Why Buying a MacBook Air From Apple Isn't a Great Idea Right Now

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For years, the MacBook Air has been the best Apple laptop for most people. And even as Apple's budget MacBook Neo is gunning for that crown, the sentiment is, in many ways, still true today. The Air comes with perks the Neo doesn't, like an M-series chip, additional RAM, and a larger, higher-quality display. But to cut costs, it also skips some MacBook Pro features that most users won't miss, like additional ports, a high-refresh-rate mini-LED display, and pro-grade hardware. For people who need more "oomph" than the Neo offers, but don't want to pay a "Pro" tax, the Air is the sweet spot.

As such, you might be thinking of picking up a MacBook Air as your next laptop. Unfortunately, fate may have other plans. According to Bloomberg, the MacBook Air seems to be the latest Mac affected by "RAMageddon," the global memory shortage affecting companies big and small. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has sources that tell him that Apple simply doesn't have enough MacBook Airs on hand to ship to customers in a timely manner. If you try to order one today, your shipping estimate likely pushes your order towards the end of August. You might even see a disclaimer that reads "MacBook Air subject to availability." In short, it might be difficult to buy a MacBook Air from Apple right now.

While Apple will happily take your money, it seems the company also wants to steer customers away from the Air for the time being. Gurman says that Apple's stores and website both encourage users to consider the base model MacBook Pro, which, sure, is probably the best MacBook Pro for most people—but it also starts $700 more than the base model MacBook Air. The expression "adding insult to injury" comes to mind, since Apple recently increased the MacBook Air's MSRP by $200. Apple seems to be offering you two choices: buy the now more expensive MacBook Air and wait a while for it, or pick up a $2,000 MacBook Pro today.

You have other choices for MacBooks

You don't have to play Apple's game to pick up a MacBook Air right now. In fact, it might be best not to shop through Apple for the time being. Other outlets, such as Amazon and Best Buy, currently have the latest MacBook Air models available to purchase. If you need an M5 Air at its MSRP, these are the stores to shop from.

But that might not be the case forever, especially if Amazon and Best Buy start to sell out—since Apple won't likely provide them with many new units for a while. As such, your best bet might be to shop the refurbished market. You could get a slightly older MacBook Air model at a decent discount, spending under $1,000 to get all the perks you were looking for in the $1,300 machine to begin with. This refurbished M4 MacBook Air is $900 on Amazon right now, for example. You step back one M-series generation, but since Apple's latest chips are so capable, you probably wouldn't notice the difference—all while saving quite a bit along the way.

You can also take advantage of the refurbished market to spec up your laptop, especially with things like RAM and storage. This M1 Pro MacBook Pro, while five years old, is still more than capable in 2026, and comes with a 1TB hard drive, for just over $900. If you're interested in the perks of a MacBook Pro but balked at the price, this type of machine could be a good opportunity.

Where does Apple go from here?

Apple won't discontinue making new computers, even as the memory crisis rages on. As such, I expect the "M6" era sometime early next year—though the company's plans could change given market conditions. Whenever Apple does release the M6 Air, the M5 will become the "value" model to get—especially if the company raises prices again.

I'd love to say you could simply ride out RAMageddon and pick up a new laptop after the crisis ends, but there's no telling when that will be. Memory manufacturers are open about their struggles to get production up to meet demand, which means things might not stabilize until sometime next year, if not later. As such, Apple's prices might remain high, while its supply could continue to be low. If you don't need a new MacBook, I'd recommend holding onto your computer for as long as you can; if you do need one, shop around. Sometimes the newest machine simply isn't the best value.