Not many news stories pop up in my feed, and the first thought is the classic "Team America" movie, but here we are.
It's the vibes I'm getting from word that Palmer Luckey, best known as the founder of Oculus VR (now part of Meta), is interested in PC hardware (via Tom's Hardware).
Not just any PC hardware, though. "Made in America" PC hardware.
Would you buy a Made In America computer from Anduril for 20% more than Chinese-manufactured options from Apple?July 20, 2025
The post and poll above are a few days old at this point, but the current 'winner' is the yes column. Of the respondents, more folks than not would apparently be willing to pay "20% more" to buy a completely Made in America PC.
I'm not an American, so I can't speak firsthand on this. But applying my British brain to the situation, I can see some reasoning behind it. Wherever possible, I will always try to support British businesses and British farmers when buying food, even if it costs a little more.
The problem here is asking where the parts come from, and, as our pals at Tom's Hardware rightly point out, is a 20% price bump even realistic? Then again, in a world with the ever-present possibility of tariffs, it might not look so bad.
To meet the standards of a properly, fully "Made in America" product, it must be "all or virtually all" made in the country. There's a reason so much manufacturing takes place in Asia, price being one of the biggest.
The United States does have chipmakers based there, though, so it's not impossible. NVIDIA, for example, is headquartered in California, but currently makes most of its chips abroad. Intel, Broadcom, and Texas Instruments are also big names with a presence in the U.S.
Chips are only part of the process, though. What I also think would add to that price bump is that for all the will (and marketing) in the world, any such PC would be a pretty niche product. Mass production helps get prices down.
Whether a 20% price increase is accurate or not, it's an interesting idea. However, I'm sure I can speak for some when I say that what the PC market desperately needs is not a flag.
Look at Framework as a great example of thinking outside the box. Where it's made doesn't factor in. What it does is exactly what defines the product. If Luckey is seriously considering making such a product, it surely needs to be more than just the same old laptop, but with a Stars and Stripes on the box?
