Apple announces $2.5 billion investment to make all glass for iPhones, Apple Watches in KY
- Apple will invest $2.5 billion to manufacture all iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
- An Apple-Corning Innovation Center will also be established at the Harrodsburg facility to develop future materials and products.
- This is part of Apple's larger $600 billion investment plan in the U.S. over the next four years.
Thanks to a $2.5 billion investment in Kentucky, all cover glass used on iPhones and Apple Watches will soon be made in the commonwealth, Apple officials announced Aug. 6.
The company will partner with Corning, which owns a glass manufacturing plant in Harrodsburg, to create the "world’s largest and most advanced smartphone glass production line" at the facility, officials said in a news release. Corning, known for its innovations in glass production and other tech materials, will dedicate the entirety of its Harrodsburg facility to manufacturing for Apple.
The arrangement will allow Apple to manufacture 100% of the cover glass used on iPhone and Apple Watch units in the U.S. for the first time, company officials said.
The companies will also open the Apple-Corning Innovation Center at the Harrodsburg facility, which will provide a space to develop and engineer future materials and products.
The Kentucky projects are part of Apple's broader initiative to invest $100 billion within the U.S., also announced Aug. 6. In total, the company plans to invest $600 billion domestically over the next four years, Paste BN reported.
The investments come as President Donald Trump levies tariffs against countries around the globe in an effort to spur manufacturing and job growth in the U.S.
“Corning is a storied American company, and we’re thrilled to work together to build the largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “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. We’re grateful to the President and his administration for their support for American manufacturing, and we’re excited for the innovation this investment will unlock.”
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican whose district includes Harrodsburg, applauded the announcement.
"Apple’s investment secured by President Trump is a major boost for Corning’s Harrodsburg plant, where hundreds of Kentuckians produce glass for iPhone and Apple Watches," Barr said in a statement. "Now, our KY plant will produce all of the glass for these products. Thanks to President Trump’s tough trade policies and the Made in America tax credit in the Big Beautiful Bill that I supported, we are Making Manufacturing American Again!"
Kentucky Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington, also celebrated the news, calling it a "major win for Kentucky."
"Make no mistake: this is about far more than making glass. It’s a seed of growth toward a future where Kentucky leads on the world stage. With Apple and Corning deepening their Kentucky roots, our workers and communities are becoming a core part of a thriving ecosystem of innovation and opportunity," she said in a statement.
Apple and Corning have been partners since 2007, when Apple launched its first iPhone.
Corning currently produces glass for Apple called Ceramic Shield at the Harrodsburg plant.
"This advanced glass — the toughest in any smartphone — is the result of years of innovation by Apple and Corning engineers working closely together," Apple officials said in the release.
(This story may update.)
Contact reporter Killian Baarlaer at kbaarlaer@gannett.com or @bkillian72 on X.