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Spain’s CNMC rules Apple and Amazon delayed removal of anti-competitive clauses, risking further fines
Spain’s competition regulator has ruled that Apple and Amazon took too long to remove anti-competitive clauses from their distribution contracts, despite being ordered to do so immediately.
The CNMC watchdog fined the companies a combined 194 million euros ($228 million) in July 2023 for clauses that unfairly limited the number of Apple resellers on Amazon’s platform in Spain. It mandated their prompt removal.
On Wednesday, the regulator found that the companies failed to comply swiftly enough, potentially opening the door to additional penalties.
Reuters:
In an emailed statement to Reuters, Apple said it respected the CNMC but disagreed with its decision, adding it had always complied with authorities’ orders.
“We will continue to work to protect our customers from counterfeit products and offer them the assurance that they are receiving a genuine Apple product when they take it out of the box,” the company added.
Amazon also disagreed and said it would lodge an appeal.
“We also disagree with the CNMC’s assertion that Amazon benefits from excluding sellers from the store, as our business model is based precisely on the success of the companies that sell through Amazon, many of which are small and medium-sized enterprises,” said a spokesperson for the Seattle-based tech giant.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote in 2019, “Eliminating counterfeit Apple products on Amazon isn’t illegal.”
Apple has the right to vet Authorized Apple Resellers in order to maintain high levels of service.
Apple obviously wants as much uniformity in, and control of, the sales experience of their products as possible. — MacDailyNews, May 21, 2019
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Apple’s ‘budget’ MacBook may start at $699
Apple is reportedly planning a product launch event in March 2026, where a more affordable MacBook is expected to be the main highlight.
However, sharp increases in the cost of key components — especially memory — are making it challenging to maintain a truly budget-friendly price point. While initial rumors suggested a starting price as low as $599, more recent estimates now point to a range of $699 to $749.
Aaron Lee and Emily Kuo for DigiTimes Asia:
Mass production was originally slated to begin in late 2025 but has since been pushed back to the first quarter of 2026, with volume ramping in March. Quanta Computer is expected to be the primary assembler, with Foxconn joining at a later stage. Supply chain estimates put Apple’s projected shipments at 15–16 million units over two years, with the first year potentially exceeding 8 million units. Critics, however, caution that these figures may be overly optimistic.
Components are getting more expensive, and unless specifications are downgraded, price hikes may be unavoidable. Since pricing is closely tied to sales volume, a less-than-affordable budget MacBook could meaningfully dent sales.
With costs climbing, the affordability of the “budget” MacBook is increasingly in question. Early rumors pointed to a US$599 price tag, close to the record low once seen for the M1 MacBook Air at Walmart.
Most estimates now place it between US$699 and US$749. For context, Apple’s lowest-priced MacBook Air M4 starts at US$999, or US$899 with an education discount. Where Apple sets the price will directly affect the MacBook Air lineup, whose core positioning overlaps with the budget model.
MacDailyNews Take: $699 has to be the absolute highest starting price possible for a “budget” MacBook. And, it’d be suboptimal. For reference, Mac mini, Apple’s least expensive Mac, currently starts at $499. The success, or failure, of a new low-end MacBook hinges almost totally on Apple’s price tag:
• $599 to start would mean a huge success.
• $699? Meh.
• A $749 starting price would be a nonstarter; Apple shouldn’t even bother at that price.
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New app warns of hidden smart glasses cameras nearby
A new Android app called Nearby Glasses alerts users if someone nearby is likely wearing camera-equipped smart glasses, such as Meta’s Ray-Ban models or those from Snap/Spectacles.
Developed by Swiss sociologist and hobbyist developer Yves Jeanrenaud, the app scans for distinctive Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) “advertising frames” — small broadcast signals that smart glasses emit. It checks against known manufacturers like Meta, Luxottica (Meta’s partner), and Snap. If it detects a match, it sends a push notification warning of potential smart glasses in proximity.
The app emerged in response to growing privacy concerns, including reports of people using Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses to secretly record others (e.g., without consent in public spaces). Jeanrenaud described it as “a tiny part of resistance against surveillance tech.”
Key details:
• Availability: Nearby Glasses is currently available for free on the Google Play Store and GitHub.
