Why the iPhone Won’t Be Made in America — And Likely Never Will

The notion of manufacturing iPhones in the United States sounds patriotic, but in practice, it's nearly unfeasible. This isn’t just about higher wages or a lack of tools — it’s about Apple’s deeply entrenched, highly efficient supply chain ecosystem in Asia, built over decades. That system can’t be uprooted and replanted in Texas overnight.

Consider Motorola’s failed attempt in 2013 to assemble phones in a Texas factory. The result? Skyrocketing costs, slow production, and weak demand — the project quietly shut down soon after.

Today, less than 5% of iPhone components are sourced from the U.S. Even when the glass is made in Kentucky, touchscreen technology comes from Korea, and chips are fabricated by TSMC in Taiwan — which has only recently begun small-scale production in Arizona. Final assembly? Still overwhelmingly based in China, at around 85%.

Each iPhone is a mosaic of 2,700 parts supplied by 187 companies across 28 countries. In China, these suppliers are physically close to one another, enabling faster production, lower costs, and greater efficiency — keeping Apple globally competitive.

Apple is diversifying, with India now assembling 16% of global iPhone units and aiming for 20%. Thanks to low labor costs, government support, and a growing domestic market, India is a strategic choice. Yet the key components remain mostly Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese.

The reality is: the iPhone isn’t manufactured in any one location. It’s a global product — powered by an Asian-centric ecosystem — and it’s not likely to be fully “Made in America” anytime soon.

So the question remains: will tech giants ever reshore critical manufacturing, or has globalization become an unchangeable part of the technology supply chain?$BTC $SOL