The Trump Mobile T1 phone has finally started shipping nine months after the company began collecting $100 (£75) deposits, but what arrived wasn't quite what buyers were promised. The $499 (£372) gold-plated handset features an American flag with only 11 stripes instead of 13, runs on hardware nearly identical to a two-year-old Taiwanese phone, and closely resembles a Chinese-made device sold at Walmart for $127.99 (£96).
A Flag That Doesn't Add Up
The T1's rear casing displays a stylised American flag, but the design has only 11 red and white stripes rather than the 13 that have represented the original colonies since 1777. Promotional videos posted by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr showed as few as nine stripes in certain shots.
The T1 Phone has arrived!! Those who pre-ordered the T1 Phone will be receiving an update email. Phones start shipping this week!!! pic.twitter.com/IsOre1cBa1
— Trump Mobile (@TrumpMobile) May 13, 2026
The Verge reported that the shifting stripe count is 'almost certainly' the result of AI-generated imagery rather than footage of a real device. For a phone built entirely around patriotic branding, the error handed critics an easy target. Trump Mobile has not responded to questions about the flag design.
Not Quite 'Made in the USA'
When Trump Mobile launched in June 2025, the T1 was pitched as an 'exclusively American product.' The packaging that arrived with review units this week reads 'Proudly Assembled in USA,' and the company's website has quietly shifted to 'designed with American values in mind.' CEO Pat O'Brien told USA Today that components would be 'primarily manufactured in America,' but technology analysts say the evidence points elsewhere.
NBC News received one of the first review units and found the T1's specifications match the HTC U24 Pro exactly, from its Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor and 6.8-inch OLED screen to its 512 GB of storage. Shahram Mokhtari, an engineer at repair firm iFixit, told NBC the two devices are 'physically very similar.' The HTC U24 Pro is a mid-range handset made in Taiwan and launched in 2024.
CNN separately noted the T1 closely resembles the T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G, a Chinese-made smartphone available at Walmart for $127.99, roughly what customers paid as a deposit alone.
Deposits, Delays, and No Guarantees
Reports have placed the number of deposit holders at roughly 590,000, representing an estimated $59 million (£44 million) in collected funds, though those figures have not been independently verified. Those buyers waited through at least five missed delivery windows, from August 2025 through to this month.
On 6 April 2026, Trump Mobile updated its pre-order terms to state that a deposit 'does not guarantee that a Device will be produced or made available for purchase' and provides only a 'conditional opportunity' to buy the phone if the company decides to sell it.
In January, Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic lawmakers asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate what they described as potential bait-and-switch tactics and to determine whether the original 'Made in the USA' claims amounted to false advertising. The FTC has not confirmed any investigation.
What $499 Actually Buys
For the asking price, customers receive a gold-cased Android 15 phone with Truth Social preinstalled and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The monthly service plan costs $47.45. O'Brien said in a statement that fulfilling all orders would take 'several weeks'. The White House has declined to confirm whether President Trump uses the device himself.
The gap between what was marketed and what shipped goes beyond politics or branding. Hundreds of thousands of people put real money down on a promise of American-made innovation. What arrived was a re-branded mid-range phone with an inaccurate flag, overseas hardware, and fine print that says they were never guaranteed anything at all.
