A teardown of the Trump Mobile T1 has confirmed what was first reported back in February: the phone is essentially a gold-painted version of the HTC U24 Pro, according to iFixit, which conducted the disassembly in partnership with NBC.
Shahram Mokhtari of iFixit News found that the T1 is nearly identical to the HTC handset on the inside, with at least one notable swap: the memory comes from American chipmaker Micron rather than the SK Hynix chips found in the standard HTC U24 Pro. The cosmetic differences appear to be the most obvious distinguishing feature of the Trump-branded device.
The Verge, which says it first broke the HTC connection in February, notes the two phones could "just as easily" be mistaken for each other based on the internal components iFixit uncovered.
The findings matter because the Trump Mobile T1 has been marketed with patriotic branding and a premium price tag — making the revelation that it is largely a repackaged device from a Taiwanese manufacturer a significant talking point about what buyers are actually getting for their money.