Mac Delivery Times Stretch to Months for Some Models

Article Comments
1

Originally published at: Mac Delivery Times Stretch to Months for Some Models - TidBITS

My son Tristan was visiting recently while on vacation and took the opportunity to replace his base-level M1 MacBook Air (8 GB / 256 GB) with a new M5 MacBook Air with 16 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage. The replacement wasn’t urgent, but he was running low on memory because the 256 GB SSD left little room for swap, and the M1 model could never connect natively to two external displays. He paid $200 more than he would have if he had purchased before the end of June (see “Apple Raises Prices for Many Products,” 26 June 2026), but at least he was able to walk out of the Cornell Store with the new Mac.

At the time, we didn’t quite realize that the global memory shortage, driven by demand from the AI industry, would also lead to significantly longer delivery times as Apple competes for a limited supply of chips. But the word from Apple consultants in our TidBITS Content Network program is that the situation has gotten bad. When ordering from Apple, the estimated delivery times have increased dramatically—a few maxed-out configurations could take several months to ship. Worse, some consultants say they’re seeing even longer delivery times after an order has been accepted, so Apple’s estimates may not be accurate.

Although higher-memory configurations are particularly impacted, there’s no way to predict which Macs will be affected or the estimated length of delivery delays. As of 10 August 2026, the Apple Store is reporting the following example delivery estimates for my ZIP code, 14850:

  • MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 8 GB / 256 GB): 2 days
  • 13-inch MacBook Air (M5, 16 GB / 512 GB): 15–22 days
  • 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5, 16 GB / 1 TB): 1 day
  • 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5, 24 GB / 1 TB): 8–15 days
  • 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Max, 128 GB / 2 TB): 50–57 days
  • 16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro, 24 GB / 1 TB): 1 day
  • 24-inch iMac (M4, 16 GB / 256 GB): 2 days
  • Mac mini (M4, 16 GB / 256 GB): 22–30 days
  • Mac Studio (M4 Max, 64 GB / 512 GB): 56–70 days

Other locations and configurations may vary, and the situation changes daily. In the last week, the MacBook Neo delivery estimate dropped from 10–14 days to 2 days, so the news isn’t all bad.

So if you’re in the market for a new Mac, what should you do?

Coping Strategies

If, like Tristan, you’re upgrading from an older Mac that’s working acceptably, waiting might not bother you. He had been considering upgrading for a while, but he was too busy to make the purchase, and no one expected Apple to raise prices. It wouldn’t have been a problem if he had had to wait several weeks to get a new MacBook Air.

But what if your Mac has been lost, stolen, or damaged, and you need a replacement sooner rather than later? You have a few options:

  • Rely on a backup Mac: It’s important to think about how your backup strategy includes your Mac. Too few people do—in “Do You Use It? Backup Strategies Span the Gamut” (16 January 2025), only a third of respondents said they had a second Mac available. If you have such a backup Mac, you can use it; if not, now’s a fine time to figure out how you would respond to that situation.
  • Shop around: If you’re lucky enough to have an independent Apple reseller near you, see what they might have. With Apple Stores or big box retailers, it’s worth calling around or even visiting to see what different stores have in stock—my experience is that online inventory systems aren’t always fully up to date.
  • Adjust your desired configuration: The standard base configurations often have the best availability, with delivery estimates increasing for models with more memory and storage. Even a different color might be more readily available, so consider what compromises you’re willing to make to get a Mac sooner.
  • Choose a different model: Similarly, some models have much better delivery estimates than others, so you can probably get an iMac well before a Mac mini. You can return any Mac to Apple within 14 days of purchase, so it’s theoretically possible that you could buy a Mac that’s available right away and then return it once the model you want becomes available. Timing that would be too stressful for me.
  • Buy used: Apple sells refurbished Macs (with full warranties) that may have been store models, returned within the 14-day window, or used for demos. Other retailers like Small Dog and OWC may also sell older reconditioned Macs, and you can always look on eBay or Craigslist. Thanks to the performance of Apple silicon, a previous-generation Mac isn’t much of a compromise. If you’re not buying from a known retailer, be certain that a used Mac has Activation Lock removed, isn’t assigned to an organization’s device management system, and is completely erased.

Are you in need of a new Mac now? And if so, what strategy are you taking?

1 Like
2

Mac-wise I’m well off and fortunately don’t need anything right now. If I did, Apple’s refurb store is probably one of the first places I’d check. It’s different on the iPhone side. I’d like to get an iPhone 17 256GB but I’m not paying $800 for it. I’d grab one off the refurb store, but they haven’t shown up there yet. And 3rd party refurbs (if you even trust those) usually start around $740+ so IMHO not worth it. I’ll wait and instead funnel the saved money into more VOO. :smile:

3

I just bought my daughter a new 13” MBA as a gift with a promised delivery time to the Apple Store of Sept 2. She’s not in a huge hurry, so the delay is fine.

1 Like
4

As high storage MBAirs only recently became available, we tried to order one both under the Veteran discount program and full price in a large metro area on a recent short visit to the US but alas deliveries even about two months back for the needed model were 2 weeks at least, so missed out.

I looked here in the EU as well, where the discount program is not available, and it was also at least a two week wait.

