CNET managing editor Patrick Holland raised concerns about the long-awaited Trump Mobile phone in a brutally honest review Monday, comparing its design and color to a “urine sample.”
“Sometimes it looks like those gold coins that Scrooge McDuck would jump into for ‘DuckTales.’ Other times, it’s got a mustard vibe to it, and yet other times it kind looks like a urine sample,” Holland told CNN “OutFront” guest host Brianna Keilar. “But my hesitation is I would not recommend it. Not because of that, but largely because we just don’t know certain things about it.”
The Trump Mobile phone, named T1, has kept its customers waiting since it was first announced in June of last year, with promises of being made in the U.S.
The company’s ambitious plan to launch the device in August last year was put on hold, but Trump Mobile CEO Pat O’Brien told CNET last month the company “experienced delays during a variety of steps in getting the T1 to completion, but those delays were worth it in our minds as we are delivering an amazing product.”
Trump Mobile announced earlier this month that the T1 will be shipping and, almost a year after Holland’s outlet placed a $100 deposit, they received their device.
However, despite the T1 originally being marketed as a made-in-America phone, Holland told Keilar, “It’s certainly not made in the USA.”
O’Brien told Reuters earlier this month that the devices were “assembled in the U.S.” and that the company hopes to eventually produce components domestically — though it’s highly unlikely due to the lack of infrastructure necessary to make chips and display panels.
The T1 Phone has arrived!! Those who pre-ordered the T1 Phone will be receiving an update email. Phones start shipping this week!!! pic.twitter.com/IsOre1cBa1
— Trump Mobile (@TrumpMobile) May 13, 2026
“We discovered that the performance of the processor and the graphics card is very similar to a Taiwanese phone called the HTC U24 Pro 5G, rolls off the tongue there,” Holland said, noting that “there’s nothing inherently wrong with the phone, that’s not a bad phone by any means.”
The tech expert also expressed his “last big worry is if this phone will actually ship.”
“I can’t find many cases of actual customers who put their money down to order the phone with the phone,” Holland said.
According to multiple outlets that reviewed the Trump Mobile terms and conditions, the company “does not guarantee that: the Device will be commercially released,” or that “production will commence or continue.”
Trump Mobile has also confirmed with TechCrunch that it exposed customers’ order identifiers online, including names, email addresses, mailing addresses, and cell numbers. Chris Walker, a spokesperson for the Trump Mobile, told the outlet the company is investigating the incident, but found that customers’ financial information did not spill online.
