Liputan6.com, Jakarta - The highly anticipated "Trump Gold T1 Phone," a smartphone highly anticipated by Donald Trump supporters and tech consumers, has yet to hit the market until January 2026.
Announced by Trump Mobile in June 2025, the device was supposed to be available in August or September of last year, but has been continually delayed.
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The delay in the Trump Phone T1 Gold's release has sparked speculation and criticism from various parties.
While Trump Mobile attributed the delay to the US government shutdown, observers have highlighted inconsistent manufacturing claims and a lack of proactive communication with customers.
More than 590,000 buyers have already placed an initial $100 deposit on the device, further complicating the situation.
Release Delays and the Reasons Behind Them
Trump Mobile initially promised the T1 Phone would launch in August 2025, with some media reports citing September 2025 as the release date.
However, as of early January 2026, the phone was still not available.
The latest delay shifts the release date to late January 2026, according to a Trump Mobile customer service representative.
The reason given for this delay is the 43-day US government shutdown in late 2025, which is said to have caused a backlog of work at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for approvals.
However, critics argue that other companies facing similar FCC backlogs have still managed to ship their phones, questioning the validity of this reasoning.
International Data Corp. analyst Francisco Jeronimo explained the anomaly by saying, “We have always been quite skeptical about this phone. They are probably finding that it is harder to build a phone than they thought it would be. Let’s see if this thing comes to life or not.”
Even though 2025 has ended, the Trump Mobile website still lists the release date as "later this year."
The "Made in USA" Claim Controversy
When first announced, Trump Mobile claimed that the T1 Phone was "proudly designed and manufactured in the United States."
However, the claim was later softened to "proudly American" or "American-proud design."
This narrative shift came after experts questioned the feasibility of manufacturing a smartphone entirely in the US for a price of $499.
Analysts believe the United States lacks the supply chain and logistics necessary to domestically produce a smartphone under $1,000.
Some reports even suggest that the T1 Phone may be a rebadged version of the Chinese-made T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G.
The removal of the phrase "made in the USA" from the website and its replacement with more generic language such as "brought to life right here in the USA" or "American-proud design" further fueled public doubts about the device's true origins.
Pre-Orders and Allegations
Trump Mobile has accepted $100 deposits for the T1 Phone from hundreds of thousands of buyers.
As of January 2026, more than 590,000 buyers had made these initial payments.
However, repeated delays, changing manufacturing claims, and a lack of communication have led many critics and customers to label the venture a "scam."
NBC News, which also paid $100 deposits, reported receiving no proactive updates on its orders since August.
Some reports even suggest that Trump Mobile is offering refurbished Apple or Samsung phones as alternatives, sometimes at higher prices, while the T1 Phone has yet to be released.
The company also sells its wireless service, called the "47 Plan," for $47.45 per month, as part of its offerings.
Specifications for the T1 Phone
Although not yet released, Trump Mobile has advertised some interesting specifications for the $499 T1 Phone.
Proposed specifications include a 6.25-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
Initially, the display was rumored to be 6.78 inches, but this was later updated to 6.25 inches.The phone is also promised to have 256GB of expandable internal storage and a 50-megapixel main camera.
For performance, the T1 Phone is rumored to be equipped with 12GB of RAM, although this information has been removed from some descriptions.
The proposed battery capacity is 5,000mAh with support for 20W fast charging.