On the run up to WWDC (Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference), which is often a point in the year when Apple announces new products, it is to be expected that Apple will run down its stock of hardware. However, it appears that the lack of availability of Macs cannot be put down to just Apple managing their inventory. We investigate…
Even though Apple recently announced record-breaking second-quarter revenue of $97.3 billion the company warned that supply-chain challenges could cost Apple $4 billion to $8 billion in future quarters. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook explains…
“Right now, our main focus is on the supply side. For Q2…, we had constraints, but they were significantly lower and driven by industry-wide chip shortages. Looking ahead, there are two causes of constraints: Covid disruptions and silicon shortages. These (COVID-19 lockdown) constraints are primarily around the Shanghai corridor… almost all of the affected factories have now restarted. We’re encouraged that the COVID case count in Shanghai has decreased over the last few days.”
In addition, there have been reports in the South China Morning Post of factory shutdowns and even riots at a number of Chinese consumer electronic manufacturing sites. Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta, a major supplier for Apple’s MacBooks, last month halted production at its factories in Shanghai, Chongqing and Changshu, a city in eastern Jiangsu province, because of Covid-19 control measures in those locations.
With nearly 500 cargo vessels queueing to enter Shanghai’s container hub, congestion at major Chinese ports has doubled in the last month, causing rapidly rising knock-on delays of products from laptops to televisions to UK and Continental ports. It is understood that exports from Shanghai, where the port remains open, to Europe this week stood at 70 per cent below the level at this time last year.
The timing of all of this couldn’t come at a worse time as this is the time of the year when the enterprise and education sectors purchasing cycle takes place. It’s a scenario that suggests tech purchasers will be facing unanticipated headwinds as they seek to fulfil larger procurements, and this challenge seems set to be a multiplatform one.
When you come to look at the availability of Macs, Macworld did some research into delivery times for the full range of Apple Mac computers.
“As Apple readies the release of a new macOS beta, many developers are going to be looking for new machines in June to test out their apps, and they could be in for a long wait. Shipping of most MacBook Pros models is delayed for months, and stock of the new Mac Studio, especially the M1 Ultra model, is similarly constrained.
In fact, the only Macs that don’t appear to be in short supply in the U.S. are the older M1 Macs: the MacBook Air (1-2 weeks), and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and 24-inch iMac, all of which are mostly available for shipping immediately. But Apple’s higher-end Macs are all severely constrained, leaving its most demanding customers in a bind.
While Apple shipping delays are hardly a new phenomenon, particularly with newer products, just last month, many of these products were being shipped within 2-3 weeks, with the M1 Max MacBook Pros having a six-weeks backlog. So it’s getting bad out there. ”
They have researched a variety of territories around the world and this is what they found if you order from the Apple Store on May 16th 2022…
14-inch Macbook Pro
U.S.: Delivery from July 7 to 21 (7-9 weeks)
U.K.: Delivery from July 5 to 19 (7-9 weeks)
Germany: Delivery in 7-9 weeks
Australia: Delivery from July 4 to 18 (7-9 weeks)
16-inch Macbook Pro
U.S.: Delivery from July 7 to 21 (7-9 weeks)
U.K.: Delivery from July 5 to 19 (7-9 weeks)
Germany: Delivery in 7-8 weeks
Australia: Delivery from July 4 to 18 (7-9 weeks)
MacBook Air
U.S.: Delivery from May 20 to 27 (1-2 weeks)
U.K.: Delivery from June 29 to July 12 (6-8 weeks)
Germany: Delivery in 6-8 weeks
Australia: Delivery in 1-2 weeks
Mac Studio M1 Max
U.S.: Delivery from May 24 to June 1 (1-2 weeks) for M1 Max
U.K.: Delivery from June 7 to 14 (3-4 weeks) for M1 Max
Germany: Delivery in 3-4 weeks for M1 Max
Australia: Delivery from June 3 to 10 (2-3 weeks) for M1 Max
Mac Studio M1 Ultra
U.S.: Delivery from July 7 to 21 (7-8 weeks) for M1 Ultra
U.K.: Delivery from July 5 to 19 (7-8 weeks) for M1 Ultra
Germany: Delivery in 7-9 weeks for M1 Ultra
Australia: Delivery from July 4 to 18 (7-8 weeks) for M1 Ultra
Mac Pro
U.S.: Delivery in 3 to 4 weeks; up to 6 weeks for higher-end configurations
U.K.: Delivery from May 25 May to 27 (2-3 weeks); up to 6 weeks for higher configurations
Germany: Delivery in 5-7 weeks
Australia: Delivery in 10-11 weeks
13-inch Macbook Pro
U.S.: Delivery today or tomorrow
U.K.: Delivery by May 16
Germany: Delivery tomorrow
Australia: Delivery tomorrow
iMac
U.S.: Delivery tomorrow
U.K.: Delivery by May 16
Germany: Delivery today or tomorrow
Australia: Delivery tomorrow
Mac mini
U.S.: Delivery today or tomorrow
U.K.: Delivery by May 16
Germany: Delivery tomorrow
Australia: Delivery tomorrow
Buy It Now?
If you are looking for one of the lower speed entry-level macs then you are OK. But, if you are looking for one of the higher speed computers, like an M1 Max MacBook pro or the new Apple Studio, then be prepared for a long wait. The only Mac we would suggest might be worth waiting for is the new Apple Silicon powered Mac Pro, but don’t expect it to be cheap. It is going to be more expensive than the higher speed Mac Studio computers.