Trump Mobile’s gold MAGA phone is finally shipping to customers after months of delays, disappearing ‘Made in America’ claims and and claims from critics that the bargain handset looked like a cheap Chinese-made device in disguise.
Trump Mobile said this week that its $499 T1 Phone had ‘arrived’ and that around 590,000 customers who paid $100 deposits would receive update emails as orders began shipping.
‘Phones that were pre-ordered are starting to be delivered to customers this week,’ Trump Mobile CEO Pat O’Brien said, adding that the delay was caused by quality checks and the complicated process of bringing a phone to market.
But the announcement only came after renewed scrutiny over the terms and conditions on Trump Mobile’s website, which were quietly updated last month to state that placing a deposit ‘does not guarantee’ a device will ever be produced or made available for purchase.
Instead, the company said the deposits – reportedly totaling $59 million – merely represented a ‘conditional opportunity’ to purchase a phone if Trump Mobile ultimately decided to sell one.
The company had originally planned to launch the device last August.
Nearly 10 months later, it announced this week that the phones would begin shipping – though observers quickly noticed the company had disabled comments beneath the post.
The move may have been aimed at limiting mounting backlash over months of silence surrounding the rollout.
Trump Mobile’s gold MAGA phone is finally shipping after delays
Trump Mobile said this week its $499 T1 Phone had “arrived,” with roughly 590,000 customers who placed $100 deposits set to receive shipping updates as orders roll out
Don Jr announcing the launch of Trump Mobile in June 2025. The phone was meant to ship out in August, but it would be 10 months before the company said it would be shipping out product
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Trump Mobile has rejected concerns over the rollout, saying demand has been ‘incredibly high’ and that orders are being fulfilled as quickly as possible over the next several weeks.
The phone was first promoted with patriotic branding and claims around US manufacturing, but the company later shifted to vaguer language, saying the device was ‘designed with American values in mind.’
That change came after analysts questioned whether a $499 smartphone could realistically be manufactured in the US, with the device’s specifications drawing comparisons to cheaper Android handsets already on the market.
It’s unclear which parts of the phone will be made in the United States.
The phone is part of Trump Mobile, a venture launched last year by the Trump Organization under a trademark licensing arrangement and promoted by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
Its monthly 5G plan costs $47.45, an apparent nod to Donald Trump serving as the 45th and 47th president.
