Trump Mobile announced this week that its gold-plated T1 smartphone will begin shipping to customers who placed $100 preorder deposits nearly a year ago in June 2025.
Trump Mobile CEO Pat O'Brien said the company will begin fulfilling preorders this week and said all orders will be filled within the next several weeks. The $499 device had originally been expected to ship in August 2025, but the timetable slipped repeatedly over the following months.
The delays stretched across most of the preorder period. After the initial summer 2025 target, the shipping window moved to October, then to November or December, and later to the first quarter of 2026, while the company continued taking deposits, according to CNN.
By January 2026, Trump Mobile's website was still using the vague phrase "later this year" rather than giving buyers a firm date.
Company representatives blamed at least part of the delay on the U.S. government shutdown in late 2025, saying the disruption slowed Federal Communications Commission testing needed for the launch.
The prolonged wait drew wider attention because the company had been collecting $100 deposits since the phone's June 2025 unveiling without delivering the product during the original promised window, PC Mag reported.
The controversy deepened in April 2026, when Trump Mobile revised its preorder terms and conditions.
The updated language said the company "does not guarantee that a Device will be produced or made available for purchase" and said a deposit gives customers only a conditional opportunity if Trump Mobile later decides to sell the phone.
The revised terms also said a deposit is not a purchase, does not amount to acceptance of an order, and does not reserve inventory for a customer. They further said projected launch and shipping dates were non-binding estimates and that the company did not guarantee production, regulatory approval, or delivery within any set timeframe, as per CBS News.
Originally published on vcpost.com
