The upcoming series of Macs from Apple may have a longer wait, and you can attribute that to AI.

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      Supply chain issues are impacting Apple's forthcoming lineup.

      Recently announcing the MacBook Neo and the M5 MacBook Air, Apple’s next-gen Macs were set to benefit from the company’s recent successes. However, there’s a new obstacle, and surprisingly, it’s not related to design, chips, or software—it’s memory. AI is significantly contributing to this situation.

      Delays may affect Apple’s upcoming Macs

      Mark Gurman from Bloomberg has reported that shortages of memory across the industry could delay the launch of upcoming Macs, including the next-generation Mac Studio and a redesigned touch-screen MacBook Pro. The Mac Studio refresh, initially anticipated for mid-2026, could now be postponed until as late as October.

      This is not just a hypothetical situation. Apple is currently experiencing delays with its existing memory-intensive devices, making it challenging to launch even more demanding next-gen hardware. Internally, there are worries that introducing new Macs without a reliable supply could result in limited availability right from the start, which is something Apple generally strives to prevent.

      The reasoning is clear: current memory-intensive models are already facing shipment delays, and new devices with even greater demands are getting caught in the same bottleneck. This is where AI plays a significant role. The industry-wide surge in AI workloads—such as those for data centers, GPUs, and high-performance computing—has resulted in increased demand for advanced memory, putting pressure on supply across the board, including for consumer products like Macs.

      This issue extends beyond Apple

      Looking at the bigger picture, this isn’t merely about Apple’s shortcomings; it’s a supply chain under stress. AI servers and enterprise hardware are consuming high-bandwidth memory, diminishing availability for other products. For Apple, the timing is particularly inconvenient as the Mac business has been experiencing a resurgence, and the last thing the company wants is to postpone significant upgrades due to component shortages. However, launching with limited supply is arguably even worse.

      The overarching reality is apparent: AI is not only transforming software but also reshaping hardware priorities.