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

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  • Reply 41 of 223

    Quote:

    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.



     


    I was going to list everything that's wrong with that statement, but it would be quicker to list everything right with that statement:


     


    1.

  • Reply 42 of 223

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post



    Really. What 'new' products and services from Google and Android?


     


    Every activation = new product. image

  • Reply 43 of 223

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ufwa View Post


    He actually said "...where the company will begin producing a new version of a current Mac product later this year."


     


    Upgrading the cpu and gpu would still fall under the vague description of "new version"


     


    cpu/gpu refresh in imac ,mac mini, macbooks to a new mac pro design would qualify under his statement.



     


    So... no hope for the Newton making a comeback?

  • Reply 44 of 223
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post

    So... no hope for the Newton making a comeback?


  • Reply 45 of 223
    superbasssuperbass Posts: 688member


    I just don't see Apple moving in the direction that building a new Mac Pro factory would require. Expandable/upgradeable devices are no longer part of their business model, they're trying to go Intel-free and they've been "trimming the fat" on low-profit product lines by streamlining their product catalogue.


     


    While i'd personally love to see a new Mac Pro and I agree that due to shipping weight it would make some sense to assemble them in the USA (although its probably cheaper to ship to Europe from China), i just don't see this happening.


     


    Maybe the product in question will be a refreshed Cinema display?

  • Reply 46 of 223
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    NeXT was fully automated with just a handful of staff to keep the system stamping and assembling pizza boxes and cubes.
  • Reply 47 of 223
    enzosenzos Posts: 344member
    I think it's great that Apple's binging the flag-ship (if it is the Mac Pro) back home. Also hope it's a real PC-eating beast!
  • Reply 48 of 223
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    NeXT was fully automated with just a handful of staff to keep the system stamping and assembling pizza boxes and cubes.

    And I thought only Tony Stark had robots to build his flying suits in his home lab...
  • Reply 49 of 223
    thinkknotthinkknot Posts: 51member
    Probably a good excuse to make the argument for a tax holiday for Apple. Showing the govt that they're serious about spending the money back in the USA.
  • Reply 50 of 223
    hmmhmm Posts: 3,405member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ThinkKnot View Post



    Probably a good excuse to make the argument for a tax holiday for Apple. Showing the govt that they're serious about spending the money back in the USA.




    Do you recall the 2004 failure based on the same mentality?


     


    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203633104576623771022129888.html


     


    Even the heritage foundation  doesn't like it.


     


     


    http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/10/would-another-repatriation-tax-holiday-create-jobs


     


     


    Quote:


    The current proposal would cut taxes, which is generally a good thing, but if another repatriation tax holiday were enacted, one should expect a similar result as last time: specifically, a surge in repatriations and little appreciable increase in domestic investment or job creation. The repatriation holiday would have little or no effect on investment and job creation, the key to the whole issue, simply because the repatriating companies are not capital-constrained today. Any investment, any action that they would deem worthwhile today can be and is being financed by current and accumulated earnings. For those rare instances in which outside financing is needed, interest rates remain at historic lows and few if any of these repatriating companies are constrained. Adding to their financing abilities will not increase the opportunities for investment.



     


     


    It just takes current problems and kicks them further out.

  • Reply 51 of 223
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NIZZARD View Post



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


    Apple recently return 500,000 iPhones to the manufacturer because they were not assembled to high enough standards, and they will surely do the same for any manufacturer no matter where they're based. This is not Apple assembling themselves, remember, it's just a US based subcontractor. Probably still Foxconn.

  • Reply 52 of 223
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member


    I wonder if Tim Cook will do the WWDC keynote and reveal the whole story then?

  • Reply 53 of 223
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    nizzard wrote: »
    wonderful. can i expect my macbooks to prematurely fall apart and randomly stop working now?

    -1
    solipsismx wrote: »
    NeXT had US assembly. There is a video of the plant somewhere online but I can't seem to locate it.

    This one? (warning: long hair alert)
    [VIDEO]

    512ke wrote: »
    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.

    When we need them, they will come….

    Trolls. When you don't need them they'll come.
    enzos wrote: »
    I think it's great that Apple's binging the flag-ship (if it is the Mac Pro) back home. Also hope it's a real PC-eating beast!

    Probably not, if history is any indication. It usually is 'the same' as PeeCee's Workstations. Price wise it's also roughly the same. But, like Steve said at AllThingsD: "It's all in the software"

    Besides, I like the Apple design of the Power Mac, nee, Mac Pro. Dell Workstation, not so much.
  • Reply 54 of 223
    v5vv5v Posts: 1,357member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tribalogical View Post


    [...] Aside from the RAM, it's unlikely one would need to do anything else internally anyway...



     


    Actually, I'd be willing to bet that most people never upgrade their RAM after the initial purchase. They might add some when they first buy it, but not after that.


