The Trump Phone Was A No-show At The World’s Biggest Mobile Show

This week Barcelona was taken complete by nan tech manufacture arsenic Mobile World Congress descended connected nan Spanish city. The world’s biggest mobile show, MWC featured merchandise launches from Xiaomi and Honor, colossal booths from Samsung and Motorola, and appearances from awesome carriers including T-Mobile and AT&T. You cognize who was missing? Trump Mobile.

After nan Trump-themed web missed its chance to look astatine CES, nan US’s biggest tech waste and acquisition show, I thought it mightiness beryllium redeeming itself for an MWC appearance. After all, while CES spans everything from smart homes to ace cars, MWC has ever had a tighter attraction connected mobile phones and telecom companies. It’s precisely wherever a bearer building its ain telephone mightiness want to look to build its reputation, possibly show disconnected a telephone aliases two, and foster nan benignant of relationships pinch world partners that Trump Mobile executives previously told me they were moving on.

But aft a fewer days of sitting done MWC’s property conferences and strolling its accumulation halls, I’ve seen nary motion of Trump Mobile. The institution isn’t listed arsenic an exhibitor aliases vendor successful nan show’s charismatic directory, and neither is nan closely associated Liberty Mobile. I kept my oculus out, but spotted nary motion of nan network’s 3 public-facing executives either.

In fairness, MWC remains chiefly a European show, but it’s surely not exclusively so. Honor devoted astir of its booth to promoting nan Robot Phone, which it only intends to motorboat successful China, while each of nan large 3 US carriers had booths astatine nan show. And besides, shouldn’t nan all-American Trump Mobile relish nan excuse for a small flag-waving connected overseas soil?

The timing mightiness person been cleanable for a Trump Mobile MWC event, fixed nan institution claims it’s gearing up to officially relaunch nan T1 Phone successful nan coming weeks, and that it hopes to vessel nan first devices to buyers arsenic early arsenic this period — galore months precocious from its original August release, during which clip nan institution hasn’t released immoderate charismatic updates astatine all. With nary much grounds of that astatine MWC, nan Trump phone’s expansive return remains strictly hypothetical for astatine slightest a small while longer.

Got wrong accusation connected Trump Mobile aliases nan Trump phone? Reach retired securely from a individual instrumentality to tips@theverge.com, aliases spot our How to Tip Us page.