Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'It's Not True That the iPhone is Not Made in the United States'

[iReality85]

"We have always made the parts here."*

Oh, Cook.

*Usage of the phrase "The parts" may mean all the parts or some of the parts, or anything other than none of the parts; "Made" may apply to the manufacturing of portions thereof, and/or assembly thereof, and/or engineering thereof, and is not to suggest "the parts" are "made" in whole within the USA. Terms and Conditions may apply and are subject to change without notice.

 

[IPPlanMan]

Why do people want the iPhone to be made in the US? They don't think $1k is enough?

Because it won’t always be $1000, with better production methods that evolve over time... or we can continue exploiting foreign labor.

 

[laurim]

Yikes! Even IF the parts are indeed made in the USA, they are then being shipped to China on a boat, which is polluting the environment to be assembled. The assembled phones are then shipped back to the USA on a boat, which again is polluting the environment.

So, yes it being assembled in another country is just as big of a deal as if the parts were made in another country. Now, if the USA is the only place the parts can be manufactured, then make them here and ship them to the countries where the phones will be sold to be assembled. In other words, assemble phones in the USA that are going to be sold in the USA, assemble phones that are going to be sold in China in China, assemble phones that are going to be sold in Canada in Canada, etc. Doing this will help spur the local economy of each of these countries, which means Apple could end up selling more phones there.

Since you’re such a manufacturing expert, care to explain how they would manage quality control, training across so many widespread manufacturing sites and offset the immense loss of cost benefits of scale by manufacturing in one or two locations? Not to mention dealing with all the differing regulations, labor laws, tax laws etc etc that would become part of the picture? Imagine how IMPOSSIBLE it would be to maintain secrecy when your new product is spread out far and wide. Your idea sounds like the LAST thing a company would want to do to maintain profit margin and competitive advantage while maintaining the desired level of quality Apple is known for.

 

[TheRealTVGuy]

And why would it cost that? Oh that’s right, because of fair wages and labor practices that American workers have... and the lack of them in the foreign assembly plants that most Apple customers willingly and deliberately ignore.

If you don't want to work in certain conditions or you want to make more than what is being offered, seek out additional education, skills, and ultimately a different job.

 

[FightTheFuture]

The more Tim gets into the public eye, the more I like his style and way of thinking and how Apple is now being managed.

I feel the same way. SJ definitely picked the right successor.

 

[IPPlanMan]

If you don't want to work in certain conditions or you want to make more than what is being offered, seek out additional education, skills, and ultimately a different job.

You want to tell the workers in China that?

Tim should stand on principle and hire American workers here in the states at fair wages.

Oh that’s right, the money is more important to him. He’s the sales guy Steve warned us about.

 

[brian3uk]

Apple is not a charity.

Didn't say they needed to be. I said they need to pay their taxes, and shouldn't pitch products at organizations who are already suffering with a lack of funds because companies like Apple avoid their tax responsibility.

 

[JPack]

Tim Cook: This Is the Number 1 Reason We Make iPhones in China

"There's a confusion about China. The popular conception is that companies come to China because of low labor cost. I'm not sure what part of China they go to but the truth is China stopped being the low labor cost country many years ago. And that is not the reason to come to China from a supply point of view. The reason is because of the skill, and the quantity of skill in one location and the type of skill it is."

"China has moved into very advanced manufacturing, so you find in China the intersection of craftsman kind of skill, and sophisticated robotics and the computer science world. That intersection, which is very rare to find anywhere, that kind of skill, is very important to our business because of the precision and quality level that we like. The thing that most people focus on if they're a foreigner coming to China is the size of the market, and obviously it's the biggest market in the world in so many areas. But for us, the number one attraction is the quality of the people."

