Phone outdoes Trump’s own Trump-branded device
▼ Summary
– The article continues to track the nonexistent “Trump phone,” noting that robot vacuum maker Dreame has also announced ambitious phones that are unlikely to launch.
– Dreame revealed two phones at a San Francisco event: a modular device and the Aurora Lux, which will come in 29 extravagant designs covered in gems and gold.
– Unlike Trump Mobile, which has shown no physical phones, Dreame displayed working prototypes at its launch event.
– Dreame’s launch featured models, rocket cars, and Steve Wozniak, contrasting sharply with Trump Mobile’s low-key event in Trump Tower with Don Jr. and Eric Trump.
– The author finds Dreame’s phones more exciting than Trump Mobile’s T1 Phone but notes they lack the political intrigue that makes Trump Mobile compelling to follow.
Another week has passed, and the elusive Trump phone remains missing in action. As promised, we’re continuing to check in on its status. But this time, the saga has taken an unexpected twist: Trump Mobile has been outdone by a company best known for cleaning floors.
It’s been another stretch without the Trump phone, but that device is no longer the only phantom handset on my radar. Dreame, a robot vacuum manufacturer, has unveiled its own lineup of phones that seem equally unlikely to hit store shelves. And one of them takes the Trump phone’s playbook and cranks it up to an absurd new level.
I first caught wind of Dreame’s two new phones just after filing last week’s update on the T1 Phone’s PTCRB certification. The devices “launched” at a flashy event in San Francisco last Thursday, though they were actually announced in China back in March. Hardly anyone noticed then, likely because there was no pricing, no release date, and no concrete specs. That makes them look a lot like vaporware. Still, that’s arguably better than a phonemaker run by the president’s sons, which has been accused by lawmakers of “false advertising and deceptive practices.”
To Dreame’s credit, the company at least displayed physical phones at its launch event, something Trump Mobile has yet to do. And its ambitions are bold, even if that’s exactly why I suspect these devices will never truly launch. One model is a modular phone with detachable action cam and AI accessories. The other, the Aurora Lux, is even stranger: it will supposedly come in an eye-popping 29 different designs, most encrusted with gems, gold, or both.
The names match the over-the-top aesthetics. The Axiom Shield looks like a Pixel 10 wrapped in snakeskin. Luxe Loop Sanctuary wraps a ring of glittering gems around a giant circular camera island. Imperial Totem appears to feature a sparkling peacock. And yes, many are gold. Trump Mobile must be kicking itself for not coming up with Golden Age, a design that coats the phone in diamond-patterned gold and turns the gem-ringed camera island into a golden analog clock. It’s the Trump aesthetic, dialed all the way up.
Dreame has outdone Trump Mobile in more than just design. Its San Francisco launch was a spectacle, filled with models, rocket cars, and Steve Wozniak. That stands in stark contrast to Trump Mobile’s debut nearly a year ago, when three middle-aged executives squeezed onto a tiny stage in a dimly lit Trump Tower room alongside Don Jr. and Eric Trump. It makes you wonder: why can a robot vacuum company project more glitz and glamour than the Trumps?
Dreame’s phones and its launch event carry a level of ambition that the boringly midrange T1 Phone sorely lacks. If you’re going to market the idea of a phone, at least make it an exciting one.
I don’t plan to write weekly updates about Dreame’s nonexistent devices. They lack the political proximity that makes Trump Mobile so compelling to watch. And so far, Dreame isn’t asking for $100 deposits on phones it may never deliver, which is a clear point in its favor. But if Dreame manages to beat the odds and put one of its modular, gem-encrusted fantasy phones in my hands before Trump Mobile does, it’ll make my year.
(Source: The Verge)
