Mac mini Production Heads to Texas as Apple Expands Houston Operations
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Today, Apple announced that it’s bringing production of the Mac mini to the US for the first time, following a significant expansion of its manufacturing operations in Houston, Texas.
In addition to bringing Mac mini production stateside, the Cupertino company will also expand advanced AI server manufacturing at the facility, while also offering hands-on training at its new Advanced Manufacturing Center beginning later this year. Apple says the operations will create thousands of jobs in the Houston area.
As noted by Mactrast, the Mac mini has long been a popular option in Apple’s Mac lineup, with a more than two-decade run. The Mac mini offers powerful computing abilities in a compact design, making it popular with a variety of Mac users, from those getting started with their first Mac, to students and design professionals.
Apple first began production of its advanced AI servers in the Texas facility in 2025, and the company says production is already ahead of schedule. Apple employees assemble the servers in Houston, using logic boards that are produced onsite, after which they’re deployed to various Apple data centers located throughout the United States.
Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we’re proud to significantly expand our footprint in Houston with the production of Mac mini starting later this year. We began shipping advanced AI servers from Houston ahead of schedule, and we’re excited to accelerate that work even further.
Tim Cook
In addition to bringing Mac mini production to Houston and increasing AI server manufacturing output at the factory, Apple will be opening a 20,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center later this year. The dedicated facility will offer hands-on training in advanced manufacturing techniques for students, employees of suppliers, and US-based businesses of all sizes. Participants will be trained in the same processes used by Apple to produce its products. Apple says the investment will “drive American manufacturing forward,” and will allow American manufacturers to take their businesses to the next level.
In February 2025, Apple announced its plans to invest $500 billion in the United States over the next four years. At the time, Apple said that it would “spend and invest” across “a wide range of initiatives” from research and engineering to training for “students and workers across the country.”
The company made the announcement soon after Apple CEO Tim Cook met with US President Donald Trump earlier that month to discuss US manufacturing and tariffs. Returning manufacturing to the United States was a likely topic of conversation. At the time, the only Apple product made in the US was the Mac Pro, which is assembled in Texas from parts sourced from suppliers both in the US and abroad.
In August 2025, Apple pledged an additional $100 billion investment aimed at bringing more of its supply chain and manufacturing stateside.
Then, in October 2025, Apple announced that a new lineup of specialized Private Cloud Compute (PCC) servers designed to power Apple Intelligence had begun shipping from its new advanced manufacturing facility in Houston, well-ahead of schedule. The 250,000-square-foot facility in Houston wasn’t expected to go into operation until early 2026.
Apple notes that over the last year or so, the company and its American Manufacturing Program partners have ticked off several milestones from its to-do list:
- Apple now sources more than 20 billion US-made chips from 24 factories across 12 states, from partners including Broadcom, Texas Instruments, and TSMC.
- GlobalWafers has geared up production at its new $4 billion bare silicon wafer facility in Sherman, Texas. Wafers produced in the Sherman facility will be used by Apple’s chip manufacturing partners in the US, including Texas Instruments and TSMC.
- Amkor used an investment by Apple to begin construction of its new $7 billion semiconductor advanced packaging and test facility in Peoria, Arizona. As you might expect, Apple will be the facility’s first and largest customer.
- Corning’s Harrodsburg, Kentucky, facility is now completely dedicated to manufacturing cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch shipped around the globe. Apple says that by the end of this year, every new iPhone and Apple Watch will use cover glass made in the US facility.
- Apple expects to purchase well over 100 million advanced chips made by TSMC at its Arizona facility during 2026, a significant increase over 2025’s numbers.
- Apple opened an Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, where employees from over 130 small- to medium-sized American manufacturers are provided with hands-on training in subjects including AI, automation, and smart manufacturing.
While Apple hasn’t announced the specific Mac mini models that will be produced in the US, new M5 and M5 Pro models are coming soon, so the timing seems ideal for Apple to use the Houston facility to ramp up production of new models rather than moving the old M4 production over from China.
