When you're a company with $147 billion in cash lying around, why wouldn't you spend it on robots and lasers? According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is investing about $10.5 billion in newer manufacturing equipment, possibly in preparation for those new product lines we've been hearing so much about. As we've seen with the recent iMac and other products, Apple's already dabbling in manufacturing techniques normally reserved for the defense and aerospace industries. But according toBloomberg's sources, the company is increasingly striking deals to use these machines exclusively, and that in fact, some of this gear was designed specifically to accommodate Apple's unique designs. Sadly, all of the machinery called out in the article (a MacBook-chiseling laser, something to polish the iPhone 5c) pertain to products that have already been announced, so if you're looking for any clues about Apple's rumored smartwatch, you won't find anything by reading in between the lines.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/13/a...manufacturing/