Apple and Corning are deepening their long-standing partnership with a $2.5 billion investment aimed at shifting the full production of iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass to the United States. All cover glass for both devices sold globally will now be manufactured in Corning’s Harrodsburg, Kentucky facility. This is the first time Apple will source 100 percent of that glass from a single U.S. location.
New Investment, New Facility Focus
Corning will now dedicate the Harrodsburg site, which produced the first iPhone glass in 2007, entirely to Apple. Corning is building what it calls the largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line in the world. With Apple’s funding, Corning plans to expand its manufacturing and engineering workforce in Kentucky by 50 percent. The site will also house a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center focused on developing next-generation materials and manufacturing processes.
This investment is part of Apple’s broader American Manufacturing Program (AMP), which includes a $600 billion commitment to the U.S. economy over the next four years. The AMP is designed to strengthen domestic manufacturing by supporting American suppliers and encouraging onshoring of production critical to Apple’s supply chain.
From Harrodsburg to the World
Corning CEO Wendell Weeks pointed out that the same Kentucky facility produced the front glass for the very first iPhone. Now, it will handle all of Apple’s global demand for cover glass, including the toughened Ceramic Shield used in current models. The deal extends a partnership that began with a conversation between Weeks and Steve Jobs, as recounted in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs.
In Apple’s official release, CEO Tim Cook said, “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.” He also thanked the current U.S. administration for its support of domestic production efforts.
Weeks added, “With this new multibillion-dollar commitment from Apple and the lighting of our most advanced manufacturing platform, 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.”
No Clear Timeline Yet
While Apple confirmed the shift to U.S.-made cover glass, it did not provide a timeline for when the transition will be complete. The announcement included no firm date, only stating that “soon” every iPhone and Apple Watch will use Kentucky-made cover glass. That contrasts with other Apple manufacturing announcements, such as its Houston facility for servers, which has a 2026 launch window.
Since launching its U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Fund in 2017, Apple has already invested nearly $500 million into Corning’s operations. With this new deal, that total will climb significantly. Corning also supplies raw silicon to GlobalWafers, another AMP participant, which will begin producing advanced wafers in the U.S. for the first time.
This move sharpens Apple’s focus on domestic manufacturing and places Kentucky at the center of its global hardware supply chain.
