Apple Faces MacBook Air Shortage Amid M6 Prep
Apple faces a severe MacBook Air inventory shortage and rising DRAM costs while preparing for a 14-inch M6 MacBook Pro refresh in late 2026.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports a severe MacBook Air inventory shortage, with various M5 configurations unavailable until September 2026. Rising DRAM costs have forced Apple to increase Mac prices and delay its 2026 back-to-school promotion. To mitigate supply issues, Apple is sourcing memory from Chinese suppliers for local models, though watchers expect shortages to persist until 2028. Apple is currently pushing sales of base 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro units to clear inventory for an M6 refresh arriving later in 2026. While the M6 upgrade is exclusive to the 14-inch Pro, the M6 MacBook Air and M7 Pro/Max lineups are slated for 2027. Despite shortages, Amazon offers $100 off M5 MacBook Air models, pricing the 13-inch at $1,199 and the 15-inch at $1,399.