Would you prefer a US-made iphone costing 2 to 5 times as much as now, or stick with Chinese/Indian/Taiwanese made?

Poll - Total Votes: 5

I want new iPhone's and other tech cheap (relatively) and made in China/India/Taiwan, etc.

I want new iPhone's and other tech costing 2 to 5 times more but made in the USA

I don't care

You can only vote on one answer.

Currently, new iphones are cheap because they are mostly assembled in foreign factories with primarily low-paid labour.

If Apple is forced to (or decides to) set up manufacturing in the USA, new iphones will cost between 2 and 5 times their current prices because of the costs of everything inc labour in the USA?

I don't have an iphone, but the same would apply with all other US-based tech brands.

Top | New | Old

JonUK41 · 36-40, M

That's Apple's problem.

Consider the gross margin on an iPhone is ~50%. Costs $500 to make, sell it for $1k. Sweet - you make a ton of money which Apple obviously do.

Move production to the USA and say the iPhone costs $1k to make. Obviously they can't sell it for $1k but maybe they sell it for $1.5k. Most people will pay but Apple makes less money on the people who pay and loses sales on the people who won't pay. Obviously nobody is going to give up a phone so Google/Android is the winner as they're the only alternative .

On the upside the USA gets more manufacturing jobs on which tax is paid. You could argue this is more valuable to the USA than Apple making a ton of money and hiding most of it offshore.

The USA needs the jobs more than the tax revenue from Apple.

zonavar68 · 56-60, M

@JonUK41 it's not that simple. Apple's supply chain is all geared to just-in-time production using components sourced from lots of places. Even if Apple shifted full production back to the USA a huge amount of the phone's hardware would still be components made in China.

This message was deleted by its author.

zonavar68 · 56-60, M

Seems the maga crowd get very triggered by reminding them how they crave everything cheap vut refuse to pay the price for something quality made as genuine domestic product. Trumps tariffs just make this worse.

View 3 more replies »

zonavar68 · 56-60, M

@JonUK41 Yes. Mass-produced very cheaply with a quality framework that's Chinesium. Translate the production of an iphone to the USA and you end up with a cost several times higher than the present day outright purchase cost at a retail store.

JonUK41 · 36-40, M

@zonavar68 Sure it would cost more to make in the USA, my question was whether it would be better quality. I've used iPhones for 10 years, upgrade every year and have never had issue with the quality of the product. I don't care where they make it.

How would the quality of the product be better if it was made in the USA?

zonavar68 · 56-60, M

@JonUK41 There is part of the issue - the FOMO belief that every year you must upgrade your phone, computer, car, tv, etc. and that just feeds into the mantra of wanting electronic devices cheap without caring how they are designed, made, supplied and supported. Everything is becoming a 'subscription service' model now. I last replaced my phone in 2018, I've never bought a new car. Got a new tv (to replace my Japanese made plasma dating from 2008) in late 2023 and had to accept that I had no choice but to accept that all tv's like almost all phones are all made in China currently.

Add a comment...