Hopefully next trip we’ll have scheduled far enough in advance and get the discount as well. Luckily it’s not urgent. Thanks for the other strategies @ace !

5

Your suggestions are spot on, Adam. I have purchased from Apple’s refurbished store for decades. Howsomever… a refurbished Mac Studio hasn’t appeared there since the beginning of the year.

2 Likes
6

This was definitely the case for me. When I got my M5 Air at Costco, earlier this year, I bought the Sky Blue color, because it was in-stock at my local warehouse and could be purchased immediately. Midnight (my first choice) was not in stock and would have to be ordered, potentially adding a few weeks.

3 Likes
7

A similar experience in Australia. About 2 weeks ago I looked at specs and availability of M5 Macbook Airs. At the time standard configuration was delivery within a couple of days. But I was determined to upgrade the storage to 1Tb so I could avoid the need for external storage for photos, music etc. That blew out delivery to 4 weeks.

I recently got a delivery update and thought it would be bad news. But it turned out it had been brought forward 2 days :blush: - I won’t count my chickens!

In any case, the delivery time for the standard configuration is now 2-3 weeks.

1 Like
8

I need to replace my Intel iMac which is stuck on Ventura. I’m at the point where an increasing number of applications are dropping support.

I’ve been procrastinating because I have some Intel-only games to finish. But I think I’ll have to get the new Mac first.

So right now I’m waiting for Apple to release the M5 Macs, which is projected for this Fall. And then I’ll find that what I want is not available, or more than the cost of a new car.

9

I know I need to replace my 2019 Intel 21.5-inch iMac and was hoping Apple would update the 24-inch iMac to an M6 processor. However, I inherited a 24-inch iMac with an M1 processor and it has started displaying artifacts on the lower portion of the screen such as horizontal lines, ghostly “reflections” of the windows and icon from the upper portion of the screen, and flickering. This is a common problem on M1 iMacs after a few years and has started appearing on the more recent M3 and even M4 iMacs. So unless Apple announces that they have fixed this design flaw (which might leave them liable for reimbursing the hundreds or thousands of users affected), I am hesitant to purchase another iMac since I want something that will last at least seven years.

This leaves the choice of either a Mac Mini or a Mac Studio since I have no interest in laptops. I don’t need a super high-end configuration but the most basic configurations usually have too many compromises. Once I figure out what model fits my current and future needs, I will just need to live with whatever the lead time and cost are.

1 Like
10

I ordered a Mac Cinema computer on July 2nd. and Apple said it would be in on October 2nd. I was in no rush so I said OK. I was surprised to get a call on July 23rd. that it came in. Sometimes you get lucky.

11

Current Macs will run Intel software but, apparently, the next OS after Golden Gate will not. Tahoe reminds me of this when I run older software such as Seamonkey.

Regarding iMacs vs Macbooks, I took the plunge in 2021, going from a (broken, out-of-warranty) 27” iMac to an M2 Macbook Air with a 32” LG monitor. It has worked well. There is a separate discussion about monitor options on this forum. The only thing I miss is lack of a webcam on the monitor (also subject of that discussion). The MBA is usually in clamshell mode but I need to open it for video conferencing.

My main reasons for recently ordering an M5 MBA are to keep it going as long as possible with the ability to run Intel apps (within a year Macs will only come with OS that won’t run them); to have extra onboard storage (512Gb is too small - see above) and concern about future availability of Macs due to the chip shortages.

12

Another compelling reason for buying a M5—or later—Mac is for security, as discussed here a while back:

I too want to replace an Intel iMac and am waiting to see what the M5-series Minis and Studios offer.

13

I had been planning on replacing my 2018 Intel Mac Mini (which was placed into service in early 2020) with an M5 Mini. But as it became apparent that prices were likely to increase I decided to get an M4 24GB/512GB Mini for $969 from Costco online. (No membership required just a 5% surcharge but paying for a Gold Star card is basically the same amount for one-year.)

It is obviously a significant upgrade from my 3GHz 6-core i5 with 8GB RAM. That was an experiment to see if I could live post-retirement with less than 16GB (I could install more RAM myself if needed. . .) Turns out 8GB works pretty well for my current needs. But I have some new projects in mind that will certainly appreciate the extra memory.

I am in very good health with no chronic conditions but at 72 I think that it is possible that this will be my last Mac. . .

I ordered the M4 on June 12 and paid around $11 for 1-2 day delivery. Suffice it to say that it didn’t arrive until June 30, along with a $11 refund after contacting customer service. But it shipped much faster than Apple’s estimates at the time. U.S. refurbs were not available (they are always my first choice if there isn’t a comparable retail discount online).

As far as Glasswing security goes I agree with this quote from Rich Mogull’s article:

“If you’re on an M1, M2, M3, or M4 Mac, or any iPhone older than the iPhone 17 series, you do not have Memory Integrity Enforcement, but you do have the rest of Apple’s hardware security architecture that’s been accumulating since 2018. You are not suddenly insecure overnight; you just don’t have the latest protections.”

And I really appreciate the contrarian rebuttal of Marcus Hutchins originally quoted by Ron Wisely that ends with this: “Marketing teams get paid lots of money to hype up new products. Why are you doing their work for free?” :wink: