(Credit: Purism)
If the newly announced Trump Mobile is serious about selling an American-made smartphone, it might turn to a company with experience doing just that.
California-based Purism has developed a smartphone assembled in the US and featuring "Made in USA electronics," along with its own operating system, PureOS. The company also appears to be best positioned to partner with Trump Mobile on delivering an American-made phone.
“We are the only company [that] is years ahead with our Made in USA Electronics, and the closest possible manufacturer for Trump Mobile to meet the stringent Made in USA claims,” Purism CEO Todd Weaver tells PCMag.
The company’s Liberty Phone is a rarity; most flagship smartphones are made in Asia, particularly China and India, which benefit from low-cost skilled labor. The only problem is that Purism itself can’t create a 100% US-made smartphone because it still needs to source some components from China and India since the US doesn’t manufacture things like screens, batteries, and rear-facing cameras.
It also appears the Trump family has been exploring sourcing its phones from Purism. One of Purism’s resell partners, UMAXX, announced last week that it was holding "early discussions with members of the Trump Organization regarding Liberty Phones in 2024."
"Our door remains open," said Jim Devericks, CEO of SuperCloud International, parent company of the UMAXX brand, in the announcement. "We'd welcome the opportunity to supply Liberty Phones as part of a broader push to give Americans the digital freedom they deserve."
Trump Mobile and UMAXX didn’t respond to a request for comment. For now, Trump Mobile has only said it’s focusing on selling an Android-based T1 phone that’ll cost $499.
(Credit: Trump Mobile)Trump Mobile also tells PCMag it’s preparing to manufacture the device in Alabama, California, and Florida for an August/September launch. However, the company is vague on details, including how it built up that manufacturing capability so quickly. As a result, analysts suspect Trump Mobile plans on sourcing the phone from a Chinese manufacturer and repackaging it.
Purism’s CEO also notes the Trump-branded carrier will need to be careful about promoting the American-made claims, otherwise it'll risk facing scrutiny from the US Federal Trade Commission, which requires “Made in USA” products to contain no foreign content. He added: “Without us, they will not deliver on time nor on budget, and their Made In USA claims will run afoul of the FTC, which is a slap in the face of the American people they are here to protect."
(Credit: Purism)Making devices in the US isn't cheap. Purism’s Liberty phone is currently selling for $1,999. Although the company could reduce costs by up to 10% if the manufacturing were scaled out to hundreds of thousands of units, the resulting phone would still be pricey.
Compared with other flagship devices, the Liberty phone also features lower specs, including a processor from the Dutch semiconductor company NXP, rather than Qualcomm or Samsung. But Prism says its device offers far more privacy than other phones. About half of Purism’s customers are government agencies across the US, Weaver told The Wall Street Journal.