We’re still talking about the Trump phone – The Verge

Happy birthday to the Trump phone

2026-06-15T10:15:12-04:00

From the day it was announced, on June 16th, 2025, the Trump phone sounded ridiculous. The T1 Phone 8002 (gold version), as it was officially called, was a combination of contradictory specs, product images that were clearly not photographs of a real phone, and the worrying requirement of a $100 deposit to secure a preorder of a $499 phone with no release date. But none of Trump Mobile's outlandish announcements were as bold as the claim that the phone would be "designed and built in the United States."

The US has next to no phone manufacturing infrastructure, few engineers with the required expertise, and little of the affordable, flexible …

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I held the Trump phone

2026-06-12T12:45:44-04:00

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. We don't have the phones we preordered yet, but this week included an unexpected in-person encounter with the T1.

You see a lot of interesting phones when you're among tech journalists.

I'm thinking of two in particular that I held this past week: One was solid gold, with ornate engravings. It was elaborately embellished, heavy - an actual work of art. The other was the Trump phone.

I know. The Trump phone. The one announced almost a year ago that has shipped to almost nobody. But when you asso …

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iFixit Trump phone teardown confirms it’s an HTC dupe

2026-06-11T07:32:29-04:00

This is the Trump phone, but it could just as easily be an HTC. | Image: Trump Mobile

After getting its hands on a Trump phone and tearing it apart, iFixit has confirmed what I first reported back in February: the T1 Phone is an almost exact duplicate of the HTC U24 Pro.

iFixit partnered with NBC to get hold of the network's media sample of the Trump phone, along with a U24 Pro. They ran the phones through a CT scanner, tore them down to parts, and even put them back together into a functional Frankenstein phone with the U24 Pro's board inside the T1 Phone's chassis, confirming along the way that the two phones are functionally identical.

There are minor differences: The flash has been moved slightly, the speaker grille was …

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Why isn’t the Trump phone made in the USA?

2026-06-05T09:54:46-04:00

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. This week, I'm investigating where it might have been built - and why it definitely wasn't the US.

Almost a year after its announcement, the Trump phone has "launched." A few journalists and YouTubers have received early samples of the phone, though there's still little evidence that any regular buyers have gotten theirs. If and when anyone else gets it, they'll discover an open secret: Just like Trump's "God Bless the USA" bible, it's not really made in the USA.

When Trump Mobile announced its …

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Trump Mobile’s website still says the T1 Phone is ‘American-made’

2026-05-29T09:11:28-04:00

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. As the phone's supposed launch continues, we noticed its website may be violating FTC rules.

When the Trump phone was first announced last June, it was proudly promised to be made in America. Trump Mobile quickly walked back that claim, and now promises only that the T1 is "assembled" in the US. Except… it didn't walk it back everywhere, with one website page still promising that the phone is "American-made," in likely violation of Federal Trade Commission rules.

On the Trump Mobile website's "P …

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The Trump phone is not here

2026-05-22T10:46:20-04:00

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. It's now been more than a week since Trump Mobile announced that phones would "start shipping this week."

Last week Trump Mobile announced that the T1 Phone was ready to start shipping by the end of the week. Almost two weeks later, there's no sign that's actually happened - and the company still hasn't shipped either of the two phones ordered by The Verge.

Depending on where you get your news, you might believe the company when it says the phone has now launched: The phone is "here" according t …

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Trump Mobile may be leaking customer addresses

2026-05-20T11:12:42-04:00

The T1 Phone was meant to start shipping last week. | Screenshot: Trump Mobile

Just as the T1 Phone is seemingly on the verge of release, Trump Mobile has been accused of insecurely storing customer data, leaving addresses and phone numbers vulnerable. The alleged leak has also revealed how many T1 Phone orders were apparently placed, and it's far fewer than viral figures have claimed.

YouTuber Coffeezilla was the first to report the apparent leak on his second channel, voidzilla, having been tipped off by an anonymous person who discovered the "vulnerability" in the Trump Mobile website. The hacker says they're able to both place fake orders for the phone and "scrape and search the entire pre-order database," accessi …

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Does Trump Mobile know how many stripes are on the American flag?

2026-05-15T12:47:16-04:00

The T1 Phone has the wrong number of stripes, but it does at least have 50 stars. | Screenshot: Trump Mobile

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. This week, despite our best hopes, we still don't have our phone - but we do have some fresh doubts about the company's patriotic credentials.

This has been a momentous few days for Trump Mobile, in which it defied the haters by announcing that its phones will be shipping to buyers this very week. Not that there's any sign the company has actually done that, but I digress. Because what I really want to talk about today is the American flag.

I am not an American, which probably explains why I did …

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The Trump phone starts shipping this week, company claims

2026-06-04T11:18:05-04:00

The Trump phone may finally be here: Trump Mobile claims that the phone will begin shipping to buyers this week. The announcement comes as reports have gone viral this week alleging that preorders for the phone have been canceled.

Trump Mobile CEO Pat O'Brien first confirmed the release plans to USA Today, telling the outlet that all preorders will be fulfilled within the next few weeks. The company later confirmed the news on its social media accounts, using a very normal number of exclamation marks in the process.

The T1 Phone has arrived!! Those who pre-ordered the T1 Phone will be receiving an update email. Phones start shipping this …

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Someone out-Trumped the Trump phone

2026-05-08T13:38:53-04:00

These are just five of the 29 versions of the Aurora Lux that Dreame claims it will release. | Screenshot: Dreame

Where's the Trump phone? We're going to keep talking about it every week. We've reached out, as usual, to ask about the Trump phone's whereabouts. This week, Trump Mobile has been trumped.

It's been another long week without the Trump phone, but it's no longer the only nonexistent phone I have to worry about. Robot vacuum manufacturer Dreame has announced its own set of phones that are unlikely to ever launch, and one of them takes the Trump phone playbook and amps it up to 11.

I was alerted to the existence of Dreame's two new phones shortly after I filed last week's report on the T1 Phone's PTCRB certification, though they "launched" las …

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