The Trump phone just got a $250 price hike. The T1 Phone now costs $749, up from its $499 launch price. Trump Mobile didn’t announce the increase — the company quietly changed its website overnight. The phone itself hasn’t changed.
Quiet change, no announcement
The move wasn’t a total surprise. Two Trump Mobile executives said in an interview earlier this year that the $499 price was “introductory,” and the website later began calling it a “promotional price.” That wording is now gone.
Even the Trumps can’t escape RAMageddon, as the review put it. The T1 Phone ships with 512GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, which is generous for the price — or at least it was.
What $749 actually buys you
When the T1 Phone was reviewed in July, the verdict was lukewarm even at $499. At $749, the reviewer said there is “absolutely no reason” to recommend it.
The math is brutal. You could buy an iPhone 17E or a Galaxy S26 FE and have $50 left over for a gold case. Spend $50 more and you’re in older flagship territory: an iPhone 16 or a Pixel 10. Any of those phones would “blow the T1 Phone out of the water,” according to the review.
The T1 Phone is still running Android 15, which is now two years old.
Software support: one update so far
To the reviewer’s surprise, the phone has received some support since launch. There’s been exactly one software update, moving it from Android’s February 2026 security patch to the May 2026 version.
That’s it. One update.
The single update hasn’t changed the phone’s operating system. Buyers are still on Android 15, a version that is now two years old.
Shipping began in May, nearly a year late
The Trump phone officially started shipping in May, almost a year after it was announced. But it remains unclear just how many customers have actually received their phones.
A BBC report last month found that at least some buyers still say their phones never arrived.
The rollout was announced well before shipping began. Now that it’s finally shipping, the company hasn’t said how many units have reached customers.
The hard numbers
- T1 Phone price: $749, up from $499 at launch
- Price increase: $250
- Storage: 512GB
- RAM: 12GB
- Software: Android 15, with one update from February 2026 to May 2026 security patch
- Shipping began: May, nearly a year after announcement
- Review verdict: not recommended at $499; “absolutely no reason” to recommend at $749
The price hike is a strange move for a phone that was already struggling to justify itself. At $499 it was a curiosity — a branded device with odd specs and a long, messy rollout. At $749 it’s a bad deal next to almost anything else on the shelf.
The review verdict, restated
The reviewer’s July assessment was clear: even at the lower price, the T1 Phone didn’t impress. The phone’s one saving grace — the generous storage and RAM — doesn’t change the fact that the software is aging and the rollout has been troubled.
The phone hasn’t changed. The price has. And nothing about the T1’s software support or shipping record has improved to match it.
If you were waiting for the Trump phone to come down in price, this is the opposite of what you wanted. If you already ordered one, the question of when it will arrive remains open. And if you were on the fence, the fence just got $250 more expensive.
Source: theverge.com
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