Holy shit!
…HTC still makes phones?
The validity of the “Assembled in the USA” markings aside, the big question for many is why can’t a smartphone be made in the US? Again, there are lots of reasons but the big ones are the absence of the necessary manufacturing base, the lack of expertise in the labour pool, and cost. Bringing any part of the production line to the US, even the simpler non-electronic components like the chassis and the back cover, would put upward pressure on the price of the final product.
And say what you will about the T1, but let’s give credit where it’s due. Trump Mobile aren’t gouging their fanbase…not yet anyway. Against all expectations, the T1 is actually well priced when compared to the equivalently specced 512GB U24 Pro, and the only things you give up are the 60W fast charging and your dignity.
Also has the wrong number of stripes on the flag.
Counting is hard.
Honestly I am just shocked that a physical phone exists at all.
That’s not possible. Trump said there is no such thing as gold paint. That’s why everything in the oval office is real gold.
Fake, cheap, and plastic with a huge price tag. What a perfect representation of the United States.
Against all expectations, the T1 is actually well priced when compared to the equivalently specced 512GB U24 Pro, and the only things you give up are the 60W fast charging and your dignity.
lol
Another great snip:
a phone designed in China, made in China, with the vast majority of parts sourced from China. I’m failing to find any stirring of American pride within me. I’ve certainly felt it before, so I can confirm that it is absent at this time.
HTC probably gave him a discount not to attach their name
So just the fast charging then. I don’t think anyone seriously buying this to use has any of the other thing left to give up.
Is it painted the same shade he uses on his face?
I am genuinely surprised… I didn’t know HTC even still existed
They do, just don’t release phones in the States anymore. It’s a shame because I really liked their phones.
“In May 2019, then-United States President Donald Trump announced that HUAWEI and several other Chinese companies were now on the “Entity List.” Companies on this list cannot do business with any organization that operates in the United States.”
Oh good golly it’s going to be a wonderful day today!
Edit: as ahornsirup pointed out, this isn’t really relevant. I got crossed up searching HTC with Huawei somewhere along the line.
Just like so many other things, I’m sure that bit will be buried.
Well, HTC is Taiwanese so there really isn’t much of a story there.
Facepalm
Wow, my google-fu failed me pretty spectacularly. I was searching the HTC ban for patent infringement from Apple and at some point crossed with Huawei.
Though having said that, hey Apple, does that camera protrusion look familiar? Ask your lawyers!
Definitely a shame, I swear the second they announce an htc g3, im buying
The Dream and Magic were the beginning of an era!
Haven’t seen them here in Europe in over a decade I think.
All the recent Nokia’s were theirs, so probably more recent than you think. But yeh, nothing since then I think?
Or am I getting my 3 letter company names mixed up?
I thought they were called Google Pixels now since Google bought them for $1.1B in 2017.
Looks like HTC worked with Google on the first Pixel then sold them about half of the R&D talent and non-exclusive rights on the technology. So yes and no.
I didn’t know the phones were real
They’re only real if you’re a journalist. The random sheep who pre-ordered them are never gonna get theirs. Mark my words.
They don’t really, they pay ODM to design the phones. Trumps probably paid ODM to reuse the design.
An ODM is a type of company - although it’s very possible they paid the same ODM to make the phones, since they likely have the tooling ready to go.
Did people genuinely think they had created a bespoke bit of hardware? Wow.
Pablo Escobar phone 2 electric boogaloo.
That a bunch of idiots bought it to begin with should be telling enough.
Half of them are press. I’m starting to believe YouTubers are propping up obvious scams.
Just now catching onto that? Well let me make your day by saving you money with Honey!
(Don’t actually download Honey. It’s just a tracking service)
The idiocy never ceases to amaze me. Just when I think I’ve seen it all, they find a new and ridiculous way to exhibit it.
They probably thought it would be made of actual gold as well.
So it’s a recoloured 2024 phone from China with a slightly larger battery from the Philippines that can’t charge as fast.
Isn’t HTC Taiwanese?
Yes they are but they don’t make their phones anymore, they use ODMs in China and the article says the battery was made in the Philippines.
i bet that’s the “assembled in the usa” bit. putting the battery in the phone
Eh, it seems like a nothingburger TBH.
On the 2026 Scam Scale ™, rebranding a 2024 phone as flipping it for $500 is… not even that high?
Gestures at Polymarket advertising on the White House lawn
Everything time I hear about this phone, it just gets better and better.
Fully expected it to be recycled Boost Mobile, complete with the chirp.
“WHERE YOU AT!?”
I’m shocked that it’s real.
