Tech Influencers Warn Against Buying 24K Gold-Plated Escobar iPhone 11 Pro

Pablo Escobar’s brother, Roberto Escobar, is selling 24K gold-plated Escobar-branded iPhone 11 Pros, but popular tech influencers are advising against purchasing the flashy devices. On Friday, May 29, Marques Brownlee uploaded a video to his YouTube channel explaining his experience with Escobar Inc.

Brownlee kicked off the video with a bit of backstory, telling viewers that the company popped up on his radar about a year ago when he noticed people talking about an “Escobar Phone.” He said that the device turned out to be a Royole FlexPai covered with a gold sticker, and people who ordered the phone never received it. Later, there was a bit more buzz about the Escobar company when they began advertising a gold version of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, but again, they failed to fulfill orders.

Now, the company is back with a gold-plated iPhone 11 Pro, which they’ve dubbed the “Apple Killer.” Brownlee stated he did not purchase the phone this time and insisted that no one else should attempt to spend money on the phone unless they’re totally fine with not receiving anything in return. The YouTuber said the company’s strategy is choosing desirable tech products, advertising them for cheap, and then getting the word out about the devices by sending them to popular YouTubers and influencers.

“The key is to only ship out a few of those to the people who you believe will make the videos and share it with their audiences and things like that,” he said. “But as long as that number of phones is small and you ship it to the right people, those videos will generate more sales that you never have to ship.”

Tech YouTuber Arun Maini also made a video about the new Escobar iPhone, saying his experience was similar to Brownlee’s and added that several customers who ordered the phone have received books instead of the actual device. Maini assumed this could be a way to make the process appear legitimate as the company will be able to provide a tracking number if the purchase is disputed.

Both YouTubers admitted they weren’t sure if the company would make good on their promise this time around, but it didn’t matter because the track record speaks for itself.

“The fact is that if you order it, all evidence points to the fact that you’re probably not going to receive it,” Maini said.

“So, again, don’t buy it!”

As for Escobar, he said this was his way of standing up to Apple.

“This is my way of fighting Apple, I sell their phones at a lower price, and mine are gold-plated with nice girls showing them off. Apple can never do that,” he said in a statement, according to engadget.

Escobar has also allegedly filed a lawsuit against the tech company, seeking $2.6 billion. The lawsuit was reportedly filed because of a FaceTime bug that allowed someone to gain access to his location information.

This isn’t the first time Escobar has been entangled with major companies. In 2017, he demanded $1 billion from Netflix, then two years later, accused Elon Musk of copying his flamethrower idea.