Technologies

Trump Mobile Draws Attention to Purism’s $1,999 Liberty Phone

Purism’s phone, made almost entirely in the US, is similar to the Trump Organization’s promise of a phone that might someday be manufactured domestically.

The Trump Organization drew headlines last week when it announced the launch of Trump Mobile, a cell service with plans to release a gold T1 phone in September. One of its selling points, according to the website, is that the T1 phone is «Proudly made in America,» though that does not appear it will be the case when the phone launches, among other issues.

An independent phone maker based in San Francisco, however, has been working on the closest thing to a smartphone made almost entirely in the US: the $1,999 Liberty Phone. Purism, which has been around since 2014, says its handset, which has a 5.7-inch screen and runs a proprietary operating system called PureOS, is primarily made in Texas and California with almost all of its manufacturing and assembly done domestically.

The exceptions, according to its website, include a Chinese-made chassis and some chip components sourced to China or India. Its main processor is made by Austin-based NXP and was originally intended for automobiles.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Liberty Phone’s battery and screen are sourced from China and its rear-facing camera is made in South Korea. That’s likely due to availability: in the case of screens, there aren’t any US manufacturers currently mass producing smartphone displays

The Trump Mobile launch has raised questions as to whether it’s possible to manufacture a smartphone entirely in the US and release it at a price most customers could afford. Nearly all modern smartphones contain parts assembled primarily in China or other countries including South Korea, Vietnam or India.

Purism founder Todd Weaver told the Journal that his company has sold fewer than 100,000 at a cost to the company of about $650 each and does not expect to compete with the latest iPhone or Samsung devices.

«On the consumer side, it’s security geeks, parents who want a phone for their kid, elderly people or people who want to avoid big tech,» Weaver said of his customers. «Someone who needs a wicked-strong camera is not our audience.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, June 24

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 24.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Some of the clues are tricky today — 8-Across stumped me until I filled in more letters from the Down clues. Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Traditional meat for shawarma
Answer: LAMB

5A clue: Brainstorm outputs
Answer: IDEAS

7A clue: Cunningly sidestep, as a difficult question
Answer: DODGE

8A clue: Marketing pitch
Answer: SPIEL

9A clue: 12-ounce size at Starbucks
Answer: TALL

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Pot heads?
Answer: LIDS

2D clue: Bring home from a shelter, maybe
Answer: ADOPT

3D clue: ___ darling (one getting favorable news coverage)
Answer: MEDIA

4D clue: Breakfast item with cream cheese
Answer: BAGEL

6D clue: What bears do in a bear market
Answer: SELL

Technologies

Samsung’s Cheaper Galaxy Flip 7 FE Foldable Phone Shows Up in New Leak

Foldable phones are typically expensive. If this rumor is true, let’s see if the Z Flip 6 FE ends up being cheaper than the Motorola Razr 2025.

New renders of the rumored Galaxy Z Flip7 FE phone, a cheaper alternative to last year’s Z Flip 6, have hit the internet via notable leaker Evan Blass. The images were shared Monday on smartphone news site Phone Arena.

The FE stands for Founders Edition and is Samsung’s way of offering comparable devices with slightly weakened specs for more affordable prices. Past FE phones include the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE and the Galaxy Tab S10 FE and FE Plus.

The renders show off a device that looks very similar to the Galaxy Z Flip 6, appearing in white and black colorways. Phone Arena reports that the Flip 6 FE will have similar hardware as last year’s Flip 6 but may swap out the Snapdragon chip for a Samsung-made Exynos processor.

The Galaxy Z Flip7 FE will be available in black and white, and possibly more colors.
Credit to @evleaks pic.twitter.com/fKJc8mEiEX

— 卂乇 (@imAlter_Ego) June 23, 2025

Blass also shared renders of the flagship Galaxy Z Flip 7 which, if accurate, will drop the camera cutaway and feature the screen running edge-to-edge, with cutouts for the cameras, much like the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025.

