Sales of Apple’s MacBook Air are apparently riding high, despite a recent price increase. Apple is currently experiencing a “major” shortage of the popular laptop, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.
Industrywide memory shortages have already affected two of Apple’s more niche computers, the Mac mini and Mac Studio. Now the problems have spread to the company’s most popular Mac: the MacBook Air. Retail store sources say Apple is struggling to keep the laptop in stock and that shipments of new units are more constrained than they can ever recall.
US customers ordering the MacBook Air are seeing a 2-6 week delivery estimate on Apple’s online store, with configurations boasting larger amounts of RAM showing the longest delays.
The ongoing memory chip shortage is hitting Apple and other device makers, as they fight it out against large companies building AI servers. Previously, Apple and other large PC makers had the inside track on getting sufficient supplies of components like RAM and SSD storage. Now they face well-financed AI companies that are seemingly willing to pay any amount to jump to the front of the chips supply line.
Of course, tighter supply leads to higher prices, and the skyrocketing cost of RAM an SSD chips, which are used in a wide variety of Apple products, have led to price hikes for the MacBook Air and 13 other products in the US, where the popular laptop’s base price now starts at $1,299, up from $1,099, which, while a healthy price hike, appears to have had little effect on demand.
Gurman says his sources tell him that the MacBook Air shortage is tied to the ongoing memory shortage. He says Apple has working to alleviate the issue by preparing to source memory from Chinese suppliers, at least for devices sold in that country.
As for when we might see a new MacBook Air, Girman says he’s heard that Apple is prioritizing sales of the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro, in part to clear the way for an M6 refresh coming this fall. He says he doesn’t expect a new MacBook Air to debut until a bit later.