Las Vegas, January 8, 2026, 03:59 (PST)
- Trump Mobile’s gold-colored T1 smartphone has yet to ship after missing its 2025 target.
- The Trump Organization’s wireless venture is still taking $100 deposits for the handset and selling a $47.45 monthly plan.
- Analysts have questioned whether a $500 phone can realistically be built in the United States at scale.
A gold-colored smartphone promised by President Donald Trump’s family business has yet to appear after missing its 2025 target, even as CES opens in Las Vegas this week. Trump Mobile continues to take $100 deposits for the T1 handset.
CES — the annual Consumer Electronics Show — is where gadget makers try to set the tone for the year and lock in attention from retailers, carriers and investors. Tech site Futurism said the gap between the sales pitch and the missing product has become harder to ignore as the show gets underway.
The delay also revives a bigger question: can a $500 smartphone be built in the United States without blowing up the price or the timeline. Analysts cited in an Associated Press report pointed to supply-chain limits in the U.S. and the fact that Apple still manufactures iPhones abroad, including in China and India.
Trump Mobile launched last June with the phone as its centerpiece and initially aimed for an August or September release, pricing it at about $500. It marketed the device as “proudly designed and built in the United States,” the Houston Chronicle reported, a claim that would make it an outlier in today’s market. Houston Chronicle
That language has since softened. Trump Mobile shifted from describing the phone as U.S.-made to calling it “proudly American,” and its website now touts an “American-proud” design without explaining where it will be built, according to one account of the rollout. San Mateo Daily Journal
The Trump Organization did not respond to questions from the Associated Press about the delay or when shipments will start. The Financial Times reported a Trump Mobile customer service representative said the phone would ship in late January and blamed last year’s 43-day federal government shutdown; the website still lists the release as “later this year.” Bostonglobe
International Data Corp. analyst Francisco Jeronimo said he remains doubtful the handset will show up as advertised. “We have always been quite skeptical about this phone,” he said; Trump Mobile has been selling a $47.45-a-month plan and offering refurbished iPhones and Samsung Galaxy models for $370 to $630, and Jeronimo added: “Maybe they changed their strategy and figured out they are better off just selling refurbished phones.” Ideastream Public Media
But Trump Mobile still has not put a finished product in consumers’ hands, and any new slip would test whether deposit buyers keep waiting. If the company cannot hit its price point or clarify where the phone will be made, it risks turning the handset into a distraction while Apple and Samsung keep the premium market moving.
