The notion that the manufacturing of Apple products would happen in the United States moved from rumor territory to the truth zone a few weeks ago, and now the fanboys are digging for details. This isn't your ordinary hunt for details about Apple's notoriously secretive activities, as there's no shiny amazing new product at the end of it. Just the same old computers, save the addition of a "Made in U.S.A." sticker. But that sticker means a lot of things to a lot of people. While Apple is certainly winning good PR points for moving ahead with American manufacturing, the company also doesn't want to lose a bunch of money. This is why the latest rumor that the product Apple will build stateside is the Mac Mini.If you're new to this whole American-made Apple story, let me catch you up real quick. At the beginning of December, the characteristically sober Apple CEO Tim Cook told a couple of news outlets that his company would start manufacturing computers from its Mac line in the United States, $100 million worth of them. He didn't say which one, but a lot of people guessed that it would be the new razor-thin iMac. Whichever model it is, it's obviously not the iPhone, after President Obama specifically asked Steve Jobs what it would take to build the device in the United States. Jobs said there's no way that Americans could build iPhones, as our manufacturing industry has simply fallen behind the Chinese, skill-wise. Tim Cook said as much in early December, but still left us guessing which computer Americans were capable of building.Just after Christmas, the Apple fanboy blogs lit up with reports that the soon to be American-made computers would not be the iMac but rather the Mac Mini. Supply chain sources revealed as much to Digitimes, and recent moves by Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn show that the factories are in place to do it. Furthermore, the logistics make sense. The Mac Mini doesn't include a display, meaning that Apple wouldn't have to ship them from their manufacturers in Asia, which is expensive, and get most of the parts locally. TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington explains, "Displays on most Mac and mobile device models are now integrated tightly with other components including the glass and other internals, so having production facilities near to display partners just makes sense in case things go wrong or need adjustment once limited trial or full production has already begun." Plus, Apple doesn't sell that many Mac Minis -- 1.4 million in 2012 according to Digitimes's estimate -- so any increase in manufacturing costs would be limited.This all sounds awesome, right? Apple computers made in the U.S.A. once again! Jobs! Puns! Macs! Not so fast. For all the same reasons that it makes sense to manufacture the Mac Mini in the U.S., the new effort won't actually create that many jobs. Building fewer computers that are easier together simply means that Apple will need fewer, less skilled workers. So Apple's not going to save the economy, but at least you can feel a little less bad about buying their computers.Image via Flickr
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