Apple to shift some Mac Mini production to Houston from Asia

Apple will move some production of its Mac Mini desktop computer to the U.S. from Asia. (AP / Mark Lennihan)

Apple will move some production of its Mac Mini desktop computer to the U.S. from Asia, with a new manufacturing effort set to begin later this year at a facility in Houston, the iPhone maker said on Tuesday.

The company is also expanding the Houston facility to include a new training center for advanced manufacturing, and said its Houston operations will create thousands of jobs.

The plan marks Apple’s most recent U.S. investment, following its commitment announced last August to invest US$600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years.

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened Apple with a 25 per cent tariff on products manufactured overseas, a sharp reversal from earlier policy when his administration had exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from rounds of tariffs on Chinese imports.

Apple’s Mac Mini announcement comes amid renewed uncertainty around tariffs. The United States has imposed a new tariff of 10 per cent on all goods not covered by exemptions, the rate first announced by Trump on Friday after the Supreme Court struck down the duties he imposed last year, rather than the 15 per cent he promised a day later.

“Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The company, which began making AI servers in Houston last year, also said production was ahead of schedule.

Apple has a mixed track record when it comes to following through on investment promises.

In 2019, for instance, Cook toured a Texas factory with Trump that was promoted as a new manufacturing site. However, the facility had been producing Apple computers since 2013 and Apple has since moved that production to Thailand.

Apple continues to manufacture most of its products, including iPhones and iPads, in Asia, primarily in China, although it has shifted some production to Vietnam, Thailand and India in recent years.

(Reporting by Devika Nair and Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Devika Syamnath)