Is the Trump T1 smartphone really ‘Made in the USA'? Here's what we know about its origins, features, and price
Trump Organization
recently unveiled the T1 smartphone — a gold-colored, Android-powered device priced at $499. Promoted as "built in the United States," new reports now suggest that the phone will most likely be manufactured in China.
According to an investigation by NBC News, the T1 is expected to be produced by a Chinese Original Device Manufacturer (ODM), despite branding efforts that emphasize American manufacturing. Experts point out that the U.S. lacks the necessary infrastructure to design and mass-produce smartphones, making overseas production the only viable option.
Francisco Jeronimo, vice president at research firm IDC, told NBC, 'There is no way the phone was designed from scratch or will be assembled entirely in the U.S. That's completely impossible.' He emphasized that a Chinese ODM will likely handle both design and manufacturing based on Trump's specifications.
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Blake Przesmicki, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, echoed this view, noting that the T1, despite its 'American-made' marketing, will most likely come from a Chinese manufacturer. Jeff Fieldhack, research director at the same firm, added that the U.S. simply doesn't have the local manufacturing capacity to support such production.
Trump has long pushed for tech giants like Apple to manufacture more electronics within the U.S., as part of a broader nationalistic manufacturing push. However, experts say shifting full-scale production of smartphones to American soil would not only be time-consuming—taking years to establish facilities—but would also significantly increase consumer prices.
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In the case of the T1, nearly all of its major components are expected to come from overseas. The 6.8-inch AMOLED display will likely be sourced from South Korea's Samsung or LG, or possibly Chinese company BOE. Its processor will most likely be from Taiwan's MediaTek, while camera sensors could come from Japanese firm Sony — the dominant player in that market. Even if memory chips come from U.S.-based Micron, those components often rely on global supply chains.
At $499, the Trump T1 significantly undercuts Apple's iPhone 16 Pro Max, which starts at $1,199 and features a slightly larger 6.9-inch screen.
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