According to assessments from American business media, US President Donald Trump is unlikely to fulfill his vow to release a $499 gilded smartphone. The launch was initially scheduled for August 2025, but it now appears to be delayed.
Recently, the president promised to release a smartphone “made in the United States.” Remarkably, it will be assembled in China. What about America? Will consumers just see a label on the product?
Preliminary estimates suggest that the Trump family’s plan to begin selling their own T1 smartphone in August for $499, with production entirely based in the US, is unfeasible. Unfortunately, the so-called “TrumpPhone” will have to wait.
Earlier, the Trump Organization presented a gold-tinted T1 model priced at $499, marketed as “Made in the USA.” However, many experts believe it will be designed and assembled in China. According to the announced specs, the T1, which is intended to run on the Android operating system, is said to outperform the iPhone. The model boasts more RAM, a larger battery, a better camera, a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a built-in fingerprint scanner.
While the Trump Organization previously stated that the T1 would be “assembled in the United States,” experts note that its design and manufacturing will likely be handled by Chinese contractors. Analysts speculate that the gadget could be manufactured by companies like Xiaomi or Oppo.
Trump Organization leadership claims that T1 production will be based in Alabama, California, and Florida. However, experts argue that launching such a project would take years and require tens of billions of dollars. According to Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, “there are simply no capabilities for large-scale smartphone manufacturing in the US right now.”
Interestingly, nearly all smartphone components are produced in Japan, South Korea, and China, not the United States. The issue of localizing production in America became a hot topic after President Trump threatened to impose import tariffs on smartphones. While those tariffs have not yet been implemented, Trump has already criticized Apple’s supply chain and urged the company to manufacture iPhones inside the country.
Many experts believe that mass-producing iPhones in America would be impossible without significantly raising the price of the product. Additionally, such large-scale production would require years of investment in infrastructure development.
