The iPhone range has always stood out as Apple’s cash cow, and irrespective of how many categories the company ventures into, its mobile devices have always thrived when bringing in the lion’s share of revenue and helping establish a new echelon in the technology industry. With its comprehensive supply chain set up in regions like China, Vietnam, and now India, Apple not only gets a guaranteed annual shipment in the millions but can also leverage the low labor costs in these regions to help maximize its margins. These reasons and more are why one person firmly believes that the Cupertino firm will not shift iPhone production to the U.S., regardless of the latest Trump tariffs announcement.
Shifting iPhone manufacturing to the U.S. will not just skyrocket Apple’s labor cost, but the continuous grind will likely cause output to slump
First and foremost, the sheer amount of funding Apple has to inject to set up the production facility in the U.S. will be outrageous. Compared to other countries, the cost of doing business in the United States is higher, so it is no surprise that the California-based giant has chosen to set up its facilities overseas. A post from NewsWire on X that estimates an iPhone’s price will surge to $3,500 as a result of the tariffs has been criticized by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
He later puts out another post, stating, ‘There is no universe where Apple moves iPhone production to the U.S.’ Even though Apple has committed to invest $500 billion in the region over four years, there is no mention of the company bringing iPhone production locally. Popular YouTuber Vadim Yuryev, who runs the channel Max Tech, spotted Gurman's post and provided a responsible take, stating that Americans might not handle a monotonous workload that lasts for hours on a single session and that too, at a livable wage.
There is no universe where Apple moves iPhone production to the U.S.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 5, 2025
Assuming iPhone production does make it to the U.S., the output would not just be reduced, but factory workers who are paid a higher wage that is in accordance with the country would force Apple to increase the iPhone’s price due to increased overheads. Sure, the firm can have local production of other products, but that is because these are mass manufactured at a lower volume and, therefore, do not require substantial manpower that needs to be invested in countless hours.
To prepare for the iPhone 16 launch, Foxconn was previously reported to have hired 50,000 additional workers while also offering them a $1,050 signing bonus to get started, just to keep up with the impending demand. In the U.S., the aforementioned amount would be considered peanuts.
News Source: Mark Gurman
