Apple’s CEO Tim Cook’s recent announcement to add $100 billion to U.S. manufacturing makes a total of $600B investment for four years. Apple's gradual shift of manufacturing inside the US is no longer a line in a press release, but a seismic shift closer and could determine how and where the world’s most valuable consumer electronics are made.
With aggressive tariffs impending on its offshore manufactured products, the tech giant is looking into keeping its investments closer and taking a shield from the future global economic storm, bottlenecks in the supply chain, and geopolitical risks.
Photo by Thai Nguyen on Unsplash
The U.S. government is already threatening 25–100% tariffs on imported tech. Now, if Apple can say its glass, silicon, and key components are made domestically, it sidesteps those taxes. That could prevent sudden $100–$200 price jumps in a single product cycle.
However, these ambitious goals are worth speculating about. Making things in America is expensive. Labor costs soar, and energy costs sting. Compliance rules pile up while skilled manpower lives offshore. Also, the new factories take time to run smoothly. After it’s all done - the early production runs? They’re rarely perfect — waste is high, yields are low. That inefficiency will ripple into prices.
It is noteworthy that Apple products in the future are going to get a hard hit.
Apple will try to cushion it, of course. But a company that spends over half a trillion dollars in a few years on domestic buildouts will certainly look to recover some of that. So the real question isn’t if prices will feel the squeeze — it’s how much?
An estimated +3% to +7% increase can be estimated on flagship products in the next two years. That means an iPhone estimated at $1,200 today could cost $1,250 - $1,320. This is after the initial cushioning, which, otherwise, is estimated by a New York-based investment bank, could cause iPhone prices to soar by 43%.
Yet, beyond this initial weight on consumers’ shoulders, something more strategic is at play. Apple is silently building a fortress. And there could be benefits in the long run. Tariffs, shipping chaos, and political drama have been silent taxes on every iPhone you’ve bought for years. By pulling glass, silicon, and critical components onto U.S. soil, Apple is cutting the strings that tie it to the unpredictable chaos of global trade. That’s the insulation money can’t usually buy. That is where the company will benefit the most.
Here’s the deeper truth: these investments aren’t about saving money tomorrow. It’s about controlling the entire game five years from now. It’s about Apple owning not just the design and the software, but the very tools, glass, and silicon their future depends on. In that world and with the “Made in USA” products, they can set their own costs, avoid tariff traps, and move faster than rivals still tangled in overseas supply lines.
So yes — expect a pinch in your wallet soon. An increase of $50 - $100 in an iPhone and $100 - $200 in Macs, compared to today, in the next 24 months seems inevitable.
But understand this: Apple isn’t playing for your next purchase. They’re playing for the decade ahead. And they’re making sure that when the next storm hits global trade, they won’t just survive, but will own the calm.