Mac Mini M4 is on sale for just $499, defying the odds as PCs become more expensive
Intel moves closer to building Apple’s entry-level M-series chips on 18A from 2027
Some production in China and Vietnam will continue alongside the U.S. line, with the Houston facility focused on serving domestic demand as the assembly operation scales up. Apple currently manufactures thousands of Mac Minis per week globally, with roughly one million units sold annually worldwide, representing a fraction of the company’s iPhone volumes, meaning the Houston line represents a modest slice of the company’s overall manufacturing footprint even at full capacity. The Mac Mini currently starts at $599 and is powered by Apple’s M4 and M4 Pro chips .
Apple is also building a 20,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center at the Houston campus, due to open later this year, offering hands-on training in Apple's production techniques to students, supplier employees, and other U.S. businesses.
In terms of chip supply, the numbers Apple released alongside the Houston announcement show us how aggressively the company has been assembling a domestic semiconductor supply chain. The company said it exceeded its own targets and sourced more than 20 billion U.S.-made chips from 24 factories across 12 states last year, with partners including TSMC, Broadcom, and Texas Instruments. Separately, Amkor broke ground on a $7 billion semiconductor advanced packaging and test facility in Peoria, Arizona, where Apple is expected to be the first and largest customer when it opens.
It’s worth noting that Apple does have a track record for domestic manufacturing. In 2019, Cook toured a Texas facility with Trump that was presented as a new manufacturing site, though the facility had been producing Apple computers since 2013. However, four years later, in 2023, MacRumors reported that the then-new Mac Pro featured a ‘Product of Thailand. Final assembly in the USA’ label which was not seen on previous models, with Apple providing no explanation for the change
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Key considerations
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/apple-to-produce-mac-minis-in-houston-for-the-first-time#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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