iFixit Teardown Confirms: Trump Mobile T1 Is Just a Gold-Painted HTC U24 Pro

The most talked-about smartphone of the past six months has been thoroughly exposed — and it turns out there’s far less to it than meets the eye.

iFixit has completed a detailed teardown of the Trump Mobile T1 and confirmed what many had suspected: the device is essentially a rebranded HTC U24 Pro from 2024, given a fresh coat of gold paint and minor cosmetic tweaks.

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What the Teardown Revealed

Using CT scans and full disassembly, iFixit found that the internal hardware is nearly identical to the HTC U24 Pro:

- The motherboard is the same, featuring the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset.

In fact, the original HTC motherboard reportedly booted successfully when placed inside the Trump Mobile T1 chassis.

- The only meaningful hardware difference is the battery:
The T1 uses a 19.35 Wh cell supplied by the Philippine company Newlix (a firm registered only in 2025), instead of the original Chinese battery cell.
Charging speed has also been reduced to 30W (compared to 60W on the HTC U24 Pro).

All other differences are purely cosmetic:

• A slightly longer flash flex cable;
• A different speaker grille pattern.

In short, this is not a newly designed American smartphone — it is a 2024 HTC model with gold paint and a different battery.

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“Made in America”?

The phone has been heavily promoted (including by President Trump himself) as a “Made in America” product.

However, the teardown strongly suggests otherwise:

• The device was designed by a Chinese ODM (original design manufacturer).
• Given the timeline and production volumes, it was almost certainly assembled on the same production lines in Guangdong, China that built the original HTC U24 Pro.
• Claims of final assembly in Florida appear to be limited to packaging and boxing at best.

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Sales Reality Check

A previous data leak from Trump Mobile showed combined sales of phones and service plans at roughly 30,000 units — far below the claimed 600,000 pre-orders.

The choice of a small, newly registered Philippine battery supplier further supports the idea of low production volumes.

At scale, it would have made far more economic sense to continue sourcing batteries from China.

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Original HTC U24 Pro Context

For comparison, the original HTC U24 Pro was announced on June 12, 2024, with a launch price of $469. Today it can be found for around $399 — a reasonable price for a two-year-old mid-range device.

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Bottom Line

The Trump Mobile T1 is not a new American flagship or even a meaningfully redesigned phone. It is a gold-painted HTC U24 Pro with a downgraded battery and heavy patriotic marketing.

While the device may appeal to supporters for symbolic reasons, the iFixit teardown makes it clear that this is primarily a rebadged and cosmetically altered 2024 smartphone — not the groundbreaking “American-made” product it was presented as.

The full teardown and photos are available on iFixit’s website.