Non-chinese macbook?

February 8, 2008 1:02 PM

Idealogical-consumer-filter: Are there any Apple Macbook/Macbook Pros that are not manufactured in China? And if not, what was the last generation of Mac notebooks that had some non-China assembled versions?
posted by jytsai to computers & internet (5 answers total)

Do you mean final assembly in China or any parts that are made in China? If you're asking about the last MacBook that didn't have any parts made in China, that simply doesn't exist. The very first MacBook/MBP had parts from China. And I would think that even the first generation of MacBook and MacBook Pros were assembled in China.
posted by junesix at 1:29 PM on February 8, 2008

Probably nothing built since 1999 or so. Apple started shipping its entire assembly process overseas, to have it assembled by FoxConn and AsusTek and Quantum, instead of in their own factories in mexico. You are talking about serious old school machines here if you want to go the ethical route.

On the plus side, they have been called out on it enough, and publically, that they supposedly are doing things about it, unlike other manufacturers who have just given lip service and may not have followed up (while dell's machines are 'assembled' in the US, the parts are almost all made overseas, with some exceptions for the Intel Fab plants which some are based here). Whether or not they are actually working to better their workers, etc. is another thing.

On the plus side, the MacBook Air is one of the greener laptops to date, not only not using hazardous chemicals in final machine, but also minimizing the use in the manufacturing of the components.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:31 PM on February 8, 2008

it would be impossible to not buy or build a computer containing a substantial amount of chinese parts as the bulk of semiconductor fabrication these days is done there (Taiwan, specifically, even though that's not really China)
posted by Oktober at 1:35 PM on February 8, 2008

Not that I know where MacBooks are assembled, but do you mean the PRC or ROC? Would a ROC-assembled MacBook be more acceptable than a PRC-assembled one?
posted by GuyZero at 1:36 PM on February 8, 2008

Of the big 3 notebook manufacturers for Apple (Foxconn, Asustek, and Quanta), Quanta was the last to move notebook assembly operations from Taiwan ROC to China in 2003. The remaining plants in Taiwan are used to manufacture more high-margin components like LCDs and special chips. It's not competitive to do general assembly in Taiwan anymore. In fact, in recent months, a few of the manufacturers have been opening plants in Vietnam to migrate the most basic assembly operations from China to an even lower-cost workforce.

As far as I can tell, the last notebooks to be assembled in Taiwan were the PowerBooks. Even then, the production was a mix of Taiwan and China assembly. By the launch of the iBook, all assembly had been consolidated in China. And as mentioned above, actual parts manufactured in China have been used in Apple (and all laptop manufacturer) products well into the last decade or two.
posted by junesix at 1:56 PM on February 8, 2008