Apple CEO Tim Cook celebrated iPhone Pre-Order Day in Kentucky

Pre-orders began for the new iPhone today, and Apple CEO Tim Cook celebrated in…Kentucky?

Oh yes, Cook started his day at the Apple Store in Lexington, hanging out with the retail team and greeting customers. From there, he made his way to the Corning plant in Harrodsburg. Last month, Apple announced that it was partnering with Corning to manufacture 100% of its iPhone and Apple Watch cover glass at the plant, a $2.5 billion investment. Corning has been making Apple’s cover glass for the past 18 years, going back to the first iPhone in 2007. Soon, every iPhone and Apple Watch sold around the world will have cover glass that was made in Kentucky, part of Apple’s $600 billion effort to bring foreign jobs back to the United States.

Stopped by Apple Fritz Farm in Lexington, Kentucky to spend time with our customers and retail team members as they get ready for a big week ahead! Thanks for a fantastic visit! pic.twitter.com/wlHkkdNYzy

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 12, 2025

It's iPhone pre-order day and what better place to spend it than at Corning in Harrodsburg, KY! Soon all cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch globally will be made here. We're proud to be an engine for American innovation. pic.twitter.com/KK9e0Cc5Dh

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 12, 2025

CNBC personality Jim Cramer was also in Harrodsburg to film a segment with Cook at Corning for Mad Money.

Spending the day at Corning’s Harrodsburg facility, the birthplace of the glass behind every iPhone and Apple Watch. And look who dropped in… Tim Cook! Big day ahead! More tonight on @MadMoneyOnCNBC pic.twitter.com/6pF3GJ5BPZ

— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) September 12, 2025

At the time of the announcement, the Corning plant employed 420 workers; that figure should increase by 50% thanks to Apple’s investment. The two companies will also open a new Apple-Corning Innovation Center at the Harrodsburg plant, which will play a key role in the development and engineering of advanced materials and next-generation manufacturing platforms for Apple’s future generations of products.

“Corning is a storied American company, and we’re thrilled to work together to build the largest and most advanced production line ever created for smartphone glass,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, last month. “Thanks to the power of American manufacturing, any customer anywhere in the world who buys a new iPhone or Apple Watch will be holding precision glass made right here in Kentucky. We’re grateful to the President and his administration for their support for American manufacturing, and we’re excited for the innovation this investment will unlock.”

“Apple is an amazing partner for American manufacturers like us, and together, we’ve innovated and pushed the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Wendell Weeks, Corning’s CEO. “We developed and made the glass for the very first iPhone in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, 18 years ago. With this new multibillion-dollar commitment from Apple and the lighting of our most advanced manufacturing platform, we are hiring more people and bringing 100 percent of Apple’s cover glass needs for iPhone and Apple Watch to the original home of the innovation.”

Cool stuff. While in Harrodsburg, I hope Cook stopped by the Beaumont Inn to get some good southern cooking.