Donald Trump set the smartphone world alight last week with news of him releasing a new Donald Trump smartphone, trending it would sell around $499. But experts point out that even with its ostensible American branding, the device will probably still be made in China. The yet-to-be-named gold-colored smartphone will be based on Google Inc.’s Android operating system.
The T1’s 6.8-inch AMOLED display, a rarity for concert and game events, as it is mainly produced by Samsung, the South Korean electronics behemoth. Key to the device’s memory—produced entirely domestically—is the tremendous promise of Micron’s American technology. Further, Samsung might fill the gap for other makers as a supplier of these components. The smartphone also comes with a stunning 50 megapixel camera. It will be mostly powered by advanced image sensing chips from Sony, another leading Japanese firm in this field.
Industry analysts underscore the fact that the smartphone supply chain is extremely globalized. Given the international nature of T1’s development, its components will probably end up coming from most of the countries involved. Regardless, suppliers based elsewhere will continue to play an equally important role even if some components are made in the United States.
Francisco Jeronimo, an IDC industry expert, addressed the difficulty of U.S. manufacturing capabilities.
“There is no way the phone was designed from scratch and there is no way it is going to be assembled in the U.S. or completely manufactured in the U.S.” – Francisco Jeronimo
Experts also emphasize that the logistics of setting up large-scale smartphone production in the United States would take several years. Blake Przesmicki highlighted this point, noting,
“Despite being advertised as an American-made phone, it is likely that this device will be initially produced by a Chinese ODM.” – Blake Przesmicki
As always, we were grateful for Jeff Fieldhack’s expertise in unpacking some of the challenges and nuances with local manufacturing.
“Even when there is local manufacturing available the company will have to rely on components that are being imported from outside the US.” – Jeff Fieldhack
These proclamations highlight the complicated world of smartphone manufacturing and supply chain in modern times. As such, the T1 smartphone is Trump’s first move in the technology and consumer electronics space. Its production comes very much in the spirit of the global manufacturing model as opposed to an all-American story.
The T1 is at the cutting edge of a new trend in the smartphone space. Pretty much every device is no longer made in one country with components made by other countries. As expected, the announcement has launched a flurry of debate around domestic manufacturing capabilities and their competitiveness with established global supply chains.