The Trump phone seems to be real after all – and we just got our best look yet at it

• The Trump T1 gets shown off in a new interview
• Trump Mobile execs have been talking to The Verge
• A launch is still planned for sometime later this year

It was way back in June that the Trump T1 phone was announced by Trump Mobile, part of President Donald Trump's sprawling business empire, and we'd almost given up hope of ever seeing it – but a new report suggests it's still on the way after all.

Over at The Verge, Dominic Preston has put in some impressive work trying to track down what exactly has happened to the Trump T1, and he's now managed to get on a video call with Trump Mobile executives Don Hendrickson and Eric Thomas.

During the hour-long chat, the Trump phone was actually shown off, via webcam. The device we were given a glimpse of is said to be close to the final production model, though there are still some changes planned – like removing the T1 logo. The USA flag on the back casing and the gold coloring are apparently staying.

The Trump Mobile execs say that the $100 deposits that some people have put down will still be honored when the handset finally ships, with a final price yet to be decided. As per the execs, it'll be less than $1,000, but more than the $499 that was originally promised.

No longer made in the USA

There's been a lot of uncertainty around this phone, what with odd-looking renders and a confusing spec sheet, plus repeated delays. Whatever the full story, it's clear this is no longer the phone described in the initial flurry of information that appeared last year.

Thanks to the interview we know that the handset will be powered by a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 series chipset, and 512GB of expandable storage and a 5,000 mAh battery were also mentioned – plus at least a couple of 50MP sensors for the selfie camera and one of the rear cameras.

Trump Mobile has rowed back on its original claims that this phone will be made in the USA. Now, it's saying "final assembly" is done in the United States, with most of the manufacturing done elsewhere (though no one is saying where).

Shipping will apparently start later this year, though Hendrickson and Thomas are (perhaps understandably) reluctant to commit themselves. According to the report, FCC filings are done, with T-Mobile certification expected in mid-March.

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