"I visited ICT--they manufacture, among other things, the AirPods for us. When you think about AirPods as a user, you might think it couldn't be that hard because it's really small. The AirPods have several hundred components in them, and the level of precision embedded into the audio quality--without getting into really nerdy engineering--it's really hard. And it requires a level of skill that's extremely high."​

 

[apolloa]

Getting super tired of the half truths in the world today. Yeah sure some parts are made here, but most aren't. And y'all route your income through Ireland too so why's that? You wanna claim to be all SUPER USA, then bring your income home and pay your got dang taxes. And don't ask schools to pay $300 for ipads when they can't afford heat or to feed the kids. (because there isn't enough tax money for them)

Yeah, Cook the hypocrite, should be his full name, just like any other CEO, no matter what BS falls out of his mouth, it’s all aimed to increase sales, profits and shares before ANYTHING else, but shamefully some on here will aggressively defend that.
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Tim Cook: This Is the Number 1 Reason We Make iPhones in China

"There's a confusion about China. The popular conception is that companies come to China because of low labor cost. I'm not sure what part of China they go to but the truth is China stopped being the low labor cost country many years ago. And that is not the reason to come to China from a supply point of view. The reason is because of the skill, and the quantity of skill in one location and the type of skill it is."

"China has moved into very advanced manufacturing, so you find in China the intersection of craftsman kind of skill, and sophisticated robotics and the computer science world. That intersection, which is very rare to find anywhere, that kind of skill, is very important to our business because of the precision and quality level that we like. The thing that most people focus on if they're a foreigner coming to China is the size of the market, and obviously it's the biggest market in the world in so many areas. But for us, the number one attraction is the quality of the people."

"I visited ICT--they manufacture, among other things, the AirPods for us. When you think about AirPods as a user, you might think it couldn't be that hard because it's really small. The AirPods have several hundred components in them, and the level of precision embedded into the audio quality--without getting into really nerdy engineering--it's really hard. And it requires a level of skill that's extremely high."​

So in other words Tim Cook is claiming Americans are incapable of and lack the intelligence to or skills to assemble their devices, and the Chinese do... so not only is he stupidly hypocritical, and full of it when everyone know it’s all about lower costs and profits, he also insults Americans.

What an impressive comment he’s made there...

 

[Rogifan]

Since over half of Apple’s sales come from outside the United States why should they be manufactured in the United States?

 

[krause734]

Apple is certainly more American than any Android phone, but I'm not sure that's a good thing anymore.

 

[DevNull0]

It's also not true that Tim Cook does not lie. And not true that Tim Cook is not completely incompetent.

It's not true that Timmy's cloggled pipeline is not completely empty.

It's not true that should not avoid using double negatives.

 

[dampfnudel]

If parts are produced in the US, the products assembled in China, then delivered to the world, then Tim, let us talk about the carbon footprint of an iPhone.

That’s something Tim will never talk about because that would stain Apple’s image as a white knight for the environment. The irony is while Apple often highlights its commitment to the environment, the truth is Apple’s extraordinary success and policies that are driven mostly by “how do we make the most money” are quite detrimental for the environment.

 

[Morgenland]

Cook's pauper speech serves the regulars' table.
The regulars' table in other countries (more than half of Apple sales are generated by these people) may refuse to buy goods from American PATRIOTS.
That's a basic issue in learning global economy and communicate appropriately.

I never thought Cook would suck up like that to media.

 

[Count Blah]

That’s something Tim will never talk about because that would stain Apple’s image as a white knight for the environment. The irony is while Apple often highlights its commitment to the environment, the truth is Apple’s extraordinary success and policies that are driven mostly by “how do we make the most money” is quite detrimental for the environment.

Gluing the Macs all together also leads to disposable computers. Another Tim Middle Finger to the environment.

 

[hagar]

Americans seem to think they have everything it takes to produce iPhones in the US. Well surprise: they don't. China has become the factory of the world and they offer far more than just cheap labor. They have all the know-how, automated factories, weak environmental and social regulations, ... And by producing everything in China we're not only handing them over our cash, but also our knowledge. In return, China is purchasing Africa because that's where the real cheap labor and natural resources are.

