It has been well established that the Trump phone does not exist. But this isn’t the only phone sold by Trump Mobile. It also offers a range of refurbished Apple and Samsung handsets that you can buy Now!Although you really shouldn’t do this,
Reading Alison’s coverage over the past two weeks, I’m relieved that’s not the case. Everything There is a scam about Trump Mobile. It may have taken a few weeks for it to actually receive the SIM card, but once it arrived it worked fine – it is T-Mobile after all. This made me realize that if you want, you can get Trump Mobile coverage on phones sold by Trump Mobile right now, as long as you don’t mind that the hardware won’t have an “American hand behind every device.”
Trump Mobile’s online store currently sells four phones with a $100 deposit for the T1 phone. You can buy the Samsung Galaxy S23 or S24, or Apple’s iPhone 14 or 15. Neither of these are the latest models — the two Samsungs launch in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and the iPhones are even older, from 2022 and 2023. You can also get only the base models of each. And I do mean base – not only does Trump Mobile not sell any of the Plus, Ultra, Pro, or Pro Max versions of these phones, but it doesn’t even sell the higher storage SKUs – it’s 128GB or bust. You can’t even choose which color you buy, so I hope you like the black one.
That simplicity makes it very easy to check whether these phones are good value or not. Surprise, surprise, they’re not.
That iPhone 14 will cost you $489, while the 15 will cost you $629. Apple itself no longer even sells the refurbished iPhone 14, but its 15 is available for $529 — $100 cheaper than Trump’s charge — and its new 16E sells for $599. Things get worse if you shop around. Amazon has the two phones for $305 and $429.99, respectively, Best Buy for $327 and $479.97, and Back Market for $398 or $536 — and that’s for the most expensive “Premium” tier of the device’s status. I haven’t found it yet anywhere Who sells refurbished iPhones for more than Trump Mobile, and neither could Roman Loyola macworld,
The company looks to be doing a little better for Galaxy phones, where it at least beats Samsung. At $369 for Trump Mobile’s S23 and $459 for the S24, these are significantly cheaper than the iPhones, and better than Samsung’s own refurbished prices of $519 and $599. Yet, look elsewhere and it’s a familiar story, the older S23 is available for $249 at Amazon, $249 at Best Buy, and $290 on the back market for the best condition available, all cheaper than Trump Mobile.
Does Trump Mobile offer premium service worth that price? Obviously not. It’s unclear who is actually refurbishing these phones, nor does the store page make any guarantee of using official parts in its repairs, though all four refurbished phones are described as being “brought to life here in the United States.” There is no mention of warranty, while Apple, Samsung and the back market all promise a one-year warranty with their refurbished phones.
There’s even some specific looseness in the product pages, which use the same order interface as T1 phone deposits, promising that you can “be the first to get your iPhone 14 refurbished” (again, this is a three-year-old phone), and that you’ll “only be charged $489.00 today” – the full price of the phone.
So no, if you’re eagerly awaiting your T1 phone 8002, you probably shouldn’t buy a Trump-refurbished iPhone instead. We all just have to hold on a little longer.
As usual, Trump Mobile did not respond to my request for comment.
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