Tim Cook Reveals the Real Reason Apple Builds iPhones in China
Earlier this week, former U.S. President Donald Trump reignited a longstanding debate by urging Apple to begin manufacturing its devices in the United States. While the sentiment taps into growing economic nationalism, the reality on the ground tells a more complex story. As Trump presses for a return to American manufacturing, Apple is quietly deepening its production base in India, while still heavily reliant on China — not for cheap labor, but for something far more critical.
A resurfaced 2024 video featuring Apple CEO Tim Cook has brought renewed attention to the question: Why does Apple continue to manufacture in China? In the 55-second clip, Cook dismantles the widespread belief that Apple is in China to save money on wages.
He states that the idea of China being a low-labor-cost destination is outdated, noting that China stopped being a low-cost manufacturing hub years ago.
According to Cook, the real reason Apple has such a large presence in China is because of the deep concentration of skilled labor, particularly in high-precision tooling and materials engineering. These are skills essential to producing the company’s complex, high-performance devices at scale.
Cook explained that the kind of technical expertise Apple needs simply does not exist in sufficient quantity in the United States. In China, entire regions are populated with highly trained engineers and technicians. In contrast, he suggested that even filling a single room with such professionals in the U.S. would be difficult, while in China one could fill multiple football fields.
Tim Cook breaks down why Apple builds in China and why the U.S. isn’t ready to replace it yet.
— Nigel D'Souza (@Nigel__DSouza) April 11, 2025
This manufacturing depth is why China remains central to Apple’s supply chain. However, that is not stopping the company from hedging its bets. In the 12 months ending March 2025, Apple assembled $22 billion worth of iPhones in India. This marks a nearly 60 percent increase from the previous year, underscoring the company’s effort to diversify its production footprint beyond China.
India is the next strategic alternative
India is rapidly becoming a strategic manufacturing alternative. Apple’s contract manufacturers are now building what is expected to become the world’s second-largest iPhone factory in the country. This move is part of a broader plan to reduce reliance on China amid geopolitical tensions, U.S.-China trade uncertainties, and growing pressure to decentralize production networks.
While Trump and some U.S. officials remain hopeful that Apple will eventually manufacture its signature devices domestically, industry experts remain skeptical. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to Apple’s announced $500 billion domestic investment over the next four years as a sign of confidence in American capabilities.
Yet, according to a Bloomberg report, Apple is unlikely to move large-scale iPhone production to the United States any time soon. The report cites a lack of the necessary infrastructure, skilled labor, and supplier ecosystems. Unlike Asia, the U.S. does not yet have the vertically integrated manufacturing environment that Apple requires.
The situation highlights the complex and often misunderstood nature of global manufacturing. While political rhetoric may favor bringing jobs back to domestic shores, the precision, speed, and scale required for high-end electronics manufacturing make such transitions far more difficult than they appear.
Apple’s shift towards India is not just about cost efficiency or political risk management. It reflects a long-term strategy to build manufacturing resilience by leveraging multiple geographies. India, with its growing pool of skilled workers, favorable government policies, and increasing infrastructure investment, presents a viable path forward.
As Apple balances political expectations in the U.S., retains its deep roots in China, and builds out new capacity in India, the company’s supply chain is evolving into a complex global network. Despite the pressure to bring jobs home, Tim Cook’s comments make it clear that advanced manufacturing is ultimately a matter of capability, not just cost.
In today’s hyper-competitive tech landscape, where precision and speed define success, it’s not about where it’s cheapest to make an iPhone. It’s about where it’s possible.
