Apple to Build Macs in the USA

It was just a few days ago when word broke that some users of sleek, newly redesigned Apple iMacs noticed something awfully peculiar about their latest purchase - instead of the common "Assembled in China", these new all-in-ones came from someplace much closer - "Assembled in the USA."

Today, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to print and airwaves to tell the public that it's going to be more than a few all-in-ones. In fact, said, Mr. Cook, one of the "existing Mac lines" will make the transition across the ocean and be assembled entirely in the United States.

Which computers will it be? Well, that's tough to say, though given the recent occurrences, our bet might just be on the iMac. The iMac requires a lot of components, like the 21.5- and 27-inch glass panels, to be shipped to China (of course, that glass may be made in China, too - just because the iPhone's glass front is produced in Kentucky doesn't mean the iMac's is as well). As the Apple CEO also pointed out, other Apple computer components, such as the iPhone's CPU, are developed and produced in America, and then shipped to China.

Earlier in the day, Cook mentioned that Apple has spent a substantial sum - to the tune of $100 million - creating the necessary infrastructure here in the United States in order to make this happen. 

In a potentially related move, Foxconn, a manufacturer upon whom Apple relies heavily for production of their wares, announced that they would soon be opening an American wing of the company. Rising Chinese wages and other labor costs, and a strengthening global economy, mean that a return to producing high-tech equipment in the United States isn't quite the impossibility it was once thought.

The move follows a similar announcement by Lenovo a few weeks ago; the Chinese computer giant decided to open a production plant near their North American headquarters in North Carolina, so as to more nimbly respond to custom requests by large corporations.