Apple iMacs found with ‘Assembled in the USA’ label

If you thought all of Apple’s new iMacs were built in China, think again. According to an iFixit teardown, it seems some of the new iMacs are actually being assembled in the U.S.

The newest iMac models, which were unveiled at Apple’s iPad Mini event in October, recently started shipping to customers on Friday. But besides the strikingly slim look of the 5-mm-thick iMac, there’s something else that may catch your eye. According to Apple Insider, reports of iMacs being assembled in the U.S have been popping up. One of these “Assembled in the USA” iMacs came from a customer who bought it at B&H Photo, while two other reports – one from a Fortune reader and the other from the illustrious team over at iFixit – link the American-made iMacs to the Apple Store itself.

9to5Mac says this isn’t the first time an Apple computer has had an “Assembled in USA” label. It is, however, the first time it’s been on the actual device (previous models have had the labels on the packaging). Also, refurbished Apple products have had a similar label on them.

According to Fortune, the 21.5-inch iMacs could be first example of an Apple computer being assembled in the U.S. Obviously, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission regulates whether or not manufacturers can post a “Made in USA” label on products. The FTC states that, for a device to have an “Assembled in USA” label, there needs to be an extensive amount of work done domestically, and the product’s last “substantial transformation” needs to occur in the U.S.

What does this mean in terms of the American-branded iMacs? Well, either Apple and its manufactures are doing a considerable amount of iMac assembly in the U.S., or the label could be exaggerated a bit. However, judging from the transition of moving the label from the packaging to the actual device, we doubt that Apple would be stretching the truth about actually assembling these iMac’s in America. There is a chance that Apple could be doing a limited production run of only a few iMac’s in the U.S., and then could be sending the information to China after for a large-scale production. But, considering the extensive supply problems Apple is having regarding its devices in China, especially with iMac’s, the company might be trying to move more and more of its manufacturing to the States. Foxconn, Apple’s main manufacturer, already has a few locations in the U.S.  

At the D10: All Things Digital conference in May, CEO Tim Cook said that he wanted more American-made Apple products. “We will do as many of these things [in America] as we can do,” Cook said, “and you can bet that we’ll use the whole of our influence to do this.” It seems like Apple’s already started the process with its new iMacs.

Photo via iFixit