The Trump Organization recently unveiled its first smartphone — the T1 — a gold-colored device priced at $499 and running Google’s Android system. While the company claims the phone will be “built in the United States,” experts believe it will likely be made in China.
Owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump, the company announced the T1 on Monday, but analysts say there’s little chance it will be designed or fully manufactured in the U.S.
“There is no way the phone was designed from scratch or assembled entirely in the U.S.,” said Francisco Jeronimo, VP at International Data Corporation. He told CNBC that the phone will most likely be produced by a Chinese original device manufacturer (ODM), which typically builds products based on another company’s specifications.
Analyst Blake Przesmicki from Counterpoint Research echoed that view, noting that despite the American branding, the T1 will likely be manufactured overseas. Jeff Fieldhack, also from Counterpoint, added, “The U.S. simply doesn’t have the local manufacturing infrastructure in place to produce smartphones at scale.”
Trump has previously urged U.S. companies — like Apple — to shift manufacturing back to the U.S. and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains. However, experts widely agree that bringing smartphone production to the U.S. would be both costly and logistically difficult, requiring years to establish and dramatically increasing product prices.
Foreign Components Are Essential
Even if some assembly were done in the U.S., the T1 — like all smartphones — would still rely on a global supply chain.
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Read more- Display: The 6.8-inch AMOLED screen is most likely sourced from South Korea’s Samsung or LG, or from China’s BOE — the top manufacturers of this technology.
- Processor: At the $499 price point, the T1 is expected to use a MediaTek processor from Taiwan. Alternatively, a Qualcomm chip would also likely be manufactured in Taiwan.
- Camera: The 50-megapixel camera will require image sensors, a component dominated by Japan’s Sony.
- Memory: The device could potentially use memory from U.S.-based Micron, although South Korean tech giant Samsung is also a likely supplier.
“As with most devices, even if some parts are assembled locally, key components will still be sourced from around the world,” said Fieldhack.
Despite the Trump Organization’s claims, the T1 smartphone is unlikely to be a fully American-made device. From the screen to the processor and camera, much of the phone will depend on foreign technology — especially from China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
While the T1 may offer an affordable alternative to high-end smartphones like Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro Max, its claim of being “built in the U.S.” appears more marketing than manufacturing reality.
