Apple's global memory chip shortage has spread from its niche desktop models to its best-selling laptop, the MacBook Air, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The shortage, driven by demand from AI companies for memory chips, had already squeezed supply of the Mac mini and Mac Studio, but retailers now report tighter-than-usual constraints on the MacBook Air, Apple's most popular computer, signalling the issue is becoming more widespread across its product line.

Buyers ordering a MacBook Air from Apple's website currently face waits until late August, or September for some configurations. Apple is reportedly responding by raising prices and sourcing memory from Chinese suppliers, while also delaying its back-to-school promotion from June and shifting marketing emphasis towards the base MacBook Pro, with materials now warning that the MacBook Air is "subject to availability."