• Limitations: It’s Android-only for now (iOS version in development). It can produce false positives (e.g., detecting mixed reality headsets or other BLE devices). Detection range is customizable but generally short-range due to Bluetooth limits.
• Purpose: Raises awareness about covert recording risks as AI-powered smart glasses become more common and discreet.
This reflects broader debates on wearable tech privacy — smart glasses enable hidden cameras and potential facial recognition, prompting countermeasures like this detection tool.
MacDailyNews Take: We expect somebody will soon port this — or develop a superior app — to the platform Android wishes it were.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook ‘lied through his teeth’ about bringing iPhone production to America – White House trade adviser Navarro
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro accused Apple CEO Tim Cook of lying about plans to shift iPhone production from China to the US, claiming Cook had “lied through his teeth” by making similar promises during the first Trump administration.
In the latest episode of “Pod Force One,” released Wednesday, Navarro told host and NY Post columnist Miranda Devine that Cook is “the king of evading tariffs.”
Josh Christenson for The New York Post:
“We let him get away with it in the first term, because he promised he would basically bring his iPhone production here — or out of China — and he lied through his teeth,” said President Trump’s senior counselor on trade and manufacturing.
Devine asked whether American manufacturing was experiencing a renaissance during President Trump’s second term, noting that Apple already has factories in the US and has promised to expand its domestic footprint.
“Not with Apple. I mean, they’re going to India, and to me, that’s not a whole lot better than being in China,” Navarro fired back. “But, that’s the exception, I think, that proves the rule.”
Trump has also faulted Cook for making products in India.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, Tim Cook’s promises on American iPhone production are the same old song and dance — rinse, repeat, never deliver.
And let’s be real, it’s not just the iPhone assembly mirage that’s stuck on repeat. Under Cook, Apple’s whole vibe has settled into the same predictable, zero-charisma groove: soulless canned video keynotes, incremental “innovations,” and zero Jobs-level spark. Steve sold dreams; Tim sells spreadsheets. Boring? Check. Effective at printing money? Also check. But if “same old song and dance” fits Cook’s empty promises on iPhone assembly, it fits Tim Cook’s Apple even better.
In China, there are city-size factories dedicated to assembling some 190 million iPhone units per years – dropping annually as India assembly grows. iPhone assembly is not really something that would work in America. The wages wouldn’t be attractive and there’s no city-sized worker housing, cafeterias, etc. And, by the way, how long until robotics can handle iPhone assembly? These jobs will go the way of the dodo as robotics advances. Those are the kind of assembly plants that could be built in America, staffed by a relative few, much higher paid engineers who keep the robotic assembly lines running.
The pressure applied to Apple is resulting in some movement in other product areas, however:
Apple brings Mac mini production to America from Asia – February 24, 2026
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Apple said to launch premium AirPods Pro with ‘Apple Intelligence’ this year
Rumors suggest that rather than a full AirPods Pro 4, Apple is preparing to release a higher-end variant of the existing AirPods Pro 3 later this year. This premium model would sit alongside the standard AirPods Pro 3, much like how the AirPods 4 are offered in two tiers: one with active noise cancellation and one without.
Joe Rossignol for MacRumors:
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and multiple other sources in the Apple rumor scene, the new AirPods Pro will be equipped with tiny infrared cameras that can “see around you.” Kuo said the cameras will enable in-air gesture controls, and provide an enhanced audio experience between the AirPods Pro and Vision Pro.
In addition, an occasional Apple leaker known as “Kosutami” claimed the infrared cameras will allow for the AirPods Pro to be “connected with Apple Intelligence.” Specifically, it has been reported that Visual Intelligence will be a core feature of the camera-equipped AirPods Pro and Apple’s other wearable AI devices.
MacDailyNews Take: This fall, we expect.
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Apple shareholders approve executive pay packages
Apple shareholders approved the company’s latest executive compensation packages, based on preliminary vote tallies.The results were announced Tuesday during Apple’s virtual annual shareholder meeting. Outgoing General Counsel Kate Adams delivered the opening remarks, while CEO Tim Cook provided an overview of the company’s operations and fielded investor questions.
