Following a nine-month delay, Trump Mobile’s $499 T1 smartphone arrived for pre-order customers and media this week, stripped of its original Made in the USA labeling and carrying an American flag design with only 11 stripes instead of the traditional 13. Over the last year, key details about the phone’s manufacture, design and delivery date have changed, and some customers are still waiting for their phones – as Thomas Copeland explains. Produced by Aisha Sembhi. Graphics by Mesut Ersoz.
From Summer 2025 Launch to a Delayed Delivery
When Trump Mobile was launched by US President Donald Trump’s eldest sons in the summer of 2025, the company advertised that a “T1” smartphone would be built in the US and shipped to customers within months. Trump Mobile is a venture co-founded by the president’s eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, with the latter’s photo appearing prominently on the Trump Mobile website. Instead of hitting its expected August 2025 launch target, the device faced a nine-month delay as months went by and critics became skeptical that the device would ever be released.
To secure a device, customers must provide a $100 refundable deposit and join the waitlist for the $499 handset which is a promotional price
according to NBC News. Customers will also have to pay $47.45 per month for the plan. Beyond the T1, Trump Mobile also offers additional devices, including “renewed” models from Samsung and Apple, and allows customers to bring their own phones to the network.
Shifting Claims on U.S. Manufacturing
The most visible change surrounding the handset involves its origin. While CNN and NBC News noted that the Android-operated device was first promoted as Made in the USA
in June 2025, Trump Mobile has since changed the language on its website to designed with American values in mind.
Trump Mobile CEO Pat O’Brien told USA Today that the phones were “assembled” in the U.S. and that models will use components primarily manufactured in America.
O’Brien said the delays were worth it in our minds as we are delivering an amazing product.
Tech Experts Identify the Hardware
Independent tech evaluations cast doubt on the phone’s domestic uniqueness. Tech experts told NBC News that the phone appears to resemble an HTC U-24 Pro, which is made in Taiwan. It looks physically very similar, and that matches with what we've been told so far,
Shahram Mokhtari, an engineer at tech repair company iFixit told NBC News. Tech outlet The Verge also reported that the phone was likely a U-24 Pro device. The Trump name also appears on the handset four times, according to the outlet. The Independent has contacted the Trump Organization for comment.
Design Flaws and Public Reaction
Aesthetic details on the back of the handset drew immediate scrutiny from design observers and commentators alike. We tested the Trump Mobile phone. It was 9 months late, comes pre-loaded with Truth Social, and is no longer ‘Made in the USA,’
NBC News said in a summary of its review on social media.
The American flag design on the back of the handset appears to have 11 stripes instead of 13. The 13 stripes represent the 13 colonies that broke away from British rule to fight for independence, so you probably shouldn’t just lop two of them off,
wrote The Verge’s Dominic Preston, who has been tracking the release of the T1 phone.
Other critics joined in. [A]ctually kind of hilarious (& sad!) that the Trump phone has 11 stripes on it (actual flag has 13),
Sheel Mohnot, a fintech entreprenuer, posted on X. An overpriced, outdated phone, preloaded with propaganda that is no longer 'made in the USA,' is the perfect metaphor for Trump's Republican Party,
said Melanie D’Arrigo, an executive director of a New York health advocacy group.
Regulatory Scrutiny and Political Backlash
The rollout arrives amid existing political pressure. In January, a group of Democratic senators led by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded the Federal Trade Commission investigate Trump Mobile over concerns about potentially misleading marketing tied to prepaid deposits and questions about whether the phone is actually made in the U.S.
With the T1 now reaching select customers and media reviewers pre-loaded with Truth Social, the venture faces the challenge of reconciling its original manufacturing claims with the reality of its delivered hardware.
