- iFixit has taken down Trump Mobile’s T1
- They have discovered that it is almost identical to the HTC U24 Pro from 2024
- The main differences are minor cosmetic changes, along with a slightly larger battery.
One of the main selling points of the Trump Phone (or Trump Mobile’s T1, to give it its official name) is its “American values”, and the official store page mentions that phrase along with “American innovation”, “proud American design” and calls it a “proudly American” product. But you probably won’t be surprised to learn that there’s apparently little of that Americana in the phone itself.
You see, iFixit finally got hold of a T1 phone and performed a teardown, discovering in the process that the phone is almost identical to the HTC U24 Pro, a 2024 phone from a Taiwanese brand that was apparently produced in China.
There are a few differences here, but they’re mostly cosmetic, as the Trump Phone of course has that gold finish, along with a slightly different camera block and speaker grill design.
Beyond that, the Trump Phone also has a slightly larger 5,000 mAh battery, versus the HTC U24 Pro’s 4,600 mAh, but less powerful 30W charging, versus the HTC Phone’s 60W.
But make no mistake: These are essentially the same phones, and most of the components, specs, and internal designs are identical.
More Asian than American
Therefore, claims that the Trump T1 phone contains real American values, much less that it could be “proudly American,” are difficult to take seriously.
iFixit notes that the markings on the phone say it’s “assembled in the USA,” which is noticeably different from being “made in America”; the latter has specific FCC requirements, which the Trump Phone apparently does not meet.
A team in Florida is supposedly assembling the device from around 10 components, but iFixit speculates that the chassis and screen are imported as a pre-assembled unit (probably from the same factory in China that made the HTC U24 Pro), and the Trump Mobile team will probably just add things like the battery and camera module, all of which will probably also have been built elsewhere, but may not have been put into the phone until it reaches US coasts
So if you want a phone that’s more than superficially American, this isn’t the phone for you.
That said, the Trump T1 is at least similarly priced to the HTC U24 Pro, so it’s arguably not the total rip-off I expected it to be. iFixit jokes that, “against all expectations, the T1 is well priced compared to the U24 Pro with equivalent specifications, and the only thing you give up is 60W fast charging and your dignity.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
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