I finally got my Trump phone

12 months, 16 days, 21 hours and 54 minutes after I first heard about the T1 Phone 8002 (Gold Edition) from Trump Mobile, I finally have one in my hands.

This is correct, EdgeTrump’s phones have arrived. And yes I mean Phones – We have three of them: we ordered two, paid for two, and received three, all of which were sent to the wrong address. You can’t beat service like this.

My phone came with a free Trump Mobile SIM, even though I hadn’t signed up to the company’s mobile plan, as well as an A4 quick-start guide which was printed very legibly on a standard office printer. Inside the box are a SIM tray, a clear plastic case, a 33W charger, and a gold and black braided USB-C cable that looks remarkably cheap. You then get a second set of instructions, this time a small booklet covering everything from initial setup to how to make a phone call or take a photo with the camera. I have a feeling this phone is not intended for the technically minded buyer.

As for the phone itself, my first impression was how strange and strange it looked. And I mean that literally — the gold plastic back panel has a slightly sticky sheen, and it actually picked up a lot of dust and fingerprints in just an hour or two. What’s even more encouraging is that my phone has a small scratch in one corner that was there even before I took it out of the box.

Setup went very smoothly at first. He installed all my usual apps from my Google backup to go with the pre-installed Truth Social app, claims the February Android security update is the last thing he needs, and Unlike YouTuber Quinn Nelson The fingerprint sensor works well. I’m based in the UK, and so far the Trump phone doesn’t work well with my UK SIM card – I can make phone calls fine, but it won’t connect to LTE or 5G. I have to see if I can fix this, or if Trump’s phone is just for Americans.

Either way, I’ll be doing a full review of the T1 next week. Let me know in the comments what you would like me to test.

Photography by Dominic Preston/The Verge

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