Having recently launched the MacBook Neo as well as the M5 MacBook Air, Apple’s next-gen Macs were supposed to ride the company’s recent momentum. But now, there’s new roadblock. And surprisingly, it’s not design, chips, or software. It’s memory. And yes, AI is a big reason why.
Apple’s next Macs might be delayed
According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, industry-wide memory shortages could push back Apple’s upcoming Mac launches, including the next-gen Mac Studio and a redesigned touch-screen MacBook Pro. The Mac Studio refresh, which was originally expected around mid-2026, may now be delayed until as late as October.
The situation isn’t just theoretical either. Apple is already seeing delays with its current memory-heavy machines, which makes launching even more demanding next-gen hardware a tricky move. Internally, there’s concern that releasing new Macs without a stable supply could lead to limited availability right out of the gate, which is something Apple typically tries hard to avoid.
The reason is simple: current memory-heavy models are already facing shipment delays, and newer machines with even higher requirements are getting caught in the same bottleneck. And this is where AI enters the picture. The industry’s massive push toward AI workloads, such as data centers, GPUs, and high-performance computing, has created a surge in demand for advanced memory. That demand is now squeezing supply across the board, including consumer devices like Macs.
This isn’t just an Apple problem, though
Zoom out, and this isn’t Apple dropping the ball. It’s a supply chain getting stretched thin. AI servers and enterprise hardware are gobbling up high-bandwidth memory, leaving less room for everything else. For Apple, the timing is particularly awkward. The Mac business has been gaining traction again, and the last thing the company wants is to delay major upgrades due to component shortages. But at the same time, launching with constrained supply is arguably worse.
The bigger picture here is pretty clear. AI isn’t just changing software, but it’s reshaping hardware priorities, too.