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Last week, buzzy startup Essential announced that its debut phone would be exclusive to Sprint when it launches in the US later this summer.
Except, it’s not actually “exclusive” to Sprint. You can buy the phone unlocked through Essential’s website, buy a SIM card from any of the four major carriers, and use the device on whichever carrier you want. You likely won’t have to deal with annoying Sprint bloatware, either.
Prior to that announcement, Microsoft held its annual Xbox showcase at the E3 video games expo in Los Angeles, where it announced a number of games it described as “exclusive” to its Xbox One platform.
Before the trailers for games like “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” and “Ashen” aired, the lights in the Galen Center would dim, and a booming voice would rumble through the speakers:
“Exclusive.”
Xbox/YouTube
Again, nope. Virtually every game Microsoft displayed at the event will at least be available on the PC; a handful of them will land on rival consoles like the PlayStation 4. “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” has already become a smash hit on the PC over the past several months.
Misleading marketing is nothing new in the tech industry, but…
