Trump’s T1 smartphone can’t be ‘made in the USA’

The Trump Organization’s newly revealed smartphone, the T1, is expected to be made in China despite the company’s claim that it will be built in the United States, analysts say.

The device was announced on Monday by the Trump Organization, which is owned by U.S. President Donald Trump.

On Monday, the Trump Organization announced the T1, a gold-colored smartphone that will sell for $499. The company said the device will run Google’s Android operating system and be made in the United States.

According to a CNBC report, analysts say the idea of U.S. design and assembly is unrealistic. “There is no way the phone was designed from scratch and there is no way it is going to be assembled in the U.S. or completely manufactured in the U.S.,” said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president at International Data Corporation, on Tuesday during an interview with CNBC.

Industry analysts believe the T1 will come from a Chinese original device manufacturer, or ODM.

“Despite being advertised as an American-made phone, it is likely that this device will be initially produced by a Chinese ODM,” said Blake Przesmicki, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, in a note on Monday.

Jeff Fieldhack, research director at Counterpoint, added that “the U.S. does not have local manufacturing capabilities readily available.”

Global supply chain makes full U.S. production impossible

Smartphone production drew more attention after President Trump threatened tariffs on devices imported into the U.S.

While those tariffs have yet to materialize, the president has closely scrutinized Apple’s supply chain, urging the iPhone maker to shift production to America as part of his broader push to bring electronics manufacturing back home.

Several analysts have noted that moving iPhone production to the U.S. would be nearly impossible and would raise the retail price substantially. On top of that, getting large-scale manufacturing off the ground in the U.S. would take several years to establish.

Even if some assembly of the T1 took place in the U.S., modern smartphone supply chains are global, with parts sourced from many countries. This reliance on international components makes a fully American-made handset very unlikely, industry observers say.

T1’s key components will likely be sourced from Asia

While the Trump Organization has not detailed the T1’s internal parts, its specs offer hints.

The phone will feature a 6.8-inch AMOLED display, a screen type made mainly by South Korea’s Samsung, with LG and China’s BOE also producing similar panels. For comparison, Apple’s top-end iPhone 16 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch display and starts at $1,199.

At its $499 price point, the T1 will likely use a processor from Taiwan’s MediaTek, with chips manufactured in Taiwan. If the phone instead opts for a Qualcomm chip, that component would also be produced in Taiwanese plants, analysts say.

The T1’s 50-megapixel main camera will require image-sensing chips, a market dominated by Japan’s Sony for smartphones. While smaller sensor makers exist in China and elsewhere, Sony’s technology remains the standard in many devices.

Memory is one area where the device could use American technology, potentially from U.S.-based Micron, which manufactures components domestically.

Other suppliers like South Korea’s Samsung could also be involved. “Even when there is local manufacturing available the company will have to rely on components that are being imported from outside the US,” Fieldhack said.

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