Apple CEO Tim Cook joined Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Thursday to open a new manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas, that will produce Mac Mini desktop computers later this year and already assembles AI servers for Apple. The event highlighted Apple’s ongoing effort to emphasize its U.S. manufacturing footprint amid years of pressure from President Donald Trump to move iPhone production stateside.
Cook said Apple had spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the facility, which also offers free training and educational classes for businesses. “We stood up a factory, started production, and shipped the first advanced AI servers off the line, and with Mac Mini production set to begin later this year,” he said.
Lutnick, speaking at the ribbon cutting, said the Trump administration wanted to reverse a trend where American technology was invented domestically but built abroad. “For decades, America was the great inventor of the world’s technology, and we watched that technology be built everywhere else in the world,” he said. “President Trump said, ‘Look, that’s got to change.'” Lutnick added that Apple’s commitment could lead the charge for advanced manufacturing returning to the U.S.
Apple’s U.S. manufacturing message
Apple has never said it would manufacture the iPhone in the U.S., but it has repeatedly pointed to components and other products made domestically. On Thursday, Cook said Apple sourced more than 20 billion chips from the U.S. last year and 100 million chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s Arizona facility. The company has also highlighted U.S.-made cover glass and other parts.
The Houston opening follows Apple’s $600 billion American Manufacturing Program announced last August, which includes orders, purchase commitments, and expanded production capacity with semiconductor partners. Apple previously opened a similar training center in Michigan. Classes at the Houston site will cover topics like using machine learning for quality control.
The Mac Mini marks a shift for Apple’s U.S. assembly efforts, which have historically focused on lower-volume products like the Mac Pro. The consumer-facing Mac Mini has higher sales volumes. In 2019, Cook appeared with Trump at an Austin, Texas factory where the $6,000 Mac Pro was assembled. Last year, from the White House, Cook said Apple would make servers for Apple Intelligence near Houston.
A transitional moment for Apple leadership
The appearance comes in the final weeks of Cook’s tenure as CEO. On Sept. 1, he will become executive chairman, and longtime hardware executive John Ternus will take over as CEO. Apple has said Cook would continue to assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers globally, and Thursday’s event may hint at that future role.
The Mac Mini has gained new attention among AI enthusiasts. A free program called OpenClaw, which became popular this spring, led to sellouts at some stores as users found Apple’s smallest and least expensive desktop suitable for running AI agents. Lutnick joked that Cook had corrected his initial impression of the device. “When I thought about a Mac Mini, I thought, OK, that’s like the computer on your desk,” Lutnick said. “And then I see Tim. He goes: ‘No, no, no.'” Lutnick said Cook told him you can run advanced AI models on the computer, “and these things are amazing, right?”
Correction: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect day for the event.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/13/apples-tim-cook-and-howard-lutnick-open-houston-manufacturing-plant.html
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