Apple Awards iPhone Glass Supplier Corning Additional $250M From Advanced Manufacturing Fund

Apple today announced it is awarding its longtime iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch glass supplier Corning an additional $250 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund, building on its $200 million award in 2017.

Apple Corning Harrodsburg Plant 400 Highly Skilled Employees 091719
The combined $450 million investment will support Corning's research and development into "state-of-the-art glass processes, equipment and materials integral to the delivery of next-generation consumer devices," including the upcoming ‌iPhone‌ 11 and ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro lineup, according to Apple.

Apple COO Jeff Williams:

Apple and Corning's rich history dates back more than a decade, and our partnership revolutionized glass and transformed the technology industry with the first iPhone. This award underscores Apple and Corning's shared belief in the vital role that ingenuity plays in creating industry-leading products, and the pride that both companies take in applying American innovation and advanced manufacturing to solve some of the world's toughest technology challenges.

Apple says it Advanced Manufacturing Fund was designed to "foster and support the innovative production and high-skill jobs that will help fuel a new era of technology-driven manufacturing" in the United States. To date, Apple has invested over $1 billion in American companies from the fund.

In addition to the $450 million now awarded to Corning, other commitments already announced include $390 million to Finisar and $10 million to the joint venture Elysis working towards carbon-free aluminum smelting.

Apple says it spent a collective $60 billion with 9,000 American suppliers in 2018, supporting 450,000 jobs in all 50 states and manufacturing locations in 36 states. ‌iPhone‌ 11, ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max use glass manufactured at Corning's factory in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.

Corning has partnered with Apple since 2007 to provide glass for every generation of the ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch, and many generations of the ‌iPad‌, all manufactured in the Harrodsburg facility. Since the ‌iPhone‌ launched in 2007, Apple has spent nearly $3 billion with Corning on the glass used in those devices.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
Global Close Your Rings Day Pin

Apple Stores Giving Away a Limited-Edition Pin For Free Today

Thursday April 24, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Starting today, April 24, Apple Stores around the world are giving away a special pin for free to customers who request one, while supplies last. Photo Credit: Filip Chudzinski The enamel pin's design is inspired by the Global Close Your Rings Day award in the Activity app, which Apple Watch users can receive by closing all three Activity rings today. The limited-edition pin is the physical...
Apple Logo Spotlight Blue

White House Hits Back at Apple's Massive EU Fine

Thursday April 24, 2025 5:57 am PDT by
Apple's $570 million fine from the EU has triggered a sharp rebuke from the White House, which called the fine a form of economic extortion, Reuters reports. The fine was announced on Wednesday by the European Commission, following a formal investigation into Apple's compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market dominance of ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
ipad air magic keyboard feature

iPadOS 19 Rumored to Show Mac-Like Menu Bar When Connected to Magic Keyboard

Thursday April 24, 2025 12:09 pm PDT by
When an iPad running iPadOS 19 is connected to a Magic Keyboard, a macOS-like menu bar will appear on the screen, according to the leaker Majin Bu. This change would further blur the lines between the iPad and the Mac. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously claimed that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS," with unspecified improvements to productivity, multitasking, and app window management,...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...

Top Rated Comments

Phone Junky Avatar
73 months ago
I kind of wish Apple would say their products contain gorilla glass sometimes. I can’t even count how many android fanboys I’ve seen that think that iPhone screens are brittle and delicate compared to their phones when they both use the same damn glass...
When you drop it and it breaks, it really doesn't matter what kind of glass it is.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
73 months ago
They use the same brand glass, but I’m not sure that they use the same glass. Glass in any other domain has various grades. I’m willing to bet that there are multiple grades and generations of Gorilla Glass.
I thought this was common knowledge. We're currently on Gen 6 of Gorilla Glass.
[doublepost=1568722079][/doublepost]
I don’t know if Corning makes the coating, but I would love love love to see more scratch resistant coating.

The glass can be nearly indestructible but if the outer coating scratches when you look at it wrong, it’s still not a great user experience.
A lot of the time the scratches you see are in the oleophobic coating. That coating is not permanent and wears over time. You can DIY replace it. Doing so can sometimes lessen the appearance of micro scratches.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ersan191 Avatar
73 months ago
I kind of wish Apple would say their products contain gorilla glass sometimes. I can’t even count how many android fanboys I’ve seen that think that iPhone screens are brittle and delicate compared to their phones when they both use the same damn glass...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
incoherent_1 Avatar
73 months ago
I don’t know if Corning makes the coating, but I would love love love to see more scratch resistant coating.

The glass can be nearly indestructible but if the outer coating scratches when you look at it wrong, it’s still not a great user experience.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unibility Avatar
73 months ago
Glass is glass. And glass will break.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HowieIsaacks Avatar
73 months ago
I kind of wish Apple would say their products contain gorilla glass sometimes. I can’t even count how many android fanboys I’ve seen that think that iPhone screens are brittle and delicate compared to their phones when they both use the same damn glass...
They're idiots. It wouldn't matter if Apple advertised that they use gorilla glass. They would still think their crap phones with outdated software are better because they can "customize" them.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)