Technologies

The Trump Phone Looks Like This. No, Wait, It Looks Like This

In a clumsy T1 preview, Trump Mobile teases two entirely different phones on social media.

Trump Mobile has teased its T1 Phone once again, saying, «The wait is almost over!» The question is, what exactly are we waiting for?

This week, the company showed off on social media two distinctly different and seemingly Photoshopped looks for the T1, also known as the «Trump Phone.» A Trump Mobile Instagram post shows what appears to be an iPhone 16 Pro Max with a gold finish and a US flag. A post on X (and another on Instagram) shows what looks a lot like a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Both depictions of the phone sport a US flag and the organization’s distinctive gold finish.

Thickening the plot: The X post clearly shows a logo for phone case maker Spigen under the US flag, to which Spigen replied, «?? bro what?» The company also posted, «lawsuit incoming.»

In June, Trump Mobile’s initial preview of the T1 had a somewhat different iPhone look, which can still be seen in at least two places on the Trump Mobile website.

Social media had thoughts and questions on the matter.

«Why does the appearance keep changing??» commented Instagram user actuallykaaari.

«Trump Mobile’s fake iPhone is now a fake S25 Ultra | We still don’t know what the T1 Phone will look like, but it certainly won’t be this,» wrote chrisdh79 on Reddit.

Trump Mobile didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

These latest teases for the T1 phone come as major phone makers continue to roll out their cutting-edge models. Last month, Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Fold 7 foldable phone. This week, Google showed off its Pixel 10 lineup, and next month, Apple is expected to introduce its iPhone 17 devices.

This summer, the Trump Organization company backed off its claims that the T1 phone would be «designed and built in the United States,» replacing that phrasing with the murkier «it’s brought to life right here in the USA. With American hands behind every device.» (One analyst speculated a couple of months back that it might be originating with China’s Wingtech.)

Basically, at this point, we don’t know what the T1 is going to look like or where it’s going to be made. What we do know is that preorders cost $499, and the specs include:

6.25-inch Punch Hole AMOLED screen
120 Hz refresh rate
50-megapixel main camera
5000mAh battery / 20W PD
Fingerprint sensor and AI face unlock

The Trump Mobile website says that the T1 phone will be released «later this year.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Aug. 23

Technologies

With Apple’s Siri AI Overhaul Delayed, Google Might Help It Catch Up

Siri’s long-delayed overhaul could end up powered by Google’s Gemini AI, a move that shows how urgently Apple is trying to close the gap with rivals.

Apple is reportedly weighing up a potentially major change to its digital assistant: powering a revamped Siri with Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence tool.

According to Bloomberg, the companies are in early discussions about a partnership that could reshape Apple’s AI strategy for the iPhone, iPad and Apple’s other products. While no agreement is in place, the talks signal Apple’s growing urgency to keep up in the generative AI race.

Siri, once a pioneer, has lagged behind its voice assistant rivals. Apple had planned to roll out a smarter, AI-driven Siri in 2025 as part of its Apple Intelligence initiative, but executives delayed the launch until spring 2026, admitting the early version wasn’t reliable enough to ship. That setback has left Apple at a disadvantage while Samsung, Microsoft and Amazon push ahead with AI assistants that are more conversational and capable.

Apple has long prided itself on controlling the technologies that make its products distinct, but generative AI has proven harder to master internally. To bridge the gap, Apple has leaned on partners: today’s Siri can already route certain requests to OpenAI’s ChatGPT when its own models fall short, and later this year, Apple Intelligence is set to upgrade that integration with GPT-5. You’ll be able to call on ChatGPT for writing help, image understanding and complex questions directly through Siri, Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence.

That reliance underscores the fact that Apple’s own models aren’t yet competitive at the same scale as its rivals.

Apple is reportedly exploring additional options, including Anthropic’s Claude and, most prominently, Google’s Gemini. A deal with Google wouldn’t just inject advanced capabilities into Siri, it would echo a long-running partnership between the two companies. Google already pays billions annually to remain the default search engine on Safari, and a Gemini deal could extend that relationship into Apple’s core AI experience.

If the talks advance, we may see a very different Siri emerge in the coming years: one less constrained, more conversational and powered by the same AI that underpins Google’s own products.

Apple and Google didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against ChatGPT maker OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)