Is Trump's smartphone really made in the US?

On June 16 at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, Trump Organization, the business group of US President Donald Trump's family, officially announced a new step in the telecommunications field.

In particular, this empire will launch a mobile service branded Trump Mobile and a smartphone model called T1 with a selling price of 499 USD .

The devices and services will come with “all-American” features, such as domestically manufactured phones and US-based customer service centers, the announcement said.

Question of origin

The Trump Organization's choice to manufacture phones in the US - in an industry that relies heavily on international supply chains - is seen as reflecting the long-standing "domestic manufacturing first" stance of President Trump and his supporters.

However, after only about an hour of launch, many users on social networks quickly discovered that the T1 seemed to be just a "refurbished" version of the T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G. Even the screen specifications and camera resolution were completely identical to the T-Mobile device.

The T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G is manufactured by Wingtech, which is owned by Chinese manufacturer Luxshare. Luxshare also makes iPhones for Apple, with factories in China and India. The T-Mobile version is said to be manufactured in factories in China.

According to the website, the T1 has a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 16MP punch-hole front camera design, a triple rear camera including a 50MP main camera, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens. The device has a 5,000mAh battery, 256GB of internal memory, 12GB of RAM, an under-screen fingerprint sensor, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and runs Android 15.

From these specifications, The Verge emphasizes that the phone has a particularly strange combination of Android 15, 5G network and 3.5mm headphone jack.

These are contradictory specifications as Android 15 is usually only available on newer devices, while in the past few years, almost every phone manufacturer has stopped supporting the 3.5mm port.

“There are still a handful of phones that have both, and almost all of them are made in China,” The Verge commented.

T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G and Trump Mobile's T1. Photo: PCMag.

Despite Trump’s son Eric Trump’s repeated assertions that the T1 is “designed and manufactured in the USA,” that claim has been met with skepticism. The lack of information about the processor, display, and camera modules – components that must be imported – has further fueled the suspicions.

By comparison, even the industry’s biggest companies, like Apple, have had enormous difficulty moving their entire iPhone manufacturing supply chain to the U.S. Experts have estimated that the process would require billions of dollars and years of preparation.

Trump Mobile, a complete newcomer to the industry, would have a hard time doing the same thing for $499 and still making a profit.

In fact, in theory, assembling smartphones in the US is possible, but only on a very small scale and still requires importing important components such as cameras, RAM, memory, processors and screens.

Therefore, the possibility of the T1 being a smartphone made entirely in the US is low, unless there is some "miracle" in the supply chain.

Overpromises or just a gimmick?

Speaking at the launch, Donald Trump Jr., Mr. Trump's eldest son, said the service will come with amenities such as telemedicine support, car rescue and unlimited texting to 100 countries, all included in a fixed monthly fee.

Plan 47, named after Mr. Trump as the 47th President of the United States, is the main plan of this telecommunications network.

According to the official website, the first Trump phone will be available for sale from September, with a subscription package of 47.45 USD / month. The unit responsible for operating the service is DTTM Operations, the organization that manages brands related to President Donald Trump.

Also last week, DTTM filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office, including the right to use the name “Trump” and the phrase “T1” for telecommunications products and services such as mobile phones, accessories (cases, chargers) and retail stores.

The Trump Organization surprised everyone by entering the telecommunications industry. Photo: Reuters.

Trump Mobile claims to offer unlimited calls, texts, and data, with the first 20GB at “high speed.” But those are actually pretty common features on phone plans in the US.

"This sleek, gold-colored phone is built with powerful performance, proudly designed and built in the USA for customers who expect the best from their carriers," the Trump Organization's website introduces the T1.

It's also worth noting that Trump Mobile will operate as a virtual network operator (MVNO), meaning it will only resell network access from major US carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. This isn't a new network, but simply a way to leverage existing infrastructure.

It is clear that Trump Mobile is aiming straight at the loyal fans of Mr. Trump with the T1. However, what users will get for their money seems to be just a mid-range Android device, not worthy of its flashy gold-plated appearance and especially the production process may still be located in China.

Source: https://znews.vn/chiec-smartphone-cua-tap-doan-trump-co-thuc-su-lam-tai-my-post1561398.html