For a little while, I’ve been working on a project over on the PowerPC Macs forum, collecting serial prefixes on Apple gear going back to at least 1983 and making a list of where Apple hardware components were assembled.
I’ve been doing so mostly to have as many known Apple assembly locations deciphered and compiled in one place online so that other folks won’t need to search in several places — and also to gather a sense of where Apple assembly, over time, has been situated.
Some of the most interesting findings I’ve found have come from pre-’97 Apple stuff, at a time when Apple was relying on assembly plants and warehouses which never made another appearance after Steve returned to the company. But a lot of that stuff is also some of the hardest stuff to track down, and there’s no doubt I’ve missed components like PowerBook swap bays, small-run 68K/PPC desktops, Newton components made by Apple, and many more uncommon accessories (like MIDI boxes sold in the late ’80s, which were assembled at an Apple warehouse in Australia).
Some Apple products, like CRTs and laser printers, were made in Japan and Italy, but it’s largely unknown whether other well-known manufacturers, such as Sony or Canon, were involved.
Note how a lot of internal pieces within an Apple product may also have their own serial and assembly info, such as a laptop keyboard. This info is also wanted!
Also, much of the early stuff, especially before 1989, used a uniquely different serial numbering scheme (starting with a single letter/alphaneumeric, as opposed to two) on which I still have pretty limited understanding. I’m hoping that’s where y’all, as collectors and users of vintage gear from the first Steve or Amelio days, can come in: more info helps to paint that picture more clearly.
What’s the easiest/best way to share?
If you want, just take a pic of the panel with the assembly imprint or label, along with the serial number (or the original box label, if you have that!). (If you’re hesitant about this, you’re welcome to blur out the last half of the serial; it’s the first half which generally includes assembly details like plant/factory location and year/week of assembly which is what’s needed here).
Next, post what you’ve got on the above thread, describing what item it came from. If you happen to know more detailed stuff from your own looking into its history, such as an actual plant location/city, share that, too!
The next easiest way to share?
List out in a reply what you’ve got — name/description of the item, followed by the “assembled in” info, followed by the serial you have on it. I’ll see to adding new stuff to the WikiPost.
That’s it! I’ll do the work of adding them into Table 1 for the above linked wikipost.
Thanks for your help!
NOTE: post updated 22 February 2022
I’ve been doing so mostly to have as many known Apple assembly locations deciphered and compiled in one place online so that other folks won’t need to search in several places — and also to gather a sense of where Apple assembly, over time, has been situated.
Some of the most interesting findings I’ve found have come from pre-’97 Apple stuff, at a time when Apple was relying on assembly plants and warehouses which never made another appearance after Steve returned to the company. But a lot of that stuff is also some of the hardest stuff to track down, and there’s no doubt I’ve missed components like PowerBook swap bays, small-run 68K/PPC desktops, Newton components made by Apple, and many more uncommon accessories (like MIDI boxes sold in the late ’80s, which were assembled at an Apple warehouse in Australia).
Some Apple products, like CRTs and laser printers, were made in Japan and Italy, but it’s largely unknown whether other well-known manufacturers, such as Sony or Canon, were involved.
Note how a lot of internal pieces within an Apple product may also have their own serial and assembly info, such as a laptop keyboard. This info is also wanted!
Also, much of the early stuff, especially before 1989, used a uniquely different serial numbering scheme (starting with a single letter/alphaneumeric, as opposed to two) on which I still have pretty limited understanding. I’m hoping that’s where y’all, as collectors and users of vintage gear from the first Steve or Amelio days, can come in: more info helps to paint that picture more clearly.
What’s the easiest/best way to share?
If you want, just take a pic of the panel with the assembly imprint or label, along with the serial number (or the original box label, if you have that!). (If you’re hesitant about this, you’re welcome to blur out the last half of the serial; it’s the first half which generally includes assembly details like plant/factory location and year/week of assembly which is what’s needed here).
Next, post what you’ve got on the above thread, describing what item it came from. If you happen to know more detailed stuff from your own looking into its history, such as an actual plant location/city, share that, too!
The next easiest way to share?
List out in a reply what you’ve got — name/description of the item, followed by the “assembled in” info, followed by the serial you have on it. I’ll see to adding new stuff to the WikiPost.
That’s it! I’ll do the work of adding them into Table 1 for the above linked wikipost.
Thanks for your help!
NOTE: post updated 22 February 2022
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