Trump T1 phone: everything you need to know about the $499 ‘made in USA’ smartphone
The Trump T1 is gold and out this September
👔 The Trump Organisation has announced plans for both a gold mobile phone and an associated mobile plan
💰 The T1 phone launches in August for $499, with a $100 down payment, and is said to be “proudly designed and built in the United States”
🤔 Some experts have questioned the viability for a phone at a low cost to be manufactured and developed in the US in just two months
📞 The flagship mobile plan, the “47 Plan” costs $47.45 a month and includes unlimited calls, texts and data, alongside extras such as 24/7 roadside assistance and free international calling to more than 100 countries
The family organization of Donald Trump has announced its own mobile handset and associated mobile plan.
According to a press release, the Trump Mobile service will offer 5G across “all three major cellular carriers”, with a “strong signal, coast to coast”.
The flagship 47 Plan offers unlimited calls, texts, and data, alongside “complete device protection” and extras like 24/7 roadside assistance with Drive America. It also includes a range of telehealth services including easy prescription ordering and virtual medical care, and free international calling to more than 100 countries.
The plan is priced at $47.45, so-called because of Trump serving as the 45th and 47th President of the United States, and involves no contract or credit checks to gain access.
The press release also states that the customer service is entirely US-based and will involve “talking to a real person” as opposed to being automated or outsourced.
Trump T1 phone
Alongside the phone plan, the Trump Organization also announced its own flagship phone, known as the 'T1 Phone' which will be released in September, 2025. It costs $499 and is “proudly designed and built in the United States for customers who expect the best from their mobile carrier.”
The handset is gold, and comes with an iPhone-style camera bump on the rear, according to the provided render, with 'T1' and the US flag seemingly engraved. As for specs, it has a 6.8-inch 'punch hole' AMOLED display (presumably referring to the hole-punch selfie camera at the top) with an 120Hz refresh rate, along with a triple camera setup with a 50MP main sensor as well as 2MP depth and 2MP macro sensors. There’s also a 16MP front camera.
The spec sheet also discloses a 5000mAh battery (previously erroneously referred to as a camera, according to The Verge) with 20W fast charging. It runs Android 15 and has an in-screen fingerprint sensor, support for 'AI Face Unlock', and even a 3.5mm headphone jack. No mention has been made of its processor, while the general spec sheet also doesn't match up with any existing model, especially as it has both Android 15 and a headphone jack.
The viability of the phone being entirely manufactured domestically for its $499 price tag has been questioned by experts, with one telling the BBC that it would be “virtually impossible”.
In addition, Eric Trump stated on the Benny Show podcast on 16 June that “Eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America”, suggesting that the initial run may not be entirely made domestically.
NBC also conducted research into the viability of the T1 phone to be made solely in the USA, citing the example of Carlsbad, CA-based Purism, which manufactures the $2,000 Liberty Phone.
They said it would take “much more than two months” to manufacture an American-made phone from scratch, with Purism's founder Todd Weaver stating it took six years to go from “I would like to make a phone and I would like to make it in the U.S” to having a product in hand.
NBC also noted that the Purism Liberty Phone has a custom made OS, and even though 90 percent of the components of their phone come from the US, Canada or Europe, there are some that simply cannot – a specific crystal for the phone's motherboard is only available from China, while the phone's chassis and cameras are also Chinese. The Bluetooth module also comes from India. Their assembly line consists of four people assembling the phone by hand, as opposed to a mass production facility.
The Trump Mobile phone and plan have a disclaimer at the bottom of the press release that says they are not “designed, developed, manufactured, distributed or sold by The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals”, signalling this to be a further example of the Trump name being licensed, according to Reuters.
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.