Apple starts Mac Mini production in Houston
US orders supplied from new facility while Asia output continues, Made in USA branding tracks tariff risk more than supply-chain overhaul
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Apple says it will begin producing some Mac Mini computers in Houston later this year, adding a rare “made in the USA” line to a product that has largely been assembled in Asia.
According to Business Insider, the Mac Mini move is tied to an expansion of Apple’s existing Houston manufacturing footprint. The company said it will also scale up manufacturing of advanced AI servers at the site, an effort it expects to create “thousands of jobs.” Apple framed the announcement as part of its broader pledge to invest $600 billion in US facilities and create 20,000 jobs over the next four years.
The fine print is what matters. Business Insider notes that overseas production of the Mac Mini will continue, and that many current models are listed as Vietnam-made. Apple’s statement describes a new 20,000-square-foot “advanced manufacturing center” under construction in Houston that will also be used for training students, supplier employees and US businesses in Apple’s manufacturing techniques.
The timing underscores why Apple is emphasising domestic production at all. Business Insider links the company’s messaging to the costs of tariffs under President Donald Trump’s second term and Apple’s ongoing supply-chain adjustments, including shifting production of US-bound iPhones to India to reduce tariff exposure.
Apple also highlighted other US-linked milestones: sourcing more than $20 billion in US-made chips across 12 states, opening an Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, and planning to buy more than 100 million advanced chips produced by TSMC at its Arizona facility.
Taken together, the announcement reads less like a wholesale reshoring of electronics manufacturing and more like a selective rebalancing: add US final production capacity where it reduces political and regulatory risk, while keeping the deeper component ecosystem abroad. For consumer electronics, “Made in USA” can function as an insurance policy against sudden policy shifts, rather than a claim about the cheapest or most efficient supply chain.
Apple did not specify what share of Mac Minis will be produced in Houston, nor which components will be sourced domestically versus imported. It did specify that the Houston output will be aimed at fulfilling US orders.
The company’s most concrete number was the size of the new facility: 20,000 square feet in Houston, built alongside a supply chain that still runs through Asia.