     


    DRIVES, on the other hand, are frequently replaced around here, partly due to failures and partly for increased capacity. Making them hard to get at and/or unique to specific models is what bugs me. It takes away the opportunity for klutzes like me to take advantage of the economies of scale that result in popular drives popping up at really attractive prices. Our most recent Mac purchase was the "old" style MacBook Pro, not the Retina version, so swapping is easy and we're not stuck with the extremely limited storage options available for the Retina.

  • Reply 55 of 223
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    gtr wrote: »
    Yes, Jony Ive has his work cut out for him doesn't he?

    I mean, revamping a UI is one thing but to get it to look as invisible as Key Lime Pie was at Google I/O will be a monumental task.

    And how fricking thin was the new Nexus 5?

    When you turn that thing sideways you almost couldn't see it!

    Actually, come to think of it, when you turned it to the front it was also pretty hard to see...
    Actually Google is pretty clever. They could have served up dog shit on a plate at I/O and the media/tech press/wall street would have eaten it up. They're saving new Android OS and Nexus devices for the fall, no doubt to compete with iPhones/iPads/whatever else from Apple.
  • Reply 56 of 223
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    plagen wrote: »
    Since 97% of Google's revenue comes from advertising, those mysterious producst must belong to the remaining 3%. Their main product is you doing a search and then clicking on the top line search result. Usually it's Amazon or Home Depot, or Walmart.
    Or Wikipedia.
  • Reply 57 of 223
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    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.
    True, but the assembly cost of a Mini wouldn't be that great, especially with a bit of design effort. Beyond that the Mini already lends itself to mass production with its die cast housing. Optimize it a bit more and the whole thing could go together with a minimum of human contact.
    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.

    Actually I think it is very likely. It would simply lead to more efficient use of resources. The Mac Pro is a good place to ramp up a factory and supply chain due to its lower volume. I can see two or three products being made in this country by 2015.

    Years ago I worked in the die cast industry, in that case Zinc diecasting, and imagine that you could pump out Mini like enclosures probably every 15 seconds, maybe faster from one machine. Automate the process so that the enclosures get trimmed and secondary processing on an automated line and the raw enclosure might never be touched by human hands. The idea intrigues me even though I left that industry 30 years ago. Take some cues from the high speed packaging industry and the motherboard could be loaded into the enclosure in seconds.

    In any event unlike the Mac Pro, the Mini lends itself to much innovation in assembly. I'm really leaning towards the Mac Pro as the USA built machine, but see interesting possibilities with the Mini. The Mini is simply an easy platform to redesign for automation.
  • Reply 58 of 223
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    I also think the most likely candidate for this 'new version of an existing product' is the Mac Pro. 

    In every way it makes sense. Lower volume, lower cost to ship/build BTO units (which most Mac Pros are), and a slower ramp to get manufacturing up to speed.
    Due to its nature it is also a labor intensive product. So while I lean towards the Mac Pro as the machine I still see potential in the Mini being the product.
    Investing only $100 million doesn't imply a very large scale ramp either, so if it's a product requiring high output in a quarter, it would cost more to put in place, one would think...
    Actually it could be a significant factory with one or possibly two production lines. Much of the sub component production would be picked up by subcontractors. For example a PCB manufacture only has to be able to produce the volume required and might not have to invest heavily in capital. Like wise enclosure manufacture could be handled by a subcontractor with a minimal of hardware investment.

    I'd be the first to admit that costs on production lines add up quick, but I've also spent years working on similar lines. I can easily see one or two Mini assembly lines being built for that sort of money. I'm also imagining that the various revs to the machine (be it Min or Mac Pro) each year come out of a different budget.

    In the end it really depends upon what they are talking about. 100 million isn't a lot, if the factory is expected to do everything itself but I don't think they will go that route.
  • Reply 59 of 223
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Duplicate! AI has gone nuts.
  • Reply 60 of 223
    igamogamigamogam Posts: 42member


    This move does not fill me with confidence… Most American made products I have owned or used were pretty poor in terms of build quality, like Italian made goods but not so stylish.


     


    Every time I visit the US I come away feeling that for Americans price beats quality and everything IS cheap! Although there is obviously tremendous pride in American made products they seem old-fashioned and inefficient compared to what the rest of the world uses. Perhaps I generalise but I can't think of a single American made item that sells well in Europe because they are generally perceived as not being very good.


     


    Amongst visible American companies that do well Apple products seem to be an exception in that they are viewed as stylish and well made but the only other visible US high-street presences that jump to mind are Starbucks and fast food outlets. Even McD claim to sell 100% Swiss/French/British Beef/Wheat/Lettice (in their respective markets) because no one particularly wants to eat US grown produce as it is viewed as drug laden GM/Frankenstein food.


     


    I wouldn't be surprised if people over here would plump for the Made in China version given the choice.

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