Apple (NASDAQ:
AAPL
) CEO Tim Cook said that in 2013, the company will manufacture
new computers in the United States. "Next year we're going to
bring some production to the U.S.," Cook told
Bloomberg Businessweek
. "This doesn't mean that Apple will do it ourselves, but we'll
be working with people and we'll be investing our money."
Cook, who said that Apple will spend more than $100 million on
the venture, did not reveal which Macs would be manufactured
domestically.
Similar to the reveal of a new iDevice, Cook's announcement
was preceded by rumors of American production. Foxconn, Apple's
chief manufacturer, currently builds iPhones, iPads and other
gadgets in China. In an effort to expand its global reach, the
company has reportedly
explored the possibility
of building products in America.
Earlier this week, consumers received a bit of a surprise when
they purchased the newly revised iMac and discovered that some of
them were
assembled in America
. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant has yet to speak
about the number of iMacs that are being assembled in America,
nor has the company said where exactly the assembly is taking
place.
It seems likely that Apple will continue down its current path
and send iMac manufacturing back home. Regardless, there is a
good chance that the product -- whatever it may be -- has yet to
be revealed.
Apple's annual and bi-annual upgrade procedure allows the
company to refresh its products frequently. This strategy is
important for two reasons. First, it enables Apple to stay
competitive. Second, it encourages consumers to buy new products
more often than they would if the upgrades were several years
apart.
Thus, while the company may be in the planning stages of
producing a new product in America, that computer is very likely
to be the
next
iMac or MacBook -- not the existing models that are currently
available to buy.
Apple is expected to add its popular Retina Display technology
to the next MacBook Air lineup. The company is also expected to
add Retina Displays to the iMac, but not until the price is
reduced. Large Retina Displays are currently
more expensive
to produce than a 4K television, which can cost
as much as $25,000
.
Whatever the case, Cook's announcement came at a difficult
time for Apple. The company
plunged
for a variety of reasons Wednesday, but the most
prominent reason
turned out to be Nokia's (NYSE:
NOK
) deal with China Mobile (NYSE:
CHL
). After failing to secure an exclusive distribution deal with
the world's largest mobile operator, many believe that Apple will
not be able to lead the Chinese market.
Apple has lost more than 20 percent of its value over the last
three months, but is still up more than 31 percent year-to-date.
Five days ago, Apple was up
more than 43 percent
year-to-date, but those gains are being diminished by the firm's
ongoing losses.
Paul Schatz, President and Chief Investment Officer of
Heritage Capital
, thinks that this is only the beginning. "…Just because it's a
great company doesn't mean that it won't go down in price," he
told Benzinga
. "If $700 was the peak, it maybe gives back half to two-thirds
of the rally it made from $90 to $700. That would put it between
$300 and $400."
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(c) 2012 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment
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