Privacy-focused smartphone maker Unplugged to start US assembly in Nevada
The phones will be assembled in Nevada and the company aims to keep the device priced under $1,000, despite the high labor costs, CEO Joe Weil, a former Apple executive, told Reuters. The devices are currently made in Indonesia and priced at $989.
He declined to disclose the number of devices Unplugged plans to assemble in Nevada, or the identity of its partner. The company did not share the names of its backers and the amount it had raised.
Analysts have said assembling smartphones in the U.S. is prohibitively expensive due to an Asia-centered supply chain and high domestic labor costs. But U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing companies including Apple to manufacture more domestically by leaning on tariff threats and other measures.
Unplugged said it plans to avoid some of the high costs tied to U.S. assembling by building devices in smaller, steady batches instead of releasing a new model every year.
Its latest device, available for preorder and set to ship in late September, comes with a year of access to Unplugged's software suite, including firewall-based tracker blocking, a VPN and encrypted photo storage, before switching to a $12.99-per-month plan.
The new version retains the same hardware as the previous device that went on sale in 2024 but adds a redesigned interface, firewall dashboard and upgraded camera software.
Trump Mobile, a cellular service and smartphone venture licensing the president's brand, has said it is also looking to assemble its debut T1 handset in the U.S.
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Hans India
29 minutes ago
- Hans India
US may not impose additional 25 pc tariffs on India over Russian oil, hints Trump
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Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- Indian Express
The Alaska Report Card: First assessment of who won what, and how
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While the circle of advisors in the meeting was small, the Russian leader underlined the trade and business component very clearly in his remarks. He said that Russia-US trade had started to grow under Trump, even though the growth rate was not high currently. 'Our trade started to grow after the new US administration came to power. So far, it's merely symbolic, but it's still a rise of 20%. I mean that we have a lot of promising areas for joint work,' he said. Putin also said that Russia and the US have a lot to offer each other in various areas of cooperation. 'Russia-US business and investment cooperation clearly has a lot of potential. Russia and the US have a lot to offer each other in trade, the energy sector, the digital industry, high technology and space exploration. Arctic cooperation also looks relevant, as well as the resumption of interregional ties, particularly between Russia's Far East and the US West Coast.' This was a clear indication of what he wants from the negotiations with the US, as his priority number 1. Putin's other important objective is 'security', and he underlined that as well in his comments. He said that Russia was ready to work to ensure Ukraine's security as well: 'I agree with President Trump — he has spoken about it today — that Ukraine's security also needs to be ensured. We are certainly ready to work on that.' What Putin did not say — and what he obviously meant — was that Ukraine's security umbrella should be with Moscow's approval, and that implied its membership of NATO, or the presence of any NATO troops in Ukraine's periphery, was ruled out. For Trump, the meeting in Alaska was supposed to be the biggest stage for his self-acclaimed deal-making, and he wanted to be seen before the world as the ultimate peacemaker that he believes himself to be. What he did achieve was to get the Russian President to the table to talk about ending the war. 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India faces a 50 per cent tariff — 25 per cent as 'penalty' for buying Russian oil — and therefore has a clear stake on the outcome of the meeting. Trump, after all, seems to believe that his squeezing of India by slapping the 25 per cent tariff brought Russia to the table. US officials, including the Treasury Secretary, have warned that in case there is no deal, an even higher penalty might be imposed. But a glimmer of hope did seem to appear in Putin's statement that the agreements reached in Alaska 'will be the starting point for resolving the Ukraine issue' and improving Russia-US relations. Trump himself described the meeting as 'productive'. But he acknowledged that the two leaders fell short, at least for now. 'We haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway…There's no deal until there's a deal,' he said. For New Delhi, this little headway is important — and offers some hope of the pressure easing.
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Business Standard
29 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Trump hints US could hold back secondary tariffs on India over Russian oil
President Donald Trump has hinted that the US may not go ahead with additional secondary tariffs on countries that continue to buy Russian crude oil. This might come as a relief for India as there had been worries that the country could face new penalties if Washington enforced secondary sanctions. "Well, he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40 per cent of the oil. China, as you know, is doing a lot. And if I did what's called a secondary sanction, or a secondary tariff, it would be very devastating from their standpoint. If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it," Trump said on Friday. Tariffs on India already in place India is already facing steep tariffs from Washington. A 25 per cent duty on Indian imports took effect on August 7. Trump later announced an additional 25 per cent levy on Indian oil purchases from Russia, bringing the total tariff burden on Indian goods to 50 per cent. The second round of duties will start from August 27. India calls decision 'unfair' New Delhi strongly criticised the move. The Ministry of External Affairs said the tariff hike was 'unfair, unjustified and unreasonable', stressing that India's energy imports are linked to national security. It also pointed out that European countries continue to import Russian oil at much higher levels. 'Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,' the ministry said. Wider tariff hikes The new US tariffs are not limited to India. The executive order, titled "Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates", introduced fresh duties on nearly 70 countries. These range from 10 per cent to 40 per cent. Laos and Myanmar face 40 per cent, Pakistan 19 per cent, Sri Lanka 20 per cent, the UK 10 per cent, and Japan 15 per cent. Most of the new duties came into force after midnight in New York on August 7. Trump celebrated the move on his Truth Social platform, writing: 'It's Midnight!!! Billions of Dollars In Tariffs Are Now Flowing Into The United States Of America [sic]!' In another post, he added: 'Reciprocal tariffs take effect at midnight tonight! Billions of dollars, largely from countries that have taken advantage of the United States for many years, laughing all the way, will start flowing into the USA. The only thing that can stop America's greatness would be a radical left court that wants to see our country fail!' Alaska summit ends without a breakthrough The high-profile meeting between Trump and Putin ended without any deal to stop the Russia-Ukraine war. 'We had a very productive meeting, and there were many points that we agreed on. A couple of big ones that we haven't quite gotten there, but we made some headway. There's no deal until there's a deal,' Trump told reporters at a joint press conference. Before the talks, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had warned that if the discussions failed, Washington could raise secondary sanctions on India for purchasing Russian oil. 'I think everyone has been frustrated with President Putin. We expected that he would come to the table in a more fulsome way. It looks like he may be ready to negotiate,' Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg. He added, 'We put secondary tariffs on the Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up. Sanctions can go up, they can be loosened. They can have a definitive life. They can go on indefinitely.' (With agency inputs)
