Trump's new smartphone render sparks major questions

Trump Mobile has released the new render of the T1 smartphone on social media, promising that "the wait is almost over." However, the image has raised concerns: it looks too similar to the Samsung Galaxy Ultra line and could be a hastily Photoshopped image.

PCMag writes about it.

What does the render show, and why did suspicions arise?

Trump Mobile, the carrier that licenses the President's name, posted the new shot of the T1 on Tuesday, August 19. It shows the rear camera module swapped from three to four or even five, and the body itself looks wider than the first version of the device the company showed off in June. Despite the hype on social media, Trump Mobile's main website still shows the old design and hasn't been updated with the new render.

Amidst the hype, another observation emerged: the silhouette and camera placement in the image closely resemble the Samsung Galaxy S24/S25 Ultra. Repair resource iFixit noted that the T1 looks almost identical to the Spigen case for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The render even shows the Spigen logo at the bottom of the case.

"The camera layout matches S24/S25 Ultra perfectly. Our best guess is that this image is a stock S24/S25 Ultra photo with a Spigen Thin Fit clear case with their color and logo photoshopped on," it was said in iFixit.

To emphasize the similarities, iFixit created the GIF comparison.

Skepticism surrounding the T1 has existed since the company announced that the smartphone would be "Proudly Made in America" ​​— an ambitious promise that no one in the industry has yet fully fulfilled. After a wave of criticism, the wording on the promotional page was quietly changed: it now says that the device will be "made here in the United States, with American hands."

"The T1 phones are proudly being made in America. Speculation to the contrary is simply inaccurate. We're excited to launch the phones later this year, but in the meantime, anyone can switch to Trump Mobile now with their current phones by visiting trumpmobile.com," the company stated in its comment to PCMag, despite the change in wording on the site.

The launch date is also unclear. The press release initially said it would be released in August, while the website also mentioned a September release, but now the September date has been removed. In other promo shots, Trump Mobile even used an iPhone 16 Pro hidden in a gold case with the Trump logo.

The price for the device on the website is  USD 499.

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