Much-delayed gold-plated Trump smartphone starts shipping

The delays and lack of updates had frustrated Trump fans who paid $100 deposits

Published May 15, 2026  •  2 minute read

The T-1 smartphone from Trump Mobile. Photo by Screenshot /X/@TrumpMobile

The 600,000 Americans who dropped Benjamins for a Trump phone will finally be getting their product.

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A year after it was first announced and deposits were taken, Trump Mobile will begin shipping its gold-plated smartphone.

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With a price tag of US$499, the officially named Trump Mobile T1 resembles the T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G, a Chinese-made phone that once retailed for less than $200 at Walmart in the United States.

The phone will have a smaller screen and less memory than what it initially promised, but the golden shell, a staple of all things Trump, remains, CNN reported.

Delayed multiple times

Upon the phone’s announcement, about 600,000 people plopped down a $100 deposit to secure the Trump Mobile device, a brainchild of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

The T1’s release date was pushed back several times, from August to October 2025 and later no actual final date, the Daily Beast reported.

Trump Mobile also discreetly changed the phone’s pre-order terms to say the deposit “does not guarantee that a device will be produced or made available to purchase” and that the $100 is a “conditional opportunity” to buy the phone “if” the company decides to put a device on the market, Fortune reported.

The delays and lack of updates frustrated Trump fans, who turned to social media to voice their frustration.

Then on Tuesday, Trump Mobile provided its first update in more than half a year on Facebook, stating the T1 will be shipping “this week.” Consumers weren’t allowed to voice their opinions, however, as the company turned off comments.

The mobile phone company said the delays were due to necessary steps to bring the phone to the market.

“Those delays were worth it in our minds as we are delivering an amazing product,” Trump Mobile CEO Pat O’Brien told USA Today.

In a separate interview with CNN, O’Brien said the tech business is “more difficult than some may realize as parts must be tested for quality assurances.”

“With demand being incredibly high, orders are being fulfilled as quickly as possible, and we anticipate all will be completed within the next several weeks,” he said.

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Phone not American made

Trump Mobile first claimed its Android smartphone will be “Made in the USA.” The company quickly backtracked, changing it to “designed with American values in mind.”

Shortly after the announcement, a Trump Mobile post on X was hit with a community note, with users pointing out the T1 is a reshelled T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G, which was made in 2024 by Chinese tech company Wingtech/Luxshare in their factories in Jiaxing, Wuxi and Kunming, China.

Trump Mobile’s data and voice plan for its phone will cost $47.45 a month, a likely reference to Trump’s terms as 47th and 45th president of the U.S., CNN noted.

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