- Apple plans to build some Mac Mini computers in the US
- Tim Cook made the announcement while showing off some behind-the-scenes manufacturing video
- AI may be one of the driving forces here
The suddenly hot Mac mini will soon be made in the United States. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the move on Tuesday in a post on X.
"As part of our $600B commitment, Mac mini will be produced in the US for the first time later this year!" wrote Cook.
The $600B investment he refers to is the billions Cook promised US President Donald Trump last year he'd be funneling into US manufacturing efforts as part of a new "American Manufacturing Program" (AMP). He made the promise while also presenting Trump with a golden plaque featuring the words "Made in America."
This Mac mini news, though, may be far more valuable to American consumers interested in buying one of Apple's increasingly popular tiny desktop computers.
A mini piece of the pie
The Mac mini has accounted for only about 1% of Apple's Mac sales in recent years, but the mini's star is on the rise. According to recent reports, 2024 M4 Mac minis have been selling out (along with Mac Studios). Why? Blame AI. The tiny box computer is considered a perfect fit for handling localized agentic AI tasks, and so they're apparently flying off the shelves.
Now, it's unclear if all those sales are helping the Mac mini draw closer to, say, it's best-sellign MacBook Air or MacBook Pro counterparts. That seems unlikely, but the US production, set to begin at a new Houston, Texas, facility later this year, should increase mini-production levels.
An entire production facility devoted to just one thin slice of Apple's Mac market doesn't make much sense. However, AI's appetite for hardware goes far beyond the mini. Apple will also be building AI servers that should help support the company's growing Private Cloud Computer and other AI aspirations.
How mini are these operations
Tim Cook's post offers scant details on exactly when the facility will open and become operational, or how many Mac minis it will produce each quarter. It's likely the factory will only build a fraction of all the Mac minis Apple produces for sale. Perhaps, it will build all those sold in the US, while other global manufacturing facilities serve the rest of the world.
However, we do now know a bit more about how Apple builds products through its supply chain and with its manufacturing partners, thanks to a new video report from The Wall Street Journal.
The report focuses largely on Apple's efforts to get its Apple Silicon built in the US. Apple does not produce any chips; it relies on a series of partners to produce the high-powered silicon. However, it's clear from the video that Apple's fingerprints are all over the process.
When asked by The Wall Street Journal, "Who is the most demanding customer you have?" the Global Wafers exec answered quickly, "Apple."
Apple's deep involvement and its size give it the power to push partners like these chip supply chain partners to move more operations to the US.
iPhone next?
Apple's promise to begin building some Mac minis in the US this year does not signal a massive shift to making all Apple products in the US. And when Apple executives were asked by The Wall Street Journal about making the iPhone in the US, they gave a circuitous answer about future innovation, but offered no insight into future iPhone build operations.
Ultimately, the Mac mini's new manufacturing home represents a small but perhaps important return to US manufacturing for Apple, which famously built the original Macintosh in Fremont. California.
There's no indication Apple is planning a broad return to US manufacturing, but the push for US-based operations for chip manufacturing is perhaps a stronger possibility because of the growing need for chips (and memory) in the US.
For now, the majority of silicon and RAM are made outside the US. Once again, the global AI race is creating unprecedented demand, shortages, and the need for, in the US, closer-to-home supply chains.
In a way, this Houston-based operation is also a proof of concept. If it goes well, and Apple can also bring some Apple Silicon manufacturing to the US, we may finally see a wider swath of Apple products arriving without the support of imports and the potential burden of tariffs.
Will that mean cheaper Mac minis and eventually other products? Only time will tell.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
