Trump is finally using an iPhone but some of his tweets are still coming from an Android device
President Donald Trump is finally using an Apple (AAPL) iPhone, despite once calling for a boycott of the company's products, after concerns that the Android handset he was reportedly using was unsecured.
In a tweet Wednesday, Dan Scavino Jr., the White House director of social media, said Trump had been using his new iPhone for a couple of weeks, including to tweet.
Past Trump tweets have been sent from an iPhone but it was likely to have been from his staff members. Despite Scavino's statement that Trump has been using his iPhone for the past two weeks, tweets as recent as March 25 have been marked as coming from an Android phone. Tweets shown via software called Tweetdeck show the source of a tweet. The following tweet was sent from an Android device.
It doesn't necessarily mean the president is still using his old device because it could be a newer Android or even one of his staff. But it would still raise concerns about security. CNBC has reached out to Scavino via Twitter, but he did not reply. Most Trump tweets in the past few days have been from an iPhone.
A number of reports suggested that Trump was using a Samsung (Korea Stock Exchange: 593-KR) Galaxy S3 running Google's (GOOGL) Android operating system, a point that has never officially been confirmed. The New York Times reported in January that the phone was unsecured. This means that it is vulnerable to hackers, something of great concern because any president of the United States would be a key hacking target.
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., sent a letter in February to the House Oversight Committee asking it to investigate the president's phone over concerns that it can be easily hacked.
"This behavior is more than bad operational security — it is an egregious affront to national security," the letter said.
By accepting an iPhone, Trump's icy relationship with Apple appears to have thawed. During a campaign rally last year, Trump called for people to boycott Apple products because the technology giant refused an FBI request to unlock the iPhone used by a gunman in the deadly San Bernardino shootings in 2015. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook called the request "chilling" and did not assist.
"First of all, Apple ought to give the security for that phone," Trump said during his rally.
"What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until such time as they give that security number."
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