Mark Gurman and Samantha Kelly for Bloomberg News:
Ahead of the meeting, Apple asked shareholders to approve proposals related to the pay packages and the board, and ratify Ernst & Young LLP as its independent auditing firm.
In early January, Apple announced that its pay package for Cook last year came in at roughly $74 million. That was in line with the year prior. One interesting wrinkle to this year’s proceedings is that Arthur Levinson, the company’s nonexecutive chairman, is staying put despite crossing Apple’s usually required retirement age of 75.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s 2026 Proxy Statement is here.
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Apple set to introduce touch-screen Mac laptops this year
Apple is set to introduce touch-screen Mac laptops, a move that will bring significant updates to macOS, including the integration of the iPhone’s Dynamic Island feature, Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg News, citing people with knowledge of the plans.
The first touch-enabled Macs, expected to launch this fall, will feature the Dynamic Island centered at the top of the display, the people said, requesting anonymity because the information is not yet public.
Apple is updating its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models to support touch input, equipping them with the same OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display technology currently used in iPhones.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
Apple is announcing new products, including Mac updates, during the first week of March, but the touch-screen MacBook Pros won’t be part of that rollout. Those models, code-named K114 and K116, are slated for release closer to the end of 2026.
Even with the new display, Apple won’t position the MacBook Pro as an iPad replacement — or describe its interface as a touch-first experience. Instead, the idea is to let customers use the touch input as much or as little as they’d like,
To that end, the new MacBook Pro looks similar to the current model, including a full keyboard and large trackpad. Still, the Mac will gain a refreshed, dynamic user interface that can shift between being optimized for touch or point-and-click input, said the people.
The display on the MacBook Pro will have the same standard touch features as the iPhone and iPad, including fast scrolling and the ability to zoom in and out of images and PDFs.
The touch-screen launch is a major shift for Apple, which for decades had criticized the idea of touch laptops. Co-founder Steve Jobs famously called such an experience “ergonomically terrible.”
MacDailyNews Take: Since we’re perfectly fine with using mice and trackpads, we’ll continue to keep our Mac displays free of greasy fingerprints, even if Apple releases touchscreen Macs.
Do you really want to smear your fingers all over your MacBook Pro’s display?
Touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical. After an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. – Steve Jobs
For many years, every MacBook Pro has offered a built-in multi-touch-capable Force Touch trackpad.
Does it make more sense to be smearing your fingers around on your notebook’s screen or on a spacious trackpad that’s designed specifically and solely to be touched? … The iPhone’s screen has to be touched; that’s all it has available. A MacBook’s screen does not have to be touched in order to offer Multi-Touch. — MacDailyNews, March 26, 2009
I think anything can be forced to converge. The problem is that products are about tradeoffs, and you begin to make tradeoffs to the point where what you have left at the end of the day doesn’t please anyone. You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user. – Apple CEO Tim Cook, remarking on the idea of a converged Mac and iPad, April 25, 2012
We really feel that the ergonomics of using a Mac are that your hands are rested on a surface, and that lifting your arm up to poke a screen is a pretty fatiguing thing to do. I don’t think we’ve looked at any of the other guys to date and said, how fast can we get there? — Apple SVP Craig Federighi, June 5, 2018
[Y]ou get this in-between thing, and in-between things are never as good as the individual things themselves. We believe the best personal computer is a Mac, and we want to keep going down that path. And we think the best tablet computing device is an iPad, and we’ll go down that path.
iPad benefits because we assume that you need to be able to do most everything with touch, and we don’t have to trade off on that experience. Mac assumes you want to do most everything with a keyboard and mouse input. We don’t have to trade off on that path. You can look at some of the other products that will try to go halfway between the two. They end up just compromising experiences. That’s not good. – Apple SVP Phil Schiller, November 13, 2019
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Apple shareholders reject proposal for China manufacturing risk report
Apple shareholders rejected a proposal on Tuesday that called for the company to issue a report detailing its heavy reliance on China for manufacturing the majority of its products.
This decision follows Apple’s ongoing, nearly decade-long efforts to diversify its supply chain away from China, including by shifting production to countries such as Vietnam and India.
Reuters:
During a question-and-answer session, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told shareholders that the company continues to plan for annual increases to its dividend but is prioritizing investments in technologies such as AI.
