Rare Trump Mobile T1 sighting points to a basic Android handset
The Verge briefly handled a Trump Mobile T1 and said the scarce phone looks like a gold-colored midrange Android device.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
2 min read
The Trump Mobile T1 remains hard for customers to get, but The Verge says one unit has surfaced in person. Its brief hands-on account adds to evidence that the delayed device is a conventional midrange Android phone with Trump-branded styling.
Allison Johnson of The Verge reported that she was allowed to handle the phone for a few minutes after encountering someone who had obtained one. The publication said it still has not received the T1 it preordered nearly a year ago.
According to The Verge, the phone is light, has curved sides similar to older Motorola Edge models and uses a plastic rear panel. Johnson described prominent American flag and Trump Mobile branding on the back, along with a gold finish that changed in appearance under different lighting.
The Verge said the retail box included a small printed manual. The phone also came with Truth Social installed, though The Verge reported the app can be removed.
The hands-on account follows an iFixit teardown that The Verge said identified the T1 as a midrange HTC phone with a gold color treatment. The teardown finding lines up with The Verge’s assessment that the device looks and feels like a typical phone in that category.
Availability remains the larger issue around the T1. The Verge reported that the phone was announced almost a year ago and was supposed to start shipping to customers last month, but it said only a small number of reporters and influencers appear to have received units.
The Verge also said most paying customers still do not appear to have their phones. The publication has previously reported that its own preorder has not been fulfilled.
The T1’s scarcity has made each sighting notable. In the same week, The Verge said Johnson also handled a separate gold iPhone owned by the YouTuber Technical Guruji, which was custom engraved with images of the Hindu god Ram and Hanuman.
That comparison underscored the difference between a one-off luxury modification and the Trump-branded device. The Verge described the T1 as a product that is close enough to exist in limited hands, while still remaining out of reach for many people who ordered it.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.