, at $47.45 per thirty days (a nod to Trump being each the forty fifth and forty seventh president), the plan prices about twice as a lot as comparable choices from MVNOs like Increase or Mint Cell. Liberty Cell, the MVNO powering Trump Cell, presents practically equivalent plans for $20 per thirty days elsewhere.
At that worth level, you would possibly simply be paying for the branding.
Lastly, we now have but to listen to any particulars on the T1 cellphone past what’s been posted to Trump Cell. The processor omission is a possible pink flag, as is the truth that the one different made-in-America cellphone we’re conscious of, the Librem 5 USA, is priced at $1,599.