Donald Trump’s family business is putting the president’s name behind something that few have dared to produce in years: A Made in America smartphone.
The Trump Organization, led by the president’s eldest sons, said on Monday that it has licensed Donald Trump’s name to a new wireless service and a gold-colored phone. The T1, as the device is called, is supposed to be available in August for $499, and is “proudly designed and built in the United States,” the company said in a statement.
But the patriotic pitch drew immediate skepticism, and not just over President Trump trying to cash again while in office. Several tech industry insiders questioned whether selling a Made in America phone is even possible within just a few months, considering most electronics manufacturing is done overseas because of expensive domestic labor, a shortage of skilled workers, and a lack of suppliers.
“As someone who’s spent over a decade building a secure, privacy-first smartphone, focusing on manufacturing in the US, and I can say this with confidence: producing a fully U.S.-made phone isn’t something you spin up overnight,” said Todd Weaver, CEO of Purism, the only company currently producing a U.S.-made smartphone. “If the Trump Phone is promising a $499 price tag
with domestic manufacturing, this announcement looks to be classic vaporware.”
Purism’s U.S.-made phone, the Liberty Phone, costs $650 to produce, according to Weaver, and retails for $2,000. The markup covers some the additional administrative costs for security-conscious customers who want to verify the phone’s supply chain, along with Purism’s profit.
The T1, in contrast, would retail for just a fraction of that price, raising questions about how such a U.S.-made device would be profitable.
The Trump Organization didn’t disclose which company will make the T1, or where it will be produced. It only gave some technical specifications about the device, including that it will…