iFixit Teardown Strips the Gold Paint Off the Trump T1 Phone
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Last month, some tech editors got their hands on the long-anticipated T1 phone from Trump Mobile — and their initial impressions were fairly brutal. They panned everything from the color and camera to the lack of transparency around hardware specifications and uncertainty of the schedule of security updates.
On May 12, Trump Mobile’s CEO told USA Today the T1 phones would begin shipping that week and that all pre-ordered phones should be delivered within the next several weeks.
However, as of today, we can’t find any evidence of non-media consumers receiving their T1 phones. TrumpMobile.com is still accepting deposits for the T1, with the caveat that “a preorder deposit provides a conditional opportunity if Trump Mobile later elects…to offer the Device for sale. A deposit is not a purchase…”
Just how long is the line for pre-orders Trump Mobile has yet to fulfill? According to Yahoo!, about 590,000 buyers or pre-orderers paid the $100 deposit for the T1. That’s $59 million in pre-order deposits with the possibility of Trump Mobile raking in almost $295 million — if the phones are actually delivered and customers pay the balance of the $499 price.
It didn’t take long after the initial announcement of the T1 for skeptics to raise their eyebrows. From the early “Made in America” claims to the images of the T1 on Trump Mobile resembling a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra in a Spigen case, everyone was confused.
All That Glitters…
Recently, iFixit, a repair site that champions the global Right to Repair movement, did a teardown of the T1. It’s worth noting that iFixit got its T1 from NBC News rather than through a pre-order, which reinforces earlier reports that only select media members have actually received a T1.
However, the real punchline here is that iFixit found the T1 to be virtually identical to the HTC U24 Pro.
Digging deeper into the phone reveals more of the same. As in the same component shapes, the same component placement, the same screw placements, and even the same anti-tamper sticker placements. Do you know what else is likely to be the same? The factories that made these parts. The biggest clue? The mainboard itself.
Shahram Mokhtari, iFixit
iFixit technician Shahram Mokhtari and writer Arthur Chi believe the only place the T1 could be made is a factory in Guangdong, China — the same place as the U24 Pro. Given the T1’s brief existence, limited quantities, and similar price point to the U24 Pro, they reason it could only be made at factories with “preexisting tooling and production lines for this phone.” So much for “Made in the USA.”
It appears we’re back at square one. We knew it was unlikely Trump Mobile’s T1 was to be manufactured in the US. On the other hand, we did expect it to be delivered to at least some consumers by now, as promised. The updated “Preorder Deposit Terms and Conditions” suggest a bait and switch could be a reality. Deposits will be refunded “if Trump Mobile cancels or discontinues the Device offering prior to sale.” With $59 million worth of deposits and 590,000 customers waiting on the T1, we expect another chapter of the journey to the T1 to unfold soon.
