Apple’s MacBook Air shortage tied to memory chip crunch

A severe shortage of Apple's popular MacBook Air laptop has pushed delivery estimates into late August and early September, with retail sources describing the supply situation as more constrained than they can ever recall. The shortage, affecting the M5 model, comes just weeks after Apple raised the laptop's price and is being driven by an industry-wide memory chip crunch fueled by surging demand from artificial intelligence data centers.

Customers attempting to order a MacBook Air online now face shipping delays of several weeks, with some configurations, particularly those with higher amounts of RAM, not arriving until early September. In response, Apple has begun prominently steering shoppers toward the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro across its website and physical stores, a rare tactic for the company. Marketing materials for the back-to-school season now include disclaimers noting the MacBook Air is "subject to availability," another unusual step.

Industry analysts and company sources directly link the shortage to a global scarcity of memory chips. Manufacturers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have pivoted production capacity toward high-bandwidth memory used in AI...