“We start by making all of the investments we believe are necessary to grow and manage our business, to innovate and to support our roadmap of products and services,” Cook said. “That’s our highest priority. It’s what drives decisions around investments, and it’s what has the biggest impact when it comes to creating value for shareholders.”
MacDailyNews Take: In a related move announced earlier today, Apple revealed plans to begin assembling some Mac mini computers in America — specifically at an expanded facility in Houston — to help meet domestic demand, with production set to start later this year.
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Apple should sell a plug-and-play AI agent based on its Mac mini
By SteveJack
In January 2026, something unexpected happened at Apple Stores and online: the base M4 Mac mini started flying off shelves. Not because creators suddenly needed more compact desktops for Final Cut Pro. Not because developers wanted a cheap server. People were buying them specifically to host personal AI agents — autonomous software butlers built on open-source projects like OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot/Moltbot).
The Mac mini AI Agent Rush Is Real — And Apple Is Missing A Massive Opportunity
These agents don’t just chat. They act. They monitor your email, negotiate Facebook Marketplace deals, book restaurant reservations, organize your calendar, control your smart lights and Apple Music, summarize your inbox, and run 24/7 without you lifting a finger. All locally, on your own hardware, with persistent memory and tool access. Tech enthusiasts are calling it “Jarvis in a box.” One user set up multiple Mac minis as a fleet of specialized agents — one for content creation, one for marketplace flipping, one for research, etc.
The hardware choice makes perfect sense on paper: the Mac mini is tiny, dead quiet, sips power (around 10W idle), has blazing-fast Apple silicon with a powerful Neural Engine, and plays nicely with iMessage and the rest of the Apple ecosystem. But here’s the problem: getting one of these agents running reliably is a weekend project for hobbyists with GitHub accounts, API keys, Tailscale configs, and a tolerance for the occasional rogue agent that deletes your inbox because it “thought it was helping.”
Normal people — parents, teachers, small-business owners, retirees — don’t want a science project. They want the result (or they will when they realize what’s possible).
Apple Should Build the Device That Delivers That Result Out of the Box
Imagine a product Apple is uniquely positioned to create: a dedicated agentic AI device — let’s call it the Apple Agent for now — that normal humans can plug in, set up in under five minutes with their iPhone, and immediately start using as a true personal assistant that does things on their behalf.
Not another speaker. Not another screen you have to stare at. A small, elegant, always-on box (think Mac mini size or smaller, perhaps with the same gorgeous design language) powered by the latest M-series chip and Apple’s most advanced on-device models. It would ship with Apple Intelligence at its core, deeply integrated with your existing Apple devices, and capable of real multi-step, autonomous work.
What “Agentic” Actually Means for Regular People
Current Siri (even the upgraded 2026 version) is still mostly reactive. The Apple Agent would be proactive and executive:
• “Plan a weekend getaway for my family of four under $1,200 including flights from Chicago, kid-friendly activities, and a hotel with a pool.” → It checks calendars, searches flights and hotels (with your saved payment methods and preferences), books what fits, sends confirmations, and adds everything to your shared family calendar.
• “Review my emails from the last week and flag anything urgent, then draft polite responses for the rest.” → Done while you’re at dinner.
• “Check the fridge via the Home app cameras, suggest three dinners we can make with what we have, add missing ingredients to the shopping list, and order them from Instacart for delivery tomorrow.”
• Morning briefing: weather, calendar, traffic, personalized news summary, even “Your mom’s birthday is in 10 days — here are three gift ideas based on what she liked last year.”
• Health: “Track my dad’s medication refills, remind him gently, and coordinate with his pharmacy.”
All of it happens with your explicit permission, on-device where possible, and through Private Cloud Compute when more power is needed — the privacy model Apple has spent years perfecting.
Setup would be laughably simple: Plug it into power and Ethernet (or Wi-Fi), open the iPhone camera, tap “Set up new Apple Agent,” sign in with your Apple ID, answer a few preference questions, and you’re done. It learns over time, just like Apple Watch or AirPods do. Family Sharing? Multiple users with their own agents or a shared household one. No command-line nonsense. No worrying about whether the agent has “gone rogue.”
