Planning to buy MacBook Air? Here's why you may have to wait longer

Buying a MacBook Air has suddenly become a lot more difficult. Apple is now facing a growing memory chip shortage, and it could affect both availability and prices in the coming weeks.

In Short

• Purchasing a MacBook Air is becoming difficult
• The crisis is reportedly due to the rise in memory storage prices
• This follows Apple's recent MacBook and iPad price hike

One of Apple's most popular laptops is now feeling the impact of the global memory shortage. As supplies tighten worldwide, the MacBook Air is becoming harder to purchase. If you order a MacBook Air from Apple’s official website today, you might receive the device in mid-August or in September. The MacBook Air shortage comes just weeks after Apple raised prices across several MacBook and iPad models in India.

Last month, the company increased the price of the 13-inch MacBook Air up to Rs 30,000, while the 15-inch variant jumped up to Rs 35,000. The price hikes followed a global shortage of memory chips, fuelled largely by the growing demand for AI hardware.

Why is the MacBook Air suddenly harder to buy

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the shortage, which had already affected Apple's Mac mini and Mac Studio, has now reached the MacBook Air as well. Gurman says retailers are finding it increasingly difficult to keep Apple's bestselling laptop in stock, with some configurations on Apple's official website now showing delivery dates stretching into the second half of August or even September.

The situation also explains why Apple recently increased prices across several products. Last month, the company said in a statement to India Today Tech: "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly. We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today's increases for iPad and Mac."

Memory has become one of the most important components inside modern Macs and iPads. Newer Apple devices now come with higher amounts of unified memory, which helps improve multitasking and powers Apple Intelligence features. But as AI companies continue buying massive amounts of high-performance memory chips for their data centres, prices have surged worldwide. Manufacturers like Apple are now facing higher costs, with some of that increase being passed on to buyers.

The report also claims Apple is trying to manage the situation in several ways. Besides raising prices, the company is said to be exploring memory supplies from Chinese manufacturers to ease the pressure. Bloomberg also notes that Apple delayed its annual back-to-school promotion this year and, for the first time, shifted much of its marketing focus to the base MacBook Pro instead of the MacBook Air. Some promotional material even carries a note saying, "MacBook Air subject to availability," highlighting just how tight supplies have become.

- Ends