Google Glass will be manufactured in Silicon Valley, the Financial Times reports citing people familiar with Google’s plans.
The much-hyped gadget will be produced by Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn — the company that builds Apple’s iPhone. However, it will be built at a facility in Santa Clara, California.
Google announced Wednesday it would soon be shipping the first batch of Google Glasses to 8,000 selected users. According to the report, it’s practical for Google to keep the manufacturing operations near its headquarters due to the small scale, high cost and complexity of the initial run.
If the report is true, this would not the first time Google has decided to have a gadget built in the U.S.; its ill-fated streaming media player, the Nexus Q, was meant to be built in the U.S.
Apple has also shown interest in moving some of its manufacturing to the U.S. Some of Apple’s Mac computers are assembled in the U.S., and the company CEO said Apple would invest more than $100 million in manufacturing on U.S. soil.
