Motorola Moto X to be 1st Smartphone ‘Assembled’—Not Made—in ‘Murica

Motorola Mobility, which is owned by Google, has been relatively mum on its plans to release new hardware, but yesterday, the company announced that it is opening a brand new manufacturing facility in Texas, where it will assemble its flagship Moto X smartphone. (Read more about the new plant.)

The Moto X will be the first smartphone assembled in America, according to Motorola.

From Motorola:

“Moto X [is] a new flagship smartphone that will be designed, engineered and assembled in the USA. We’re not talking about just a handful of units either — available this summer, every Moto X sold in the USA will be assembled in Fort Worth, Texas, making it the first smartphone ever assembled domestically. We’re not talking about just a handful of units either — available this summer, every Moto X sold in the USA will be assembled in Fort Worth, Texas, making it the first smartphone ever assembled domestically.”

Huh. Who knew?

I know that most smartphone, tablets, TVs, computers, monitors, GPS units, microwave ovens, etc., etc., are made in China or elsewhere in Asia. But it still seems odd that not a single smartphone has ever been made, or “assembled,” in the good ol’ U S of A.

I can’t help but think of the “Designed by Apple in California. Made in China” labels on all those iDevices. I bet you’ll see a big label on the Moto X to let you know it was “assembled” in the USA, too. Take that, Apple.

Then again, just because the Moto X will be assembled in the United States, its various components weren’t necessary made in America. In fact, it’s probably safe to assume the majority of Moto X components will not be made in ‘Murica.

Still, “The First Smartphone Assembled in the USA” makes for a great headline on a press release—or a blog post.

AS