Following its announcement last June, the T1 Phone from Trump Mobile is actually set to begin shipping to its first customers later this week. The news was confirmed by Trump Mobile CEO Pat O’Brien in an exclusive report for USA Today. The piece also includes some images of the device and a teaser video, all of which may or may not be AI-generated.

For reference, the T1 Phone was supposed to launch in August of last year. That was then pushed to October and eventually to “later this year”. Obviously, none of those dates materialized, and the phone itself went through several spec changes, including confirmation that it will not be made in America as initially claimed.

O’Brien confirmed that every pre-ordered T1 Phone will be sent out to its users in the next several weeks. The exec did not provide any details as to why the phone was delayed, but he did mention “those delays were worth it in our minds as we are delivering an amazing product”.

That is a bold choice of words for a device that seems to share most of its key hardware and looks with the nearly two-year-old HTC U24 Pro while costing $499. A quick comparison reveals the two share nearly identical specs though we still don’t know the chipset inside the T1 Phone. Hopefully, we’ll get more details as the first batch of orders makes its way to the “lucky” buyers.

At least the T1 Phone’s packaging will be better than most current phones. The phone will ship with a bundled charging brick, a braided USB-C cable and a clear silicone case.