The Trump phone is here. Critics say it’s junk
Following months of controversy and delays, the new phone from Trump Mobile has finally shipped — though it faces immediate criticism of its quality and political scrutiny from customers and lawmakers alike.
The T1 phone from Trump Mobile was first announced last June by the president’s son, Eric Trump, who said the device would “revolutionize” cell phones and “mobile calling.”
“We’re gonna do it better, we’re gonna do it safer,” Trump said in a June interview, saying that the phone would be “cheaper” than competing models, along with having “more features.”
“It is the biggest bang for the buck,” Trump claimed, calling the venture “one of the great tech platforms for the Trump Organization.”
However, the phone’s release faced delays, with the launch date originally set for August 2025. It was pushed back to October but failed to be released a second time.
Last week, the Trump family’s mobile phone company announced in a social media post that the phones would be “shipping this week” to customers who preordered the device. Reportedly, some 590,000 customers placed $100 preorders for the device, creating a collective $59 million in deposits.
“Phones that were preordered are starting to be delivered to customers this week,” Trump Mobile CEO Pat O’Brien said in a statement to Reuters last Wednesday. At the time, there was no indication from the company nor from customers that the devices had been delivered. When asked for clarification on shipping and deliveries, neither Trump Mobile nor the Trump Organization responded to Salon’s request for comment.
The shipping and delivery confusion surrounding the T1 mobile phone is just one part of the story for a device marred in controversy. Chief among these is whether Trump Mobile has used a repurposed product manufactured in China for its flagship product.
When the T1 was announced in June last year, the webpage for the device said it was made in the U.S. “You’re gonna have phones that are made right here in the United States,” Eric Trump said in the June interview.
This tagline was soon scrapped and replaced with lines such as “Premium Performance. Proudly American,” “American-Proud Design,” and “designed with American values in mind.”
The T1 appears to be a slightly modified, Chinese-manufactured Android device called the T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G that was briefly recalled after its launch 2024 due to quality control and regulatory issues. The device is manufactured by Wingtech Technology, which is owned by Luxshare, and both companies are based in China. Wingtech did not respond to Salon’s request to comment.
“General consensus in [the] industry is that the phones were recalled because the phone app was crashing and frequently not working for users.”
Indeed, comparing the T1’s specifications to those of the REVVL 7 Pro shows the devices share many similarities, with virtually identical displays and operating systems. The chief difference is higher-quality camera and video specifications, with the T1 offering better photo and video quality.
It also bears a striking resemblance to the Taiwanese-manufactured HTC U24, released in 2024. When compared side by side, the phones are virtually identical in display, platform software, and storage capacity, with the main difference being selfie camera quality. Different versions of the phone vary widely in price range, from $389 to nearly $1,100.
Chad Jones, CEO of IT consulting and services company Push Interactions, called the REVVL 7 Pro “a solid mid-range phone accessible in price for many customers” in a statement to Salon, though he called its initial recall “justified.”
“General consensus in [the] industry is that the phones were recalled because the phone app was crashing and frequently not working for users,” Jones said.
Aside from the post-launch recall, he thinks the device has a decent track record, which he says has been resolved. “I would think Trump Mobile simply picked a low-risk choice of a mid-range phone that was price-accessible as the basis for a low-risk initial release that would meet many customers’ needs,” Jones said.
However, the price accessibility that Jones points to is a matter of contention.
On its product page, the gold-colored T1 phone is listed for $499. T-Mobile initially listed the REVVL 7 Pro at $249 when it launched in summer 2024. Now, it is no longer listed on T-Mobile’s REVVL products page. Meanwhile, its price ranges from $110 to $130 on Amazon and Walmart, while being listed on eBay for $99.
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“You could get it free with at least some [phone] plans,” George Edwards, founder and president of Quandary Peak Research, said of the REVVL 7 Pro, calling it a “basic Android device for a low cost.” He doesn’t think the device justifies Trump Mobile’s price tag.
“I would say that, absent the Trump branding, most industry experts would say that the phone is not a good value at that price point,” Edwards, also Quandary Peak’s principal computer scientist, told Salon. “For $500, there are other phones available with better specs.”
Whether it is closer to the REVVL 7 Pro or the HTC U24, Edwards says Trump Mobile is simply using an existing technology with established supply chains and is adding different colors, graphics and branding. “Those changes don’t require a great deal of time or design work,” Edwards said.
The delays, then, are tied to regulations, according to Edwards.
Internal testing requirements and meeting technological compliance standards can take months, along with various internal review processes. Network capabilities between devices and existing technological infrastructure, such as signal towers, need to be completed. Edwards says it can take six to nine months on average.
This less-than-glowing view of the device aligns with initial customer experiences with the T1.
A review from the technology outlet Tech Advisor found the phone to be “based heavily” on the HTC U24 and called it “a rather ropey two-year-old phone.”
“Coming from a man who famously wrote a book titled ‘The Art of the Deal,’ it sure seems like a bad one,” the review read.
Users have pointed out that the American flag decal on the phone’s case does not display the flag properly, showing 11 stripes instead of 13 to represent the Thirteen Colonies. A review from NBC noted that the phone comes preinstalled with Trump’s social media app, Truth Social.
Following the launch, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., co-founder of the wireless company Nextel, raised concerns about Trump Mobile’s business practices, including its decision not to guarantee a product to those who put down money for a preorder.
“The cavalier manner in which Trump Mobile has treated its customers is shocking,” Warner wrote in a Tuesday letter to Trump Mobile. “Buyers of your phones and mobile service should expect that their contracts will be honored in full and not under the cloud of deceptive practices,” noting the uncertainty of the device’s origin and its high cost.
“Trump Mobile’s shifting strategy raises questions as to the identities of the companies from which Trump Mobile sources its phones and components, and what security and privacy precautions, if any, Trump Mobile has undertaken when sourcing its T1 phones,” Warner wrote.
Edwards does not think the device could be manufactured anywhere other than overseas.
“I don’t think that Trump Mobile is likely going to do any significant manufacturing steps within the United States,” he said, clarifying that “relatively minor final assembly” could be performed domestically. Just so, The Verge reported in February that O’Brien said the phone would have “final assembly” in Miami, Florida. Indeed, the review from NBC noted the box for the phone reads “Proudly Assembled in the U.S.A.”
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