Trump’s smartphone may be manufactured in China, contrary to claims of being created in the US

The Trump Organization announced the release of the T1 smartphone from August 2025 at a price of $499, emphasizing that the device will be “designed and manufactured in the United States.” However, supply chain experts have questioned the realism of these plans: it will take at least five years and significant investments in manufacturing capacity to build an infrastructure similar to China’s.

Company officials have listed Alabama, California and Florida as future production regions. However, Eric Trump has already acknowledged that the first batch of phones have been manufactured overseas. According to him, the complete transfer of assembly to the US is only a long-term goal.

The device promises parameters comparable to the iPhone 16 Pro Max: 120Hz AMOLED display with a diagonal of 6.8 inches, 5000 mAh battery, 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal memory expandable via microSD card. A 50-megapixel camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack and an under-screen fingerprint sensor are also claimed.

However, the specifications do not specify the processor, and it remains unclear whether it can compete with Apple’s chips. Most of the components, including memory, screens and cameras, are made in Asia. The center of all this is China, where Trump’s smartphone could be built. There are no such production chains in the U.S., making it extremely costly to assemble the T1 domestically.

Johns Hopkins University expert Tinglong Dai called the idea of full localization of the smartphone “absolutely impossible” at the current stage. He emphasized that the priority for the US economy is the production of semiconductors, not consumer electronics.

Thus, the announced timing, price and country of production of Trump T1 look unlikely. However, the launch of mobile communications based on someone else’s infrastructure (MVNO) can be realized, as brands like Mint Mobile have already done.