After months of delays, the Trump T1 phone has finally started shipping, and, as suspected, the device is a lightly reskinned version of an HTC model released two years ago.
NBC News, one of the outlets that received an early model, partnered with iFixit to disassemble the phone to find out where it came from. After taking the T1 apart, iFitix discovered that its internals are almost identical to those of the HTC U24 Pro, which is made in China.
Is the Trump Phone made in America?
Thanks to a partnership with NBC, iFixit obtained a media sample of the Trump phone. It also had an HTC U24 Pro for comparison to see if they are functionally identical.
And after running the phones through a CT scanner, tearing them apart and rebuilding them as an amalgamation of the two phones with a Trump phone chassis and the HTC phone's board, iFixit confirmed what most already suspected: the phones are more or less the same.
The qualifier "functionally identical" is used because there have been some small tweaks that make Trump's phone different, but they're seemingly all cosmetic. For example, the flash has been moved slightly, the speaker grille has been adjusted slightly, and the chipset package for the Trump phone came from Micron, while SK Hynix supplied the chip for the HTC. The specs are the same, though.
The battery is a big difference between the two phones: the Trump phone's battery is made in China, while the other's is made in the Philippines. It's a big larger than HTC's, though it supports slower 30W wired charging.
Does this confirm the Trump phone is made in China by HTC? Not officially, as HTC says it "does not design or manufacture phones for third parties." But HTC often turns to third parties to design and build its phones now — or at least what's left of its phone business — so it's possible Trump's phone turned to the same vendor to make it, hence the similarities.
According to The Verge, the U24 Pro is made in China. Does that mean the Trump phone is made in China? Not necessarily, but the signs more definitely point to it being a Chinese-made phone with a battery from the Philippines.
Does team Trump claim it's made in America?
On the Trump Mobile website, it says "Designed with American values in mind." The site originally claimed that the phone would be "made in the U.S.," but had to change its language a year ago due to FCC regulations.
Another quote cites on the site that it's "shaped by American innovation. With American teams helping guide design and quality, we focus on delivering a device built with care and precision."
In February, Trump Mobile told The Verge that the final assembly was happening in Florida, while the actual manufacturing is being handled by a "favored nation."
