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Memory shortage puts MacBook Air supply under pressure
AI-driven memory demand is tightening MacBook Air supply, with some Apple configurations delayed until September.
Image: TechCrunch
A global memory chip shortage is now hitting Apple’s most popular Mac. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, retailers are seeing tighter-than-ever supply of the MacBook Air, with Apple’s online store listing delivery in the back half of August or, for some configurations, September.
The shortage is being driven by demand from AI companies, Gurman says. It had already affected Apple’s more niche computers, the Mac mini and Mac Studio, but the impact has now reached the company’s highest-volume Mac line.
Apple is reportedly responding by raising prices and sourcing memory from Chinese suppliers. The company also delayed its latest back-to-school promotion from June, and its marketing is focused more heavily than usual on the base-model MacBook Pro.
Apple’s promotional material now includes an unusually direct warning:
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“MacBook Air subject to availability.”
The source does not specify which MacBook Air configurations are affected, how much prices may rise, or when supply will return to normal.
Computing Editor
Tomas lives in the terminal. He covers chips, laptops, and operating systems with a focus on performance and efficiency. He reads kernel changelogs the way other people read fiction, and he's always on the hunt for the perfect mechanical keyboard switch. If it processes data, Tomas has an opinion on it.
via TechCrunch
