Apple Would Make iPhones in the US, if It Had Robots

If Apple wants to escape Trump’s tariffs, the best thing it can do is bring iPhone manufacturing to the US. Right now, Apple relies heavily on China to produce the iPhone. During a recent interview with CNBC, Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Apple CEO Tim Cook told him that robots are the key to bringing iPhone production stateside.

Robots to make iPhones in the US

More specifically, Cook says that Apple needs access to robots with arms that can manage the scale and precision required to manufacture its iPhones. “I need to have the robotic arms to do it at a scale and precision that would allow me to bring it here.”

This is a slight change in tone compared to what Apple’s leaders have said about US manufacturing in the past. For instance, Cook had previously stated that countries like China have a concentration of skilled labor that Apple needs to manufacture its iPhones. This is a similar sentiment that Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs also expressed.

Cook was quoted as saying, “The reason is because of the skill, the quantity of skill in one location, and the type of skill it is. Like the products we do require really advanced tooling, and the precision that you have to have in tooling and working with the materials we do are state of the art. And the tooling skill is very deep here.”

Possible in theory, but is it practical?

This doesn’t mean that Apple can’t bring iPhone manufacturing to the US. It’s just that maybe the US manufacturing scene isn’t equipped to meet Apple’s demands. Of course, Apple could invest time and money into building factories and production plants in the US. But that’s not something that will happen overnight.

It will take Apple years and a lot of money to make it happen. It could also impact the overall cost of the iPhone. American workers will most likely demand a higher wage. It will definitely be more than what Apple pays its factory workers in countries like China, India, and Brazil. Will that actually happen? That remains to be seen.

So far, Apple has been lucky enough to escape Trump’s tariffs (for now). However, the company isn’t waiting around to see what happens. Last we heard, Apple plans to shift most of its US iPhone production from China to India.