Apple indeed CNCs most of their stuff as far as I know. Only Microsoft is powder injection molding it’s surface devices, similar to how high end DSLRs are made. I saw some of the WIP parts. It is pretty crazy, they are super light, thin and intricate and look JUST like a plastic part. Only the metal color gives away they are actually metal.
In the last few years Chinese manufacturers have really improved their metal game. Of course they stamp most of their parts, overmold them and CNC them a bit to make it look like an iphone. But the handfeel is remarkable. For just around $100 you get a device that feels very “iphoney”. But the stamped metal parts are usually just cosmetic and not part of the construction (which is the trick apple performs). They are mostly just cosmetic covers while the construction frame itself is built as cheap as possible, sometimes even just plastic. There are some interesting tests of these “pseudo metal” phones.
Check this out: Redmi Note 3 - Durability Video - Scratch, Burn, Bend Test - YouTube (bending starts around 3:00)
That thing snaps like a cracker!
It is basically the same with the cheap tablets and notebooks. The metal is only a cosmetic layer on top, construction-wise they are not comparable to an iPhone or Macbook at all.
But STILL it is getting better and better and they improve stability. Once they figure out how to use stamped metal parts as part of the actual construction we will all benefit from that.
I just would hope they would apply their developements without mimicing apple all the time, which is such a bummer. If they take that macbook clone, remove all the logos and give it a nice, matte black paint job I might be intrigued though 