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good idea?

I'd rather they were built in China - not sure Apple could take the quality control hit from having them built in the US. I mean does the US make anything of any quality any more?
 
The new Mac Pro would be the obvious one to be made in the US, although some final assembly of the iMac is already going on in the USA.

Maybe this is why the new 21.5" iMac is so hard to upgrade after the fact: Apple assumes USA workers with fatter fingers can't get into it. :) :)
 
Give me the products built in China. I've worked in US manufacturing in the past...its even worse than you can imagine.
 
Manufacture in USA

We still have an empty building here in Fountain CO where Apple was in the 90's ready to go.
 
With Samsung also moving some production into the US, this is good news all around, and much needed for the US economy.

Contrary to popular belief, the wage difference does not amount to much as far as the product price goes. The % of a product's cost which is related to wages for manufacturing employees is so small as to not matter whether the guy makes 1$ or 30$ an hour, it's a difference of a few pennies to a dollar to cost.

Something Apple can very well afford with their current margins.
 
Some people dream of robots doing all the work.

Well what will happen to the people who used to do those jobs?

So a few people at the top get to rake in $billions and the rest of us "can eat cake"?

You will be baked. And then there will be cake.
 
Right to work

There is already a standing directive from Steve that if Apple produced in the US it would be in right to work states. Any current production work in the US is in one already.
 
"but the company (Apple) faces major challenges if it wishes to bring operations on the scale of iPhone production to the United States."

Opportunity is what you give yourself with vision.

Apple faces limits until the day when component integration & miniaturization and robotics allow a nearly totally robotic assembled iPhone. Once that day comes, which I predict is only years away, Apple can put factories anywhere the market is located.

They could easily have factories in Asia, EU, US & South America. Geographic dispersal also assures Apple that earthquake, typhoon, revolution or fire doesn't shut down an entire product line.

It is real and it will come.
I'll take one in Germany :D.
 
I like how you frame "labor and human rights, a respectable wage, and dignity" as "unions"

Yea, in 1920 or in China where it's needed. Not here where we have an open society with media all over a company's jock when they do so much as look at an employee wrong. Look at Honda and Toyota. They paid their workers even when the assembly is halted (after tsunami) so they take care of them without the need for unions (they actually closed the only union shop in California in 09).

Companies nowadays are powerful, yes, but not when the threat of bad press is given to them in the way they treat their employees.
 
Maybe, but an interesting point to bring up in an Apple forum. There are $300 notebooks, but we pay $1000 for a MBA. There are $400 D#!!! desktops, but we buy $1500 iMacs. There are MUCH cheaper alternatives to all Apple products. So, you're already paying a premium for a better product, and obviously you rationalize it certain ways. Rationalizing a 3% increase ($50 more for a $1500+ iMac) isn't that big of a leap.

I just remember the flurry when people were posting Black Friday sales on Macs (like when Amazon dropped the price below a $1,000) - yeah that was more than $50, but everybody likes a deal.

Even as consumers of 'premium products', I think a lot more people will rationalize saving $50 than paying an extra $50
 
Unions won't have to come in if the company treats it's people well.

Most workers don't want the hassle of dealing with union rules and fees. However if the employer treats it's people unfairly, then a good, strong union may be needed to secure bargaining rights for workers. Individual workers can't deal with the powerful, wealthy people at the top of corrupt businesses.

Nonsense. Unions today are nothing but political cash funds for the Democratic Party. All those millions of dollars in dues are pissed away to greedy pandering politicians. No benefit at all to the worker. Don't believe me? Ask those Hostess employees how great a Union is!

While all these union folks are sitting out of work, the union boss sits in his mansion and laughs all the way to the bank.
 
There is already a standing directive from Steve that if Apple produced in the US it would be in right to work states. Any current production work in the US is in one already.

Good, and god willing ALL states will transition to "Right To Work" states. There's no excuse for being forced in to a union and paying dues.
 
FoxConn is going to face a rude awakening if they try to open a plant here.

"What we can't make workers live at the factory and work 18 hour days? And we have to pay them at least minimum wage of close to 10 dollars an hour?"
 
Would you...really?

People like to wave their little flag and talk about 'made in America', but 99.9% of consumers are solely driven by the absolute lowest price they can get.

I bet if there was an iMac that was $50 more that was made in the USA and one next to it that was assembled in China, people would push each other out of the way to get the cheaper model.

Not saying it's right...but that's how people are wired....

If there is an appreciable difference in quality I would imagine more knowledgeable consumers would try to find a made in USA one. I doubt Apple would market the made in USA factor on the box. Maybe they would say in a keynote a certain percentage are being made in the USA and how they are bringing jobs back.

However don't see much difference in a computer Amercian hands have versus Chinese hands. The parts that usually go wrong for me have been the logic board (namely GPU) and screens, which are not done by hand.
 
More posts about how horrible it would be to make stuff here...straight from China. So predictable. Happens every time there is a Made in USA discussion.

I bet the Pro is going to be made here to begin with. An easier proposition than trying to produce a million iPhones an hour...
 
I like this move, and I'm a Canadian. I don't know how you are doing this, or why, but we (Canada) could learn from this. I'm going to forward a copy to the boys on parliament hill - hope they can read....
 
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