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The "Made in America" Trump phone is just a reskinned HTC U24 built in China
TechSpot • • technology
Key Points:
- iFixit's teardown reveals that the Trump Mobile T1 smartphone is nearly identical to the Taiwan-based HTC U24 Pro, with only minor cosmetic changes and a slightly larger battery, undermining claims of a "Made in America" device.
- The T1 shares key specifications with the HTC U24 Pro, including display, processor, and camera setup, and internal components are nearly identical, with differences attributed to supply chain variability rather than design changes.
- Trump Mobile initially claimed the T1 would be designed and built in the US but later softened the language to "designed with American principles" and now markets it as "Proudly American," while manufacturing and design largely trace back to Chinese and Taiwanese sources.
- Experts note that fully domestic smartphone production in the US would take about a decade due to the complexity of supply chains and manufacturing infrastructure, making Trump Mobile’s rapid launch of the T1 unrealistic as a fully American-made product.
- Final assembly of the T1 occurs in Miami, which may be a step toward increased domestic production, and the phone is available for pre-order at $499, with plans for a successor model called the T1 Ultra.
