Someone out-Trumped the Trump phone


It’s been another long week without the Trump phone, but it’s no longer the only nonexistent phone I have to worry about. Robot vacuum manufacturer Dreame has announced its own set of phones that are unlikely to ever launch, and one of them takes the Trump phone playbook and amps it up to 11.

Another point in Dreame’s defense is that it at least had physical phones on display at its launch event, which is more than I could say for Trump Mobile so far. Its phones are ambitious too, even if that’s part of why I’m confident they’ll never truly launch. One is a modular device with detachable action cam and AI accessories, but the other is arguably stranger: the Aurora Lux is supposedly going to be available in an absurd 29 different designs, most of them coated in gems, gold, or both.

They come with names as extraordinary as their designs. Axiom Shield looks like a Pixel 10 wrapped in snakeskin. Luxe Loop Sanctuary wraps a ring of glittery gems around the giant circular camera island. Imperial Totem appears to include a glittering peacock. And, yes, many of them are gold: Trump Mobile must be kicking itself that it didn’t come 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 all over.

It’s not just the phones that have out-Trumped Trump Mobile. Dreame’s showy San Francisco launch, filled with models, rocket cars, and Steve Wozniak, stands in pretty stark contrast to Trump Mobile’s. That day, almost a year ago now, saw three middle-aged executives crammed onto a tiny stage together with Don Jr. and Eric Trump in a badly lit room in New York’s Trump Tower. Why is a robot vacuum company able to project more glitz and glamor than the Trumps?

Dreame’s phones, and its launch event, have the sort of ambition the boringly midrange T1 Phone is lacking. If you’re going to market the idea of a phone, at least make it an exciting one.

I don’t think I’ll be writing weekly about the ongoing nonexistence of Dreame’s devices, because they don’t have that extra frisson of political proximity that makes Trump Mobile so compelling to gawk at. And, so far at least, Dreame isn’t trying to take $100 deposits for phones it may never launch, which is a point in its favor. Besides — if Dreame can 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.

Got inside information on Trump Mobile or the Trump phone? Reach out securely from a personal device to tips@theverge.com, or see our How to Tip Us page.



Source link

  • Related Posts

    The unprecedented and deadly cruise ship hantavirus outbreak, explained

    “This is not COVID. This is not influenza. It spreads very, very differently,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s acting director for epidemic and pandemic management, emphasized in a press briefing Thursday.…

    Western Digital Promo Code: 15% Off

    Started more than 50 years ago, data storage company Western Digital is one of the world’s largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers, and produces solid-state drives (SSDs) and flash memory…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    The unprecedented and deadly cruise ship hantavirus outbreak, explained

    The unprecedented and deadly cruise ship hantavirus outbreak, explained

    County Championship: Hampshire collapse hands Essex initiative

    County Championship: Hampshire collapse hands Essex initiative

    How Trump Is Prioritizing White People as Refugees

    How Trump Is Prioritizing White People as Refugees

    Trump considering firing FDA head Dr. Marty Makary, source says

    Trump considering firing FDA head Dr. Marty Makary, source says

    Peter Magyar Prepares to Take Over as Hungary’s Leader From Viktor Orban

    Peter Magyar Prepares to Take Over as Hungary’s Leader From Viktor Orban

    Metro Vancouver’s 4-minute meeting nets members more than $500 – BC

    Metro Vancouver’s 4-minute meeting nets members more than $500 – BC