Shoppers walking into Apple Stores this week are finding something unsettling: the latest MacBook Pros, especially the higher end configurations, have quietly thinned out or vanished from shelves. What looks like a routine pre-refresh clear out is actually colliding with a deeper supply crunch that is rippling through Apple’s most important laptop line. The result is a perfect storm of disappearing stock, lengthening waits and a component squeeze that hints at bigger trouble for the entire PC industry.
From “pick up today” to weeks of waiting
In normal times, I expect to be able to walk into a store, talk to an Apple Genius and walk out with a MacBook Pro the same day. Instead, reports describe customers being told that some M4 Pro and Max MacBook Pro models are simply not available on site, with staff steering buyers toward online orders or different configurations, a shift that has helped those machines effectively disappear from retail displays By Ed Hardy. The absence is most visible in the higher tier Pro and Max variants, the very notebooks that power video editors, developers and designers who cannot easily compromise on specs.
Online, the story is not much better. MacBook Pro availability on Apple’s own store has tightened, with some configurations now quoting delivery windows stretching up to two months, a delay that has been linked to both constrained components and looming new models Sunday January. One high end MacBook Pro M4 Max with 128 GB of memory is estimated to arrive weeks later than base models, a gap that underlines how the most advanced configurations are bearing the brunt of the disruption However.
New M5 Pro laptops are coming, but that is not the whole story
Part of the explanation is familiar to anyone who follows Apple’s product cycles. Rumor has it that Apple is preparing to launch new MacBook Pro models built around M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with speculation centering on a late January window that has fueled expectations of an imminent refresh Rumor. Earlier guidance has suggested that Apple is planning to refresh the rest of the MacBook Pro lineup with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, extending the architecture that first appeared in the M5 MacBook Pro that arrived in late 2025 Pro With.
Apple already sells an M5 MacBook Pro, but many buyers have held off, waiting for the superior M5 Pro and M5 Max versions that are expected to bring more CPU and GPU cores, higher memory ceilings and better performance per watt Apple. Software clues have hinted at these machines, and analysis of Apple’s own code has raised the prospect that the release date for the new Pro and Max chips is effectively hidden in recent updates, which has only intensified scrutiny of every shipping delay and stockout What.
A global RAM crunch hits Apple’s most demanding laptops
Behind the scenes, a more alarming factor is at work. The ongoing RAM shortage is forcing PC makers to fight for limited capacity, with manufacturers weighing whether to redesign products or ship fewer high memory configurations to cope with the squeeze RAM. Analysts expect notebook shipments to be reshaped by this crunch, and while Apple is described as being in a better position than rivals, even it cannot conjure up enough DRAM to satisfy every order.
Memory prices have surged so sharply that companies are taking extreme measures to secure stock, with reports describing executives literally visiting South Korean factories daily to lock in supply, a level of urgency that reflects how prolonged the shortage has become Facing. Forecasts suggest that some notebook makers may have to ship systems with less memory than originally planned, a scenario that would hit MacBook Pro buyers who rely on 64 GB or 128 GB configurations hardest, and that aligns with the longer waits now attached to those top tier builds Chinese.
AI chips are draining critical materials from the Mac supply chain
The RAM crisis is only one layer of the problem. Apple Struggling With Key Material Shortage as AI Chips Drain Supply, a situation in which the same advanced substrates and glass cloth used in iPhone and Mac logic boards are being snapped up by AI chipmakers building massive data center accelerators Apple Struggling With. Apple relies on Nittobo’s glass cloth for these components, and when suppliers prioritize higher margin AI orders, even a giant like Apple can find itself waiting in line.
That bottleneck is already visible. Apple reportedly faces a critical chip component shortage as the AI boom strains its supply chain, a crunch that has pushed prices up in recent weeks and forced the company to juggle production across iPhone, Mac, iPad and other devices Apple. If it and its key partners cannot make enough of these critical components, consumers could soon see broader shortages across the lineup, and analysts have warned that if that happens, buyers will know to blame glass cloth and the AI accelerators that are consuming it at an unprecedented rate Apple.
Apple’s grip on the supply chain is loosening at the worst time
For years, Apple’s integrated supply chain has been the envy of the industry, but the current crunch shows how even that machine can be strained. Apple, which uses advanced substrates across nearly all its products, is now competing directly with AI chipmakers for limited supply, and suppliers that once depended heavily on Cupertino are increasingly willing to prioritize others that pay more or commit to longer contracts Apple. That shift erodes some of the leverage Apple has historically used to secure favorable pricing and guaranteed capacity.
At the same time, the broader notebook market is being reshaped by the same forces. The ongoing RAM shortage is already prompting PC makers to consider bringing more of their supply chains in house or locking in multi year deals to avoid being outbid by AI players, a trend that could raise barriers to entry and concentrate power among a few giants The ongoing. Apple is still described as being in a much better position than rivals, but the fact that MacBook Pros are now taking up to two months to ship shows that even the best prepared company can be caught short when the entire semiconductor ecosystem is reoriented around AI Pro.
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