During today’s announcement of Apple’s American Manufacturing Program, the company confirmed that it will expand its partnership with Corning to produce 100% of iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass in Kentucky. Here are the details.
’The largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass’
As part of today’s commitment to invest an extra $100B in domestic manufacturing, Apple said that $2.5B will go toward expanding its partnership with Corning.
Thanks to the new project, “100 percent of the cover glass on iPhone and Apple Watch units sold worldwide will be made in the U.S. for the first time.”
Today’s move marks a new chapter in the long-standing partnership between Apple and Corning, which began when a hesitant Wendell Weeks (still Corning’s CEO) was convinced by a very persuasive Steve Jobs to produce the front glass for the first iPhone at scale, a story recounted in Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography.
Here’s Apple CEO Tim Cook on today’s announcement:
“Corning is a storied American company, and we’re thrilled to work together to build the largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass. Thanks to the power of American manufacturing, any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky. We’re grateful to the President and his administration for their support for American manufacturing, and we’re excited for the innovation this investment will unlock.”
As a result of this deal, Corning will dedicate 100% of its new facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, to manufacturing for Apple.
That will include increasing its local workforce by 50%, with money left to spare for a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center at the plant, which “will play a key role in the development and engineering of advanced materials and next-generation manufacturing platforms for Apple’s future generations of products.”
OK, but when?
Interestingly, Apple’s press releases about the Corning partnership were light on one key detail: deadlines.
Unlike the new 250,000-square-foot server manufacturing facility in Houston, which is slated to begin mass production in 2026 (which is also a bit broad), the Corning deal comes with no specific timeline, beyond Apple saying that “soon, every iPhone and Apple Watch sold around the world will be built with Kentucky-made cover glass.”
How soon do you think ‘soon’ is? Let us know in the comments.
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