Cook: US-built Mac will be refreshed version of existing product

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday revealed that the first Mac to built completely in the U.S. in almost two decades will be a new model in an existing product line, shedding a bit more light on the company's "Made in USA" plans.

Tim Cook


While not a major topic of discussion, the Apple chief told Politico that Apple's upcoming domestically-made computer will not be a new product, but a revision on an existing machine. The news is to be expected, as Apple is not rumored to be working on a new addition to its current desktop and laptop lineups.

What little was revealed about the upcoming Mac was enlightening, however, as Cook said many of the machine's components will also be made in America, with companies from Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Texas making contributions.

?We?re going very deep in this project,? Cook said.

AppleInsider was first to report in April that Apple is expanding its operations in the Orlando, Fla., area. The company has been hiring engineers to design, build, and test custom chips for future devices.

In December, Cook first announced that Apple plans to bring some of its Mac production back to U.S. shores, saying the company will invest $100 million in the endeavor.

"We've been working on this for a long time, and we were getting closer to it. It will happen in 2013," Cook said in an interview with Bloomberg. "We're really proud of it. We could have quickly maybe done just assembly, but it's broader because we wanted to do something more substantial."

Details of the project are scarce, though some analysts believe Apple will rely heavily on U.S.-based plants of partner supplier Foxconn.

As for the specific model to be built in America, previous rumors speculated a revamped Mac mini as the likely choice.

When the "Made in USA" Mac finally arrives, it will be the first Apple computer since 1994 to be built domestically. That year, the company began contracting device manufacturing to overseas firms, subsequently closing its Elk Grove and Fremont, Calif., facilities.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 223
    nizzardnizzard Posts: 58member
    wonderful. can i expect my macbooks to prematurely fall apart and randomly stop working now?
  • Reply 2 of 223
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member


    A refreshed product!  Take that, Samsung!

  • Reply 3 of 223
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 512ke View Post


    A refreshed product!  Take that, Samsung!





    Folks like you rip on Apple for employing underaged, overworked, suicidal Chinese workers and preaching how Apple should use their ill-gotten gains to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., and now you b!tch still that it's back in the U.S.??

  • Reply 4 of 223
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    nizzard wrote: »
    wonderful. can i expect my macbooks to prematurely fall apart and randomly stop working now?

    Refresh implies something more that a slightly faster processor etc, so it's more likely the Mac Pro
  • Reply 5 of 223
    0yvind0yvind Posts: 55member



    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
    Of course it's the Mac Pro but don't say it loud. We wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, would we?


     


    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     

  • Reply 6 of 223
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    New model in an existing product line? Has to be Mac Pro.
  • Reply 7 of 223
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    charlituna wrote: »
    nizzard wrote: »
    wonderful. can i expect my macbooks to prematurely fall apart and randomly stop working now?

    Refresh implies something more that a slightly faster processor etc, so it's more likely the Mac Pro

    Yup, Mac Pro would also have been my guess: it's a product line with low volume thus suitable for ramping up production without instantly having to produce millions of units.
    It's also a high end product, often BTO so there are cost savings not having to air ship them, and with a high price item slightly higher production costs won't have as much an impact on the overall profit margin as expressed in percent, which is what makes investors nervous if they see that number drop.
  • Reply 8 of 223
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member


    I think it's great Apple is bringing manufacturing back to the USA.  Kudos.


     


    I rip on Apple for a lack of new products and services when compared to Google and Android over the past year or so.

  • Reply 9 of 223
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    Apple's Fremont plant was highly automated.
    I'd expect any Foxconn factories in the US to also be highly automated.
    Labor is cheaper than automation in China. Automation is most likely cheaper than labor in the US.
  • Reply 10 of 223
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    NeXT had US assembly. There is a video of the plant somewhere online but I can't seem to locate it.
  • Reply 11 of 223
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    512ke wrote: »
    I rip on Apple for a lack of new products and services when compared to Google and Android over the past year or so.

    Really. What 'new' products and services from Google and Android?
  • Reply 12 of 223
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    I suspect a heavily redesigned Mac Pro myself. Given that thought the Mini could easily be redesigned for automated production.
    charlituna wrote: »
    Refresh implies something more that a slightly faster processor etc, so it's more likely the Mac Pro
  • Reply 13 of 223
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    New model in an existing product line? Has to be Mac Pro.


    Makes sense. I wonder where the factory is. They should have it pretty well under way since it will be producing product sometime in 2013.

  • Reply 14 of 223
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    wizard69 wrote: »
    I suspect a heavily redesigned Mac Pro myself. Given that thought the Mini could easily be redesigned for automated production.

    The Mac Pro seems the most likely to me, too.
  • Reply 15 of 223
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NIZZARD View Post



    wonderful. can i expect my macbooks to prematurely fall apart and randomly stop working now?


    You have a weird sense of imagination.  So what sentence in the article led you to that thought process?  Just curious.

  • Reply 16 of 223
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    This isn't technically true. Automation can happen in Chinese factories. It is often an issue of cost but rather the governments desire to employ lots of people. I know of some cases where attempts to setup automated factories in China where rejected in favor if putting people to work. In any event for some things it is pretty hard to do the task manually so automation is used even in China.
    sockrolid wrote: »
    Apple's Fremont plant was highly automated.
    I'd expect any Foxconn factories in the US to also be highly automated.
    Labor is cheaper than automation in China. Automation is most likely cheaper than labor in the US.
  • Reply 17 of 223
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    If it wasn't for the volume I could see the Mini adapting well to US production. It is a much bigger trick than Mac Pro production though. One thing we know for sure the Mac Pro gets a redesign this year. My biggest fear though is that it will seek in the same price range as it does today. That could be a problem.
    solipsismx wrote: »
    The Mac Pro seems the most likely to me, too.
  • Reply 18 of 223
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    wizard69 wrote: »
    If it wasn't for the volume I could see the Mini adapting well to US production. It is a much bigger trick than Mac Pro production though. One thing we know for sure the Mac Pro gets a redesign this year. My biggest fear though is that it will seek in the same price range as it does today. That could be a problem.

    The cost of the Mac Pro is why I think it's the likely candidate. They can more easily hide the assembly costs in the Mac Pro than they can in less expensive Macs.

    I hope they have made it highly automated so that they can not only reduce costs but also expand into other products down the line, but that seems unlikely at this point.
  • Reply 19 of 223
    echosonicechosonic Posts: 462member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    The cost of the Mac Pro is why I think it's the likely candidate. They can more easily hide the assembly costs in the Mac Pro than they can in less expensive Macs.



    I hope they have made it highly automated so that they can not only reduce costs but also expand into other products down the line, but that seems unlikely at this point.


    The Mac Pro is heavy as shit, larger than most other product boxes, and will not be made in sufficient quantity to warrant the likely trans-Pacific shipping discounts Apple can pull on high-volume iPhones, MBPs and iMacs.  


     


    In addition, I am pretty certain that more than half of all Mac Pros are already bought and used in the US.  


     


    Nothing else makes more sense.  I'd put dollars on it being Mac Pro.



    Its what the vast majority of content providers, creators and distributors are using.

  • Reply 20 of 223
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post

    New model in an existing product line? Has to be Mac Pro.


     


    Why? Wouldn't a new iMac be a refresh of an existing product? A Mac Pro going in a new direction would be far closer to "new product" than "existing product", in my eyes.





    Originally Posted by 512ke View Post

    I rip on Apple for a lack of new products and services when compared to Google and Android over the past year or so.


     


    HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY EXPECT ANYONE NOT TO NOTICE HOW INCORRECT THIS STATEMENT IS?!

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