Privacy-first smartphone maker Unplugged to begin assembly in America

Unplugged’s privacy-first smartphone UP Phone
On Tuesday, Unplugged, a smartphone startup, announced it will begin assembling its privacy-focused “UP Phone” in Nevada this fall, shifting to U.S.-based production in alignment with the Trump administration’s push for increased domestic manufacturing.
Akash Sriram for Reuters:
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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.
“The first step we are approaching is assembly and then phasing in component sourcing,” Weil said… He declined to disclose the number of devices Unplugged plans to assemble in Nevada, or the identity of its partner.
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…
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.

Unplugged today announced a major update to its privacy-first smartphone, UP Phone, alongside the official appointment of Joe Weil as CEO. Weil, who led special projects for Apple Services, was brought on earlier this year to lead the relaunch, restructure operations, and drive long-term growth.

https://macdailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/250812_up_phone.mp4
“More people are concerned about their smartphones than ever before. Instead of protecting our privacy, devices are subsidized by selling access to our private information. And while our phones give us access to so much of the world, they can also be used to filter and limit what we can see,” said Joe Weil, CEO of Unplugged, in a statement. “When it comes to these issues, Apple and Google take similar and symbiotic approaches, leaving many customers without a phone that’s right for them. That’s why we built Unplugged — because we believe in a future where a device serves the person who owns it, not the agendas of the company that made it.”
Designed to optimize privacy at every level, UP Phone integrates proprietary hardware and software like no other smartphone to protect customer privacy. With an on-device Firewall, multi-layered privacy protections, a refreshed OS, and an all-new user experience, UP Phone sets an entirely new standard for privacy with a device that is easy to use out of the box.
At the core of UP Phone is a powerful on-device Firewall. More than just software, it’s the foundational security infrastructure that enables UP Phone’s privacy system across the OS and apps. The Firewall blocks third-party tracking and data harvesting attempts—and exposes the apps behind them—so customers can see their privacy protections in action.
On-device Firewall blocks third-party tracking, stops data harvesting, and reveals the apps behind it.
UP Phone’s operating system, UnpluggedOS, is purpose-built for privacy, functioning independently from Big Tech ecosystems to eliminate surveillance and data harvesting at the source. UP Phone leverages open-source Android without Google Mobile Services (GMS)—preventing backdoor data collection and restoring customer autonomy.
Independent Test Reveals UP Phone’s Clear Privacy Advantage
In tests conducted by cybersecurity firm Raxis, UP Phone outperformed Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy S25 in blocking third-party data harvesting connections and data transmissions.
Within a one-hour testing window, Raxis monitored data activity across all three phones in their standard factory configuration while engaging with 33 widely used apps like Snapchat, Expedia, Spotify, Pinterest, The Weather Channel, and Nike. The test revealed that:
• iPhone performed 3,181 DNS requests to third-party tracking domains and sent and received a total of 210,748 data packets to the trackers during testing — even with “Ask app not to track” selected.
• Galaxy performed 1,368 DNS requests to third-party tracking domains and sent and received a total of 171,467 data packets to the trackers during testing.
• For UP Phone, no evidence in packet captures of DNS lookups or data packets sent or received from third-party tracking sites during testing
UP Phone features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display and is powered by an octa-core Mediatek 1200 processor with 8GB of RAM.
The rear triple-camera system captures images with a 108MP high-resolution main lens, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, a 5MP macro lens, and a 13MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calls.
UP Phone is available for $989. Shipping starts in mid-September. Privacy services are offered through a $12.99 monthly or $129.99 annual subscription covering VPN, antivirus, messenger features, and cloud photo storage. Every phone includes one year of full service at no additional charge, and the device remains fully functional regardless of subscription status. A basic tier is available without subscription fees.
More info about UP Phone here.
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MacDailyNews Note: Interesting.

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