> Unless of course you need aerospace or space-qualified screws in which case they are definitely coming from the US.

Are you claiming somehow that China would be incapable of making these? Or just admitting that the USG generally restricts such contracts to be sourced from the US only? And what does this have to do with Apple?

China had 92 space launches in 2025, so they can make space screws I presume.

> Unless of course you need aerospace or space-qualified screws

Ok... Is that what they're using to build Mac Minis and is that what they need to iterate on typically?

The best thing about manufacturing in China is that they will make exactly what you specify. The worst thing about manufacturing in China is that they will make exactly what you specify.

no, they will often shortcut when they can get away with it. Companies like Apple just don't let them get away with it

The things on Temu are not the only thing China makes.

Are iPhones known for quality issues stemming from low quality parts?

And America isn't the only source of the world's aerospace or space-qualified screws, so what was the point of your comment? China is fully capable of producing high quality screws.

China has a peopled space station in orbit right now, a planned human landing on the moon in 2030, and has been deploying moon orbit relay satellites, moon rovers, returning moon samples to Earth, for a future moon base in the 2030s.

Well, if your Mac mini is to be painted Space Gray then the only way to go is to put in there a few $40 space-qualified screws made in the US to justify the price increase.

> Unless of course you need aerospace or space-qualified screws in which case they are definitely coming from the US.

So that's why macs are so expensive.

And why they outlast all other manufacturers and have fewer issues in general. In my experience, Apple products are often actually cheaper when amortized over their lifespan.

> you need aerospace or space-qualified screws

This is, largely, a scam made up for costs plus contracting.

> Kind of hard to deliver those numbers when you can't keep slaves on call in a dormitory.

Or extensive automation, of course. We're alienated from the supply chain probably by design.