Experts Dissect Trump's T1 Phone, Confirm It's Almost a Gold-Plated HTC U24 Pro

(CNA, San Francisco, June 12, Comprehensive Foreign Report) The Trump Organization, the family business of former U.S. President Donald Trump, launched a new telecom service, Trump Mobile, last year. Last month, it began shipping its T1 gold smartphone, which was originally touted as "designed and manufactured in America." However, after a teardown by experts, the T1 was found to be a tweaked version of the HTC U24 Pro.

The news site Yahoo Tech reported that as the long-delayed Trump Mobile T1 phones began reaching the media and reviewers, it was noted that the phone's appearance was identical to an existing HTC model. Now, the repair website iFixit has the evidence.

iFixit conducted a teardown of a T1 phone obtained by NBC News, and the results show the T1 is almost a carbon copy of the HTC U24 Pro. While they are not 100% identical, the differences are mostly cosmetic and involve the use of components from different suppliers.

Before starting the teardown, iFixit performed a CT scan comparison of the T1 and the HTC U24 Pro, finding their internal structures to be nearly identical. After the teardown, they confirmed that both phones use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor and share other internal components.

The T1 phone does have a few minor differences, including a slightly larger built-in battery and a different pattern for the speaker holes.

The storage chip and RAM in the T1 are supplied by Micron, whereas the HTC U24 Pro uses products from SK Hynix. Additionally, the flash for the T1's camera is slightly repositioned due to a longer ribbon cable.

In other respects, apart from the T1's signature gold finish, the basic hardware of the two is identical. In fact, the similarity between the two phones is so high that iFixit was even able to install an HTC motherboard into the T1's chassis, and it worked properly.

One of the biggest questions has been about where the T1 is produced, especially since its original marketing emphasized it was "Made in America." That claim has been quietly removed from the official website. The T1's packaging now only states it is "Proudly assembled in the USA."

The iFixit team noted that Trump Mobile likely imports pre-assembled chassis and screen components and then completes the assembly of the remaining parts in the United States.

Tech site Engadget reported that the $499 (about NT$15,800) T1 phone's battery is produced in the Philippines, but the vast majority of its components come from China.

Considering all the evidence, iFixit inferred that given the recent establishment of the Trump Mobile brand, its limited production volume, and a price point similar to the HTC U24 Pro, "the only possible origin for the T1 is a factory that already possesses the necessary molds and production lines for this phone."

iFixit concluded that the T1 is a phone "designed in China, manufactured in China, with the vast majority of its components also sourced from China."

Trump Mobile did not respond to Yahoo Tech's request for comment.