The biggest selling point of the Trump T1 Phone was always the branding. Heavily promoted as a patriotic alternative to mainstream tech, the device launched with heavy “Made in USA” messaging attached. However, a recent teardown has revealed that this proudly American smartphone is essentially a Taiwanese device in a golden coat of paint.
After taking the phone apart, repair experts at iFixit found that the Trump T1 Phone appears to be almost identical to the HTC U24 Pro, a device that was already on the market long before the T1 was announced. And they’re not talking about a few design similarities.
The IFixit team performed CT scans, dismantled both phones, and even swapped internal components between the devices. An HTC U24 Pro motherboard worked inside the Trump T1 Phone without any apparent issues. That suggests the two devices are effectively the same phone.
There are a few changes
The camera flash is positioned slightly differently. The speaker grille has a different shape and the back of the phone has a different design. But in terms of performance, the differences are minimal. Both devices feature Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processors, 12GB RAM, and 512GB storage.
The most notable hardware difference here is reportedly the battery. The Trump T1 includes a slightly larger battery manufactured in the Philippines, while the battery in the HTC device was manufactured in China and supports faster charging.
The ‘Made in USA’ claim keeps getting murkier
This teardown adds to questions that have followed the Trump T1 Phone since launch. Early marketing of the phone heavily emphasized American manufacturing.
But more recently, Trump Mobile appears to have adjusted its language, saying the phone is assembled in the United States rather than made in the United States. The company has, however, not provided detailed information explaining exactly how much of the device’s production occurs in the U.S.
HTC probably didn’t make it either
Even though the T1 Phone closely resembles the HTC U24 Pro, the experts behind the teardown don’t believe HTC itself manufactured the President Donald Trump-owned device. HTC largely moved away from manufacturing phones itself years ago after selling much of its smartphone business to Google in 2017.
Today, HTC-branded phones are typically produced by third-party Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) in China. The theory is that Trump Mobile may be working with the same ODM responsible for producing the HTC U24 Pro. If true, both phones could be coming from the same pipeline.
Source: Phone Arena