- Apple’s just promised that future iPhone and Apple Watch models will contain OS-Made Glass
- It’s not a fully built -in USA iPhone or Apple Watch
- That’s part of a major investment of $ 600 billion in the US economy from Apple
While not an iPhone made in the US, Apple is making some pretty big hardware-related news along with a new commitment from the Cupertino-based tech giant to invest a total of $ 600 billion in the US economy within the next five years.
Apple, in a recently announced partnership with Corning, will aim to manufacture and produce all glass covers for iPhone and Apple Watch in the US-specific at Corning’s facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. It’s part of a new $ 2.5 billion commitment from Apple and means once in place, all the glass for the iPhone and Apple Watch models sold globally will be made in the US.
Apple’s partnership with Corning is far from new. While Apple rarely explicitly names who manufactures which components, it has long been known that they use some custom form of Corning Gorilla Glass. Corning has always been an American-based company. The news that all iPhone and Apple Watch glass making is coming to the United States, inadvertently revealing that Apple may have used several glass suppliers, including some outside the United States. However, that is changing now.
Most recently, this facility has produced glass called ‘Ceramic Shield’ for Apple’s iPhone setup. Harrodsburg, Kentucky, the facility will be used exclusively to manufacture glass for Apple devices in the future. The release notes that this decision will increase Corning’s manufacturing and technical workforce here by 50%and that a combined Apple Corning Innovation Center opens nearby.
At a joint conference held in the White House and participated by Apple CEO Tim Cook, US President Donald Trump said this is a “smart glass production line” and will eventually create 20,000 new US jobs.
Cook actually gave Trump a gift, yes, a gift from Apple – a piece of Corning Glass with ‘Trump’ engraved on it, and a base made of 24 carat gold sourced from Utah. It may be the first unboxing on the Resolute Desk, at least done by Apple’s CEO.
The bigger picture: Apple raises its promised US investment
Although this is the most important hardware-related news as part of Apple’s commitment, the company promised an additional $ 100 billion investment in the United States. Previously, the total investment was $ 500 billion and it springs to $ 600 billion, which should be complete within four years.
Alongside the new partnership with Corning, Apple also committed to working with other US manufacturers such as Coarent, Globalwafers America (GWA), used materials, Texas Instruments (TI), Samsung, Globalfoundries, Amkor and Broadcom. This is called Apple’s American manufacturing program and will result in a tangible 450,000 jobs set up in America across 79 factories.
In addition to the fact that all glasses for iPhone and Apple Watch will be made in the US, Apple also hopes to create an end-to-end silicon supply chain in America. Apple already expects this supply chain to build over 19 billion chips by the end of 2025 here. When he spoke in the White House, Cook said, “American innovation is central to everything we do,” and it is clear that the tech giant is further investing to ensure that this will be the case in the future, especially from a building perspective.
Apple’s decision to move some component making to the United States may have just saved it from a 100% duty on chips and semiconductors that Trump announced during the press conference. Trump said, for companies like Apple, “If you build in the US or have committed to building in the United States, there will be no charge.”
Apple has also started construction on a 250,000-square-foot facility in Houston, Texas, which is focused on building advanced Apple servers, expanding a data center that supports services such as Apple TV+ and Apple Music in Maiden, North Carolina.