This whole Trump-US-narative is so behind the times and out of touch with reality, it's not funny anymore. We live in a globalised world with multinationals having more money and power than governments. They dictate the agenda and the only thing that counts is profits. Because we, the consumer, ask cheap things.

Meanwhile, corporations pay almost no taxes, and decide in a wink to move a plant to the other side of the world. And countries are forced to compete by offering even lower taxes and weaker regulations.

Maybe, I'm being naive but at least Apple is one of the few corporations that tries to do the right thing in many regards and I feel it's more than window dressing. They stand up for equal rights, invest in green energy and have a roadmap to avoid some chemicals. But make no mistake, the business there in is very polluting and as long as there's gold and cobalt among other things in their devices, their products will be a social and environmental disaster. Just like the products of the competition. But at least they try to minimise some effects.

But whether the final assembly is done in China or the US doesn't make any difference.

 

[ActionableMango]

American patriotism is always mind boggling to me

A significant part of the criticism against Chinese manufacturing is about worker safety, worker pay, child labor, slave labor, political prisoner labor, and lack of environmental regulation in China, which isn't about patriotism or America at all.

 

[soanis]

Yikes! Even IF the parts are indeed made in the USA, they are then being shipped to China on a boat, which is polluting the environment to be assembled. The assembled phones are then shipped back to the USA on a boat, which again is polluting the environment.

So, yes it being assembled in another country is just as big of a deal as if the parts were made in another country. Now, if the USA is the only place the parts can be manufactured, then make them here and ship them to the countries where the phones will be sold to be assembled. In other words, assemble phones in the USA that are going to be sold in the USA, assemble phones that are going to be sold in China in China, assemble phones that are going to be sold in Canada in Canada, etc. Doing this will help spur the local economy of each of these countries, which means Apple could end up selling more phones there.

Would they be able to offer them in similar prices then though?

 

[Karma*Police]

He does have a point. The assembly is what people focus the most on. But when you look at the scale and economics of manufacturing in emerging markets, you simply can't avoid them and still have your products sell at reasonable prices.

If countries start creating protectionist policies to force companies to manufacture locally, then you'll just see that increased cost passed on to the consumer. But the company won't absorb those higher costs.

Exactly. Globalism is here to stay and it's good for the world. Tariffs/protectionist policies/patriotism... these are all harmful to the human race, but will be politicized to evoke nostalgia in those who are fearful or anxious for whatever reason, because those politicians know that there are few drugs more powerful than nostalgia.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

Tim should have “Assembled in USA” versions of their products. New Balance does this for shoes.

At what price are fair labor principles and practices worth doing away with? I guess we’ll find out.

That's an interesting concept. Logistics could be much more complex with an iPhone than shoes but would be cool to see it play out.

 

[Romanesq]

I don't understand why people think people in US deserve jobs more than people in other countries if the products are sold worldwide?

It's an AMERICAN COMPANY.

For cripes sakes. SMH.

 

[smaffei]

Getting super tired of the half truths in the world today. Yeah sure some parts are made here, but most aren't. And y'all route your income through Ireland too so why's that? You wanna claim to be all SUPER USA, then bring your income home and pay your got dang taxes. And don't ask schools to pay $300 for ipads when they can't afford heat or to feed the kids. (because there isn't enough tax money for them)

The teachers in Philadelphia Public schools have to bring their own toilet paper. But, hey, they can get Apple Pencil for $10 off. Could the Apple brass be any more out of touch?

 

[Glideslope]

American patriotism is always mind boggling to me

28 Nations giving up their autonomy to feed a hungry beast in Brussels is always mind boggling to me.

 

[ipponrg]

The funniest quote of this article:

"We have always made the parts here," Cook said. "People just look at where the final product is assembled."

One would think that "making" a product includes assembling the final product. Clearly we've had the definition wrong the entire time.

Lesson learned: Tim Cook says that final product assembly is not where a product is made.

 

[az431]

Sooo.... apparently, Apple is about to announce acquisition of China and claims it'll be a part of States?

Did you read past the headline?