Apple steers buyers to pricier MacBook Pro as Air faces severe shortage

Apple's ↘ 0.80% best-selling laptop has become nearly impossible to buy. The M5 MacBook Air, refreshed just five months ago, now shows ship dates stretching to late August or early September across every base configuration on Apple's online store, as the company contends with an industry-wide memory shortage driven by surging AI datacenter demand.phonearena+1

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in his Power On newsletter that retail store sources describe MacBook Air inventory as "more constrained than they can ever recall," with Apple openly steering customers toward the pricier 14-inch MacBook Pro — a move the company has rarely, if ever, made.9to5mac+1

The Memory Crisis

The root cause is the explosion in demand for high-end HBM2 DRAM from AI datacenters, which has shifted supply chains away from consumer-grade memory and storage. SSDs and DDR5 RAM have climbed sharply in price since the start of the year, forcing Apple to raise Mac and iPad prices in late June by $100 to $400 or more across the lineup.firstpost+1

The MacBook Air's base price has risen from $999 at its March launch to $1,099, then to $1,299 in June — and even at those higher prices, Apple cannot maintain adequate stock. The shortage follows similar constraints that previously hit the Mac mini and Mac Studio.9to5mac+2

Apple's Strategy

According to Gurman, Apple is prioritizing sales of the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro in part to clear inventory ahead of an M6 refresh expected later this fall. The company's back-to-school promotion, delayed from June because of the memory crunch, now prominently features the MacBook Pro over the Air, with some marketing materials including an unusual disclaimer: "MacBook Air subject to availability".wccftech+1

Apple is also working to source memory from Chinese suppliers, though that effort would apply only to devices sold in China. Industry watchers expect the broader memory shortage to persist until 2028.phonearena+1

What Buyers Face

For consumers who need a laptop now, options are limited. Amazon currently offers M5 MacBook Air units with next-day delivery and a $100 discount, but broader third-party availability may tighten further. The memory crunch is industrywide rather than Apple-specific, meaning switching to Windows laptops does not sidestep the underlying supply problem.firstpost+2

Gurman does not expect a new MacBook Air until after the M6 MacBook Pro arrives this fall, suggesting the shortage will not resolve quickly.9to5mac+1