Trump's $499 gold-plated T1 phone finally ships but people are already raising one major issue

Donald Trump's $499 gold-plated T1 phone has finally started shipping, but buyers are already complaining about one major problem.

The smartphone was launched under a Trump Organisation brand licensing agreement and operated by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

The device already faced backlash over repeated delays and questions about where it was actually made, and now, new criticism has emerged after customers and reviewers noticed something odd about the phone’s American flag design.

People point out the issue with the flag

The flag printed on the back of the handset appears to feature just 11 stripes instead of the traditional 13, representing the original American colonies.

"The 13 stripes represent the 13 colonies that broke away from British rule to fight for independence, so you probably shouldn’t just lop two of them off," The Verge’s Dominic Preston, who has been tracking the release of the T1 phone, wrote.

The mistake quickly drew attention on social media as photos of the device began circulating following the first deliveries.

“[A]ctually kind of hilarious (& sad!) that the Trump phone has 11 stripes on it (actual flag has 13),” fintech entrepreneur Sheel Mohnot posted on X.

Others used the controversy to slam the project itself. "An overpriced, outdated phone, preloaded with propaganda that is no longer 'made in the USA,' is the perfect metaphor for Trump's Republican Party," Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of a New York health advocacy group, said.

Months of delays

T1 was first announced to mark the tenth anniversary of Trump's 2016 campaign launch and was originally expected to ship in August 2025.

But the launch was repeatedly delayed over the following nine months, with critics increasingly questioning whether the phone would ever actually arrive.

At one stage, Trump Mobile quietly removed any mention of a release date from its website altogether.

Shortly before shipments finally began, the company updated its terms of use to clarify that the $100 deposit paid by customers did not "guarantee" the device would ever be manufactured or delivered.

Instead, the company described the purchase as a "conditional opportunity" to buy the phone if and when Trump Mobile decided to release it.

Despite the backlash, Trump Mobile CEO Pat O'Brien defended the lengthy delays, saying they were caused by extensive quality-control testing and the problems involved in launching an entirely new smartphone.

"The delays were worth it in our minds as we are delivering an amazing product," O’Brien said, per USA Today.

The company says remaining pre-orders are expected to be fulfilled in the coming weeks.

Questions continue over where the phone is actually made

The $499 phone was heavily promoted as "Made in the USA" in June 2025.

That branding has since quietly changed as Trump Mobile’s website now describes the device as "designed with American values in mind" rather than claiming it is manufactured domestically.

O’Brien has also come out and said the phones were "assembled" in the US and that the devices use components "primarily manufactured in America".

However, analysts and reviewers have disputed those claims. Hardware experts previously noted the T1’s specifications appeared almost identical to the REVVL 7 Pro 5G, a T-Mobile Android phone manufactured in China.

In addition to this, a few tech experts told NBC News the handset strongly resembles the HTC U24 Pro, which is made in Taiwan.

"It looks physically very similar, and that matches with what we've been told so far,"Shahram Mokhtari, an engineer at tech repair company iFixit, told the outlet.

Featured image credit: Andrew Harnik / Getty