Why This Would Be Incredibly Smart Business for Apple
1. It solves the exact pain point the Mac mini trend exposes. Demand for personal agents is exploding, but the current solution is geek-only. Apple can own the mainstream version the way it owned MP3 players, smartphones, and wireless earbuds.
- New hardware category, new revenue. Priced like a base Mac mini ($499–$699), with higher tiers for more RAM/storage. Optional Apple Intelligence+ subscription for premium model access and advanced capabilities — recurring revenue without compromising the privacy story.
-
Ecosystem lock-in on steroids. Once your personal agent knows your life better than any cloud service ever could, switching away from Apple becomes painful. It would be the ultimate “glue” holding iPhone, Mac, iPad, Watch, and Home together.
-
Privacy moat. While OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others race to build cloud-based agents that see everything, Apple can do it locally and securely. In an era of growing AI privacy backlash, this is table-stakes differentiation.
-
Perfect complement to the wearables Apple is already building. The rumored AI pendant, camera-equipped AirPods, and smart glasses could feed visual context to your home Agent (“I see you’re out of milk — want me to order some?”) while the Agent handles the heavy lifting.
Apple already has most of the pieces: the silicon, the privacy architecture, the deep app integrations, the world-class design and manufacturing, and (soon) a much smarter Siri foundation. The Mac mini buying frenzy is the market screaming that people want this now — they just don’t want to build it themselves.
The company that made technology invisible and delightful for billions could do the same for agentic AI. A true personal agent that works for everyone, not just the people who know how to install OpenClaw on a Mac mini.
Apple has the signal. The question is whether it will answer it with a product that ships in beautiful white packaging — or let the tinkerers keep hacking their way to the future.
The Mac mini AI boom isn’t a niche hobby. It’s the canary in the coal mine for the next computing era.
Apple should build the device that makes that era accessible to everyone. The rest of us are ready to buy it the day it drops.
SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer and a semi-regular contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section.
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Apple TV debuts trailer for sci-fi series ‘For All Mankind’ season five, premiering March 27th
Apple TV on Tuesday debuted the pulse-pounding trailer for season five of “For All Mankind,” the hit, critically acclaimed space drama series from creators Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi. The 10-episode fifth season will make its global debut on Apple TV with one episode on Friday, March 27, followed by one new episode every Friday through May 29.
Season five of “For All Mankind” picks up in the 2010s, years since the Goldilocks asteroid heist. Happy Valley has grown into a thriving colony with thousands of residents and a base for new missions that will take us even further into the solar system. But with the nations of Earth now demanding law and order on the Red Planet, friction continues to build between the people who live on Mars and their former home. The ensemble cast returning for season five includes Joel Kinnaman, Toby Kebbell, Edi Gathegi, Cynthy Wu, Coral Peña and Wrenn Schmidt, alongside new series regulars Mireille Enos (“The Killing,” “Hanna”), Costa Ronin (“The Americans,” “Homeland”), Sean Kaufman (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), Ruby Cruz (“Bottoms”), and Ines Asserson (“Royalteen”).
“For All Mankind” is created by Emmy Award winner Moore, and Emmy Award nominees Wolpert and Nedivi. Wolpert and Nedivi serve as showrunners and executive produce alongside Moore and Maril Davis of Tall Ship Productions, as well as Kira Snyder, David Weddle, Bradley Thompson, and Seth Edelstein. “For All Mankind” is produced for Apple TV by Sony Pictures Television.
All four seasons of “For All Mankind” are now streaming on Apple TV.
Apple TV offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all a user’s favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 704 wins and 3,259 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning and history-making comedies “The Studio” and “Ted Lasso,” and Oscar Best Picture winner “CODA.”
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $12.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.
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Thanks to our Substack subscribers, ads on MacDailyNews now greatly reduced
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CIA warned Apple CEO Tim Cook that communist China could move on Taiwan by 2027
In a bombshell revelation from a new investigative report by The New York Times, Apple CEO Tim Cook was among a select group of Silicon Valley leaders — including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, AMD’s Lisa Su, and Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon — who received a classified briefing from CIA Director William Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines in 2023. The U.S. intelligence officials warned that China’s aggressive military buildup and escalating spending could position Beijing to take action against Taiwan as early as 2027, potentially disrupting the global supply of advanced semiconductors produced by TSMC on the island. This stark assessment, aimed at urging tech giants to diversify away from Taiwan dependence, left a lasting impression on Cook, who later confided to officials that he now “slept with one eye open.” As geopolitical tensions continue to simmer and 2027 draws nearer, the briefing underscores the precarious intersection of national security, chip manufacturing, and the future of companies like Apple that rely heavily on Taiwanese innovation.
