German Media: Was Trump's Golden Phone Actually Made in China?
Dismantling tests reveal that the personal brand smartphone launched by the Trump family business—once touted as "Made in America"—is actually a product from China.
The T1 smartphone, introduced by Trump a year ago, was supposed to be a patriotic product, with its marketing slogan even stating "Proudly American."
However, reports from German news site T-online and multiple tech news outlets indicate that professionals, after disassembling and comparing the device, discovered that this so-called "official" golden phone is actually a HTC phone manufactured in China.
HTC (HTC Corporation), a Taiwanese consumer electronics manufacturer, once had a globally recognized smartphone brand during the early 2000s. After 2012, its mobile business gradually declined. Today, most of its products are designed and manufactured by factories based in mainland China.
Gilded and Rebranded
Experts from the U.S. repair platform iFixit conducted a thorough disassembly of the T1 and compared it component-by-component with the 2024 HTC U24 Pro. The results were unmistakable: both devices are essentially the same phone—except the T1 has been gold-plated and rebranded with a new logo.
CT scans performed before disassembly already showed nearly identical internal structures between the two phones. After dismantling both smartphones, iFixit experts found that the mainboards and other components, along with the positions of screws, matched exactly. They even successfully swapped the mainboards between the two devices without any issues. Furthermore, both screens used the same Samsung OLED panel, confirmed through microscopic imaging technology.
The only visible differences lie in minor modifications to the speaker grille pattern and slight repositioning of the flash light. The only significant hardware difference appears to be the battery: the T1 uses a battery produced by Newlix Mfg Inc., a Philippine manufacturer, rather than an original HTC battery. Although this battery has a slightly higher capacity, its charging power has dropped from 60 watts to 30 watts, meaning it cannot truly fast-charge.
America Lacks Smartphone Production Facilities
In June 2025, the Trump Organization officially launched a product called "Trump 1 Mobile," including a smartphone priced at $499 and a monthly service plan costing $47.45.
Initially marketed as "Made in USA," the Trump Organization claimed its customer service center would be located in the U.S. and that the phones would also be manufactured domestically. At the time, media reports pointed out that there is no large-scale smartphone manufacturing infrastructure in the U.S., and most devices still rely on production lines in Asian countries.
Today, the T1 packaging lists "Assembled in the USA." According to iFixit, the Trump Organization states that the phone is assembled in Florida.
iFixit speculates that "assembled in the USA" likely involves installing only a few components such as the battery or camera module. It is highly probable that the body and display are imported as finished components from China. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has established clear standards for when a product can be labeled "Made in the USA"—and the T1 does not meet these criteria.
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iFixit writes: "Taken together, this is not a design celebrating American pride—it is a phone designed in China, manufactured in China, and whose major components primarily originate from China."
How Much Business Does Trump Have in China?
An article published by the WeChat public account "Inconclusive Lab" about this teardown test notes that public databases show the manufacturer of the HTC U24 Pro is located in Guangdong, China.
The T1 is priced at $499, while the HTC U24 Pro retails for approximately $550 in the U.S. Another difference is that the T1 comes pre-installed with Trump’s social media app, Truth Social.
Source: DW
Original Article: toutiao.com/article/1868065560877193/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s).