Key Takeaways:
- Apple is investing $2.5 billion to manufacture 100% of iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass in the U.S.
- Production will take place at Corning’s Harrodsburg, Kentucky facility, creating significant new jobs.
- Corning’s Kentucky workforce is expected to grow by 50% to support the expanded operations.
- A new Apple–Corning Innovation Center will drive R&D for future materials and manufacturing.
- Apple has increased its U.S. investment commitment to $600 billion over the next four years.
Apple and Corning have announced a joint effort to produce 100% of iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass in the United States, with manufacturing centralized at Corning’s long-established facility in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Backed by a $2.5 billion investment from Apple, the move marks a significant reshoring milestone for the tech giant and deepens its long-standing partnership with Corning.
This investment is part of Apple’s expanded American Manufacturing Program, which now includes a $600 billion commitment to the U.S. economy over the next four years. The company said this initiative will enhance supply chain resilience, support job creation, and fuel innovation in advanced materials and component manufacturing.
“For nearly two decades, Apple and Corning have worked side by side to design and manufacture the world’s most durable glass,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Thanks to the power of American manufacturing, any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky.”
Corning CEO Wendell Weeks emphasized the long-term nature of the collaboration. “We developed and made the glass for the very first iPhone in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 18 years ago,” he said. “With this new multi-billion-dollar commitment from Apple… we are hiring more people and bringing 100 percent of Apple’s cover glass needs for iPhone and Apple Watch to the original home of the innovation.”
The Harrodsburg facility already produces Apple’s Ceramic Shield, a glass formulation co-developed with Corning that Apple describes as highly durable and widely used across its product line. With this new agreement, the plant will be transformed into the world’s largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line, dedicated solely to Apple.
As part of the expansion, Apple and Corning will also establish a new Apple–Corning Innovation Center at the Harrodsburg location. The center will focus on research and development for advanced glass technologies and future manufacturing platforms that could support Apple’s next generation of devices.
The deal is expected to significantly expand Corning’s workforce in Kentucky, with a 50% increase in manufacturing and engineering positions. This aligns with Apple’s broader reshoring strategy, which includes investments in chip production, magnet manufacturing, and other components across the U.S.
Since the launch of Apple’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund in 2017, the company has invested nearly $500 million in Corning’s Kentucky operations. The new commitment reflects Apple’s desire to build more of its critical components domestically, as well as to ensure tighter integration between design, development, and production.
The announcement also comes at a time of heightened focus on domestic manufacturing in the tech sector, driven by geopolitical concerns, supply chain disruptions, and the need for closer control over proprietary technologies.
While many consumer electronics companies continue to rely heavily on overseas manufacturing, Apple’s latest move suggests a different path—one that could redefine the role of American suppliers in the smartphone supply chain.
The Apple–Corning partnership not only demonstrates a shared commitment to advanced manufacturing but also signals to other suppliers that U.S.-based innovation and production may play a bigger role in Apple’s future. This could lead to additional investments, more localized jobs, and potentially faster time to market for future products.
As Apple continues to expand its U.S. footprint, the Harrodsburg facility stands as a strategic example of how longstanding partnerships can evolve to meet new priorities—combining scale, precision, and innovation in a single domestic location.