Tripp Mickle for The New York Times:
Federal officials have for years tried to wean Silicon Valley from its dependence on Taiwan, an island democracy roughly the size of Maryland that makes 90 percent of the world’s high-end computer chips.
In secret briefings held in Washington and Silicon Valley, national security officials warned executives from companies like Apple, Advanced Micro Devices and Qualcomm that China was making plans to retake Taiwan, which Beijing has long considered a breakaway territory. A Chinese blockade of Taiwan, the officials said, could choke the supply of computer chips made on the island and bring the U.S. tech industry to its knees…
Now, there is increasing concern that inaction by some of Silicon Valley’s most important companies risks destabilizing the global economy. Those worries, drawn into focus by recent live-fire drills conducted by the Chinese military in waters surrounding Taiwan, have prompted dire warnings from White House officials.
“The single biggest threat to the world economy, the single biggest point of single failure, is that 97 percent of the high-end chips are made in Taiwan,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, slightly overstating industry estimates. “If that island were blockaded, that capacity were destroyed, it would be an economic apocalypse.”
A confidential report commissioned in 2022 by the Semiconductor Industry Association for its members, which include the largest U.S. chip companies, said cutting the supply of chips from Taiwan would lead to the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression. U.S. economic output would plunge 11 percent, twice as much as the 2008 recession. The collapse would be even more severe for China, which would experience a 16 percent decline…
The Trump administration has been cleareyed about the risk. While some of Mr. Trump’s tariffs have appeared to be driven by impulse or retribution, he has persistently used the threat of tariffs on semiconductors to bully tech companies to buy more of their chips from U.S. factories.
That arm-twisting recently led Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, to commit to buying chips from new plants in Arizona being built by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, a Taiwanese company that is the world’s dominant chip manufacturer…
In July 2023, three prominent chief executives, Tim Cook of Apple, Jensen Huang of Nvidia and Lisa Su of Advanced Micro Devices, entered a secure briefing room in Silicon Valley. Cristiano Amon, the chief executive of Qualcomm, joined by video. They listened as Mr. Burns and Ms. Haines said China’s military spending could mean a move on Taiwan in 2027.
Afterward, Mr. Cook told officials that he slept “with one eye open.”
But the companies still didn’t place significant new orders for U.S. chips, six people close to the industry said.
MacDailyNews Take: Despite the warnings, things didn’t really start moving until a bit later:
• TSMC breaks ground on third Arizona chip fab marking 100th day of Trump admin – April 30, 2025
• Major Apple supplier TSMC’s American expansion plans advance; CEO cites ‘warm’ talks with President Trump – June 3, 2025
• Apple supplier Texas Instruments to make historic investment of more than $60 billion across seven American semiconductor fabs – June 18, 2025
• Apple Silicon supplier TSMC to speed up construction of American chip plants by ‘several quarters’ – July 17, 2025
• Apple increases American commitment to $600 billion, announces ambitious program – August 6, 2025
• President Trump, Tim Cook announce Apple’s $100 billion investment in American manufacturing – August 6, 2025
• Tim Cook: Apple’s manufacturing expansion across America will create a ‘domino effect’ – September 16, 2025
• Major Apple supplier TSMC boosts U.S. footprint with Arizona land purchase, driving total $165 billion investment – January 16, 2026
Tons more in the full article here.
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Today is the 71st anniversary of Steve Jobs’ birth
Today marks the 71st anniversary of Steve Jobs’ birth. The legendary co-founder of Apple Inc. was born on February 24, 1955. Had he not passed away from complications related to pancreatic cancer on October 5, 2011, today would have been his 71st birthday.
The world lost an extraordinary combination of talents that day: a visionary genius, a masterful showman, an unrelenting perfectionist, and a charismatic force for disruption — all in one person.
Steve was an incredible leader, innovator, and friend whose world-changing ideas moved all of us forward.
