Apple will begin manufacturing a computer in the United States next year , says CEO Tim Cook , marking a shift in perhaps the most-criticized element of the company 's beloved gadget empire . `` We 've been working for years on doing more and more in the United States , '' Cook said in an interview with Brian Williams on NBC 's `` Rock Center , '' scheduled to air Thursday night . `` Next year , we will do one of our existing Mac lines in the United States . '' Cook did not say which computer he was talking about , but some models of the new iMac have been arriving stamped `` Assembled in the U.S.A , '' prompting speculation that it may be the company 's flagship desktop . An Apple spokesman told CNN that Apple will be investing $ 100 million in the move . He downplayed the iMac speculation , though , saying Apple has always done some assembly of its computers in the United States and calling the stamps on some 21-inch iMacs `` coincidental as part of this story . '' Cook shelled out additional details in an interview with Businessweek . He said Apple would not necessarily be the manufacturer of these computer components , `` but we 'll be working with people , and we 'll be investing our money . '' In recent years Apple has come under sometimes withering criticism for its supply chain in China , both for shipping U.S. jobs overseas and for the working conditions at plants run by the companies Apple contracts with there . Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs , who died last year , avoided addressing the supply chain issue in public . But Cook has taken a different tack . He visited China in March to tour a factory owned by Foxconn , which makes electronics for Apple and other companies . And he allowed the Fair Labor Association to do a thorough audit of conditions at the Chinese factories , vowing to improve pay and hours . Cook told NBC that Apple is n't concerned about the higher cost of manufacturing in the United States creating pressure to raise prices . Apple assembled many of its products in the United States until the late 1990s , when it exported that work to Asia where labor costs are lower . `` It 's not so much about price , it 's about the skills , etc. , '' he told NBC 's Williams . `` Over time , there are skills that are associated with manufacturing that have left the United States . Not necessarily people , but the education system has just stopped producing that . It 's a concerted effort to get them back . '' Cook acknowledged to Businessweek that the move is influenced , at least in part , by a desire to bolster a U.S. unemployment rate that , while slowly rebounding , still hovers around 8 % . `` I do n't think we have a responsibility to create a certain kind of job , '' Cook said . `` But I think we do have a responsibility to create jobs . '' In both interviews , Cook emphasized American jobs Apple has already helped create -- from the companies that make components of its popular iPhone to the developers who have built businesses creating apps for Apple mobile devices . `` The engine in here is made in America , '' Cook said , holding up an iPhone . `` And not only are the engines in here made in America , but engines are made in America and exported . The glass on this phone is made in Kentucky . So , we 've been working for years on doing more and more in the United States . '' As large as it may sound , a $ 100 million investment remains a relatively small chunk of Apple 's estimated $ 120 billion cash on hand . It follows other limited steps by electronics companies . Apple 's not the first major tech player to shift a portion of its manufacturing to the states . Lenovo , the world 's second-largest PC maker , announced in October that it 's starting a production line in North Carolina , creating 115 new jobs making laptops , desktops , tablets and other products . It 's scheduled to open early next year . And earlier this year , Google began making its Nexus Q media streamer at a Texas plant -- although that ill-fated device has had a rocky run . Five months after it was unveiled , the Q 's page in the Google Play store says it is `` not for sale at this time . '' Late last year , an analysis by the Boston Consulting Group predicted that 2015 will be a `` tipping point '' when many tech industries will begin manufacturing in the United States . `` A surprising amount of work that rushed to China over the past decade could soon start to come back -- and the economic impact could be significant , '' said Harold L. Sirkin , a senior partner and lead author of the analysis . `` We 're on record predicting a U.S. manufacturing renaissance starting by around 2015 . ''
Apple CEO Tim Cook : Apple will start making a computer in the United States . The move next year will cost $ 100 million , Apple spokesman says . Apple has been criticized for working conditions at its factories in China . Cook made comments to NBC News ' Brian Williams .