Smartphones have always piqued our curiosity, but when it comes to a phone bearing the name of a controversial figure like Donald Trump, technical curiosity quickly turns into anticipation mixed with skepticism. Last month, some tech editors received samples of the highly anticipated T1 phone from Trump Mobile, and the initial impressions were shockingly disappointing; reviewers criticized everything from the poor camera and colors to the complete lack of transparency regarding internal hardware specifications and the vague security update schedule.
The $59 million mystery and phones that haven’t arrived yet
Despite the CEO of Trump Mobile promising that phones would start shipping in mid-May and that all pre-orders would arrive within weeks, to this day, there is not a single piece of evidence that an average consumer has actually received their phone. Surprisingly, the company’s website still accepts financial deposits for pre-orders, with a strange, small disclaimer stating that the “deposit amount does not constitute an actual purchase,” but rather a conditional opportunity to buy the phone later if the company decides to actually release it for sale!
Herein lies the big surprise; financial reports indicate that about 590,000 subscribers have already paid a $100 deposit to reserve the phone. We are talking about $59 million in pre-order funds that have entered the company’s coffers, with the potential for that amount to reach $295 million if the phones are delivered and buyers pay the remaining price of $499. These massive figures have been accompanied by significant doubts from the start, especially with early marketing claims that the phone was “Made in America,” while promotional images resembled a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra inside a Spigen case!
iFixit teardown: Fake gold and Chinese manufacturing at its finest
This is where the experts at the famous teardown site iFixit come in, who got their hands on a version of the T1 phone they obtained via NBC News (reconfirming that only media personnel have received the phone so far). As soon as the teardown process began, the mask quickly fell, and the stark truth emerged: the phone is completely, literally identical to the HTC U24 Pro!
Technician Shahram Mokhtari from iFixit described the process, saying that examining the inside of the phone reveals the same shapes for internal components, the same layout, the same screw locations, and even the tamper-evident warranty stickers are placed in exactly the same spots. Most importantly, the mainboard itself is completely identical. This means one thing and one thing only: the phone was manufactured in the same factories in Guangdong province, China, that produce the HTC phone.
Given the short lifespan of Trump Mobile and its lack of its own production lines, it is obvious and logical that this phone could only be manufactured in factories that already possess the molds and production lines ready for this design. Goodbye to the “Made in America” slogan, and hello to rebranding and external gold paint! And with the new terms that allow the company to refund the deposit amount if the project is canceled, it seems we will be witnessing a new and exciting chapter in this story very soon.
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