The DRAM shortage is spurring Apple to scale back its hardware shipment plans for 2026, says Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo‘s comment comes in a longer post disputing a recent report that TSMC has $1 billion of unpackaged processors waiting for memory chips that Apple has not yet been able to secure. Kuo states that Apple plans processor production at least three months in advance, based on the amount of memory it expects to be available, meaning TSMC does not have to build large numbers of wafers ahead of time.
Kuo said He believes there are indeed memory shortages, but no situation where TSMC is sitting on unused inventory.
A recent media report claims that tight DRAM supply has left TSMC holding around US$1 billion worth of Apple 2nm processor work-in-process (WIP), described in the report as “processor wafers,” that cannot yet be packaged. As supporting evidence, it points to TSMC’s 2Q26 earnings…
— 郭明錤｜Ming-Chi Kuo (@mingchikuo) August 10, 2026
We have seen memory shortages affect the Mac Studio, Mac mini, and MacBook Air, and ongoing supply problems will likely also impact the availability of upcoming iPhone models. This is due to memory manufacturers redirecting their output to AI data centers, because those chips are more profitable, meaning there is less capacity available for consumer device memory and storage chips.
The lack of supply has driven prices up and Apple raised prices on all of its Macs and iPads in June. iPhone prices are widely expected to increase in September. The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the “iPhone Ultra,” are expected to sell out during the pre-order period, due to memory shortages.
