Apple's MacBook Air supply shortage is worsening, extending delivery waits for some models to more than a month.

TechRadar reported on Aug. 13 that most MacBook Air configurations sold on Apple's online store show estimated delivery of 2 to 3 weeks. Models with 32GB of RAM take 4 to 5 weeks, it said.

The main cause was cited as a shortage of RAM. Ongoing instability in memory supplies across the PC hardware industry is directly affecting supplies of Apple laptops. The MacBook Air is a flagship mass-market Apple laptop, but delivery delays are appearing across almost all configurations, including the base model.

The supply disruption also overlaps with a recent price increase. Apple raised the price of the MacBook Air M5 by $200 in early June, but the supply situation did not improve. Continued delivery delays despite the price change are being read as a sign that parts procurement is weighing more heavily than a simple, temporary rise in demand.

Supply pressure is also being detected on the ground. Apple retail store employees said MacBook Air shipments are "as constrained as they can remember." That means the parts procurement environment across the broader PC hardware market has worsened that much.

Consumer options are also changing in this situation. Outside Apple's official online store, some sellers are offering shorter delivery times and lower prices. Amazon is selling the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air for $1,256 and introduced that Prime delivery can be faster than through official channels. The same trend applies to some 15-inch models and other configurations.

Some also raise the possibility that substitute demand could shift to Windows 11 laptops. Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7x, Yoga Slim 7i Aura and Dell's XPS 13 were cited as alternatives. It was also noted that not all of these products guarantee the same performance as the MacBook Air, but they are options that can handle typical work demand.

A key point to watch is how long the supply instability lasts. Combining comments attributed to Mark Gurman, described as an internal source, and Apple Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh, a forecast has emerged that Apple's supply constraints will worsen rather than improve in the short term. The possibility was also mentioned that this trend could continue beyond 2027.

Because Apple is not a company that often cuts device prices, consumers who need to buy a laptop soon are more likely to look for sellers outside the official store or turn to products using other operating systems. The article also mentioned the possibility of a price increase for the iPhone 17 and pointed out that Apple's hardware business overall is carrying a burden in terms of supply stability.