Celebrating his remarkable life and legacy today, on his birthday. pic.twitter.com/ajHO2aVVlT
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 24, 2026
“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.”
— Steve Jobs
MacDailyNews Take: We miss you every single day, Steve. Gone far too soon. It’s impossible not to wonder how much further technology — and Apple — might have advanced if you were still here guiding the ship.
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
— Steve Jobs
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it, and that is how it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”
— Steve Jobs
Rest in peace, Steve. The impact of your life’s work continues to endure and grow.
The post Today is the 71st anniversary of Steve Jobs’ birth appeared first on MacDailyNews.
Apple brings Mac mini production to America from Asia
Apple on Tuesday announced a significant expansion of factory operations in Houston, bringing the future production of Mac mini to America for the first time. The company will also expand advanced AI server manufacturing at the factory and provide hands-on training at its new Advanced Manufacturing Center beginning later this year. Altogether, Apple’s Houston operations will create thousands of jobs.
Currently, the strong-selling Mac mini is assembled in Asia, primarily in China and Vietnam.
“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,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “We began shipping advanced AI servers from Houston ahead of schedule, and we’re excited to accelerate that work even further.”
In Houston, workers assemble advanced AI servers, including logic boards produced onsite, which are then used in Apple data centers in America.
For more than two decades, users around the world have relied on the incredibly popular Mac mini for the tremendous power it packs into its ultra-compact design. With its next-level AI capabilities, it has become an essential tool for everyone from students and aspiring creatives to small business owners. Beginning later this year, Mac mini will be produced at a new factory on Apple’s Houston manufacturing site, doubling the campus’s footprint.
As part of our $600B commitment, Mac mini will be produced in the US for the first time later this year!
We're accelerating our progress even further— producing more AI servers and opening an all-new Apple Advanced Manufacturing Center for hands-on training. pic.twitter.com/NO5DeZvPwP
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 24, 2026
Apple began producing advanced AI servers in Houston in 2025 for the first time, and production is already ahead of schedule. Servers assembled in Houston — including logic boards produced onsite — are used in Apple data centers around the country.
Beyond production, Apple is investing in the workforce that will drive American manufacturing forward. Later this year, Apple’s 20,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center is scheduled to open its doors in Houston. Currently under construction, the dedicated facility will provide hands-on training in advanced manufacturing techniques to students, supplier employees, and American businesses of all sizes. Apple experts will teach participants the same innovative processes that are used to make Apple products, allowing American manufacturers to take their work to the next level.
Apple’s 20,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center opens later this year, and will provide hands-on training to students, supplier employees, and U.S. businesses of all sizes.
Since announcing its $600 billion commitment to the U.S. last year, Apple and its American Manufacturing Program partners have already reached several milestones:
• Apple exceeded its target and sourced more than 20 billion U.S.-made chips from 24 factories across 12 states, including those of partners like TSMC, Broadcom, and Texas Instruments.
• GlobalWafers has begun production at its new $4 billion bare silicon wafer facility in Sherman, Texas. At Apple’s direction, wafers produced in Sherman will be used by Apple’s chip manufacturing partners in the U.S., including TSMC and Texas Instruments.
• Supported by Apple’s investment, Amkor broke ground on its new $7 billion semiconductor advanced packaging and test facility in Peoria, Arizona, where Apple will be the first and largest customer.
• Corning’s Harrodsburg, Kentucky, facility is now 100 percent dedicated to cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch shipped globally, and by the end of this year, every new iPhone and Apple Watch will have cover glass made in the state.
• In 2026, Apple is on track to purchase well over 100 million advanced chips produced by TSMC at its Arizona facility — a significant increase from 2025.
• Apple opened its Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, which is already supporting more than 130 small- and medium-sized American manufacturers with hands-on training in AI, automation, and smart manufacturing. The academy recently expanded with new virtual programming, giving businesses across the country on-demand access to the curriculum developed by Apple experts and Michigan State University faculty.
MacDailyNews Take: Tariffs have a funny way of turning “Made in China” into “Made in America” virtually overnight. Apple may even get a mention in the president’s State of the Union speech tonight — the timing of this American manufacturing acceleration feels almost too perfect to be coincidental.
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