Recent speculation has questioned the apparent feasibility of the notable Apple “Brick” rumors pertaining to a new in-house MacBook manufacturing process.
Businessweek has acknowledged that new MacBooks are a very real possibility yet have questioned how this new process to manufacture them out of a single piece of aluminum will pressure Apple’s margins. iSuppli analyst, Kevin Keller, has provided some insight stating, “If you’re working with one single unit of metal, you’re reducing a lot of the materials costs and also a lot of labor time on assembly.” Keller went on to note that using a single piece of metal material would allow an “opportunity for the kind of design flourishes that distinguish Apple and its chief executive, Steve Jobs.”
Yet such manufacturing could presumably pose problems as well. Despite the fact that such manufacturing processes are common elsewhere, carving a product from a single block of aluminum is often a slow practice. “The issue for Apple, which would presumably be doing it millions of times, would be speed,” says Keller. “It’s very time-intensive.”
Industrial designer Adam Richardson of CNet, has questioned the validity of the “Brick” rumors, claiming that Apple has been utilizing such manufacturing processes for years. He has added that the described process applied to a notebook-sized product would be far more expensive than the current process, noting “it’s unlikely that it will literally be a hollowed out block of aluminum”.
Additionally, 9to5Mac has suggested that the final assembly would be conducted in-house, in a market where the majority of notebooks are made by third-party manufacturers due to reduced labor costs. The notion that Apple may be getting back into manufacturing “would send shivers up the spine of any shareholder.” Andy Hargreaves of Portland-based Pacific Crest Securities has stated, “I’d be shocked if they started doing any of their own assembly,” adding, “That’s the kind of drastic step that would hurt profits. I’m just not sure what the advantages would be.”
MacBlogz has since contacted Hargreaves who assured us that his comment was simply speculation regarding the possibility that these rumors are true. Aviv asked Hargreaves if the comment was based on his belief in certain information he had heard. But Andy reiterated that it was simply speculation. Andy definitely knows what he’s talking about as his comments regarding the situation seem spot on and very realistic in a world of gross speculation.
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