Here is Galaxy Z Flip7, and Galaxy Z Flip7 FE in full!
Thoughts?
Via @evleaks pic.twitter.com/NNMyMgi4rB

— Amir (@WorkaholicDavid) June 23, 2025

Foldable phones, once $2,000 devices, have slowly started creeping downwards in price as designs have improved and more players have entered the space. Despite more foldable phones entering the market, it’s still a smaller piece of the overall larger smartphone pie.

Trendforce predicted last year that 17.8 million foldables would ship in 2024, making up only 1.5% of overall smartphone shipments. Foldable phone shipments actually decreased by 1%, making it the segment’s first-ever Q3 decline, according to Counterpoint Research. That decline was attributed to weak performance from the Samsung’s Z Flip 6, which was a mild improvement over 2023’s model.

While Samsung is the foldable market global leader at 56% share, the Z Flip and Fold 6 saw shipments fall 21%. With more exciting handsets coming out of China, where Samsung has a smaller presence, consumers might be holding out for either cheaper prices or more exciting designs. Already, rumors claim that Apple might be readying its own foldable device, which may expand the market as well as pull share from Samsung.

There are other concerns with foldables, apart from the higher price. According to a 2023 Kantar report, 55% of early foldable buyers later switched back to a regular slab phone. Lower battery life and software uncertainty is what drove people away, according to the report. A 2024 YouGov report said 56% of young adults said durability was a major concern when considering a foldable.

Some foldable phones are seeing more affordable prices, notably, the new Motorola Razr 2025, which has a starting price of $700. If the rumored Z Flip 7 FE can match or undercut Motorola, that could entice some consumers.

Technologies

Samsung’s New Galaxy Foldables Will Be Announced at July 9 Unpacked Event

Samsung’s been teasing Ultra-grade and slim foldable phones for the upcoming Galaxy Z series. The company may also unveil its next smartwatch.

Samsung is gearing up to debut its next slate of foldable Galaxy Z phones, which likely includes follow-ups to last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. The company will host an Unpacked event in July, where it’ll show off its latest devices and Galaxy AI updates.

The event will take place in Brooklyn, New York, and will be live streamed on the Samsung Newsroom, at Samsung.com and on Samsung’s YouTube channel. Unpacked kicks off on Wednesday, July 9, at 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET.

Samsung has been teasing its upcoming foldables for the last several weeks. In early June, a Samsung Newsroom post pointed to the company bringing «an Ultra-experience» to «a smaller and more portable form factor.» That apparently includes a «powerful camera» and «AI-powered tools.»

The following week, the company said in another blog post that its «newest Galaxy Z series is the thinnest, lightest and most advanced foldable yet.» It appears to be following in the footsteps of the slim and lightweight Galaxy S25 Edge, which was released in May.

Samsung seems to be especially focused on scaling the capabilities of its foldables’ cameras with the help of AI. It noted in a subsequent blog post, «The camera will only get smarter — helping users capture life’s moments more vividly and make everyday experiences more seamless, personal and impactful.»

An animated invite for July’s Unpacked event begins by showing the slim side profile of a device that then splits into two phones. One of these phones folds like a book, and on-screen text at the end reads «Ultra Unfolds.»

It’s possible Samsung could unveil the Galaxy Z Flip 7, Z Fold 7 and then the Z Fold Ultra. There are also murmurs of a more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE phone. Leaker Evan Blass shared renders of the rumored device, which appears similar to the Galaxy Z Flip 6, but the phone could swap out the Snapdragon chip for an Exynos processor. Meanwhile, renders of the flagship foldable Galaxy Z Flip 7 suggest Samsung could nix the physical camera notch and opt for an edge-to-edge cover display. But we’ll have to wait and see what the company has in store.

There have also been rumors about the Galaxy Watch 8 making its debut at Unpacked, though Samsung hasn’t yet been teasing its wearables like it has its foldable phones.

If you’re eager to get the upcoming Galaxy device, you can reserve it now and earn a $50 Samsung Credit at Samsung.com.