We might not get another new Mac till 2027
We might not get another new Mac till 2027
https://www.macworld.com/article/3132912/we-might-not-get-another-new-mac-till-2027.html
Publish Date: 2026-05-13 05:15:00
Source Domain: www.macworld.com
This year was supposed to be a banner year for the Mac. Eight weeks after the beginning of the year, the fun started in a big way with the MacBook Neo release, along with the M5 MacBook Air, M5 Pro/M5 Max MacBook Pro, and the new Studio Display and the Studio Display XDR, which all arrived in March.
The star, of course, was the MacBook Neo, which made a huge splash with its combination of affordability, performance, and quality that can’t be found in a PC laptop. It created hype that lasted several weeks, and for Mac enthusiasts like me, it was nice to revel in the idea that 42 years after it debuted, the Mac is still able to change conventional thinking. All the excitement raised expectations even higher for Mac releases for the rest of 2026.
But it was too good to last. Widespread industry supply constraints finally caught up with Apple, and now it looks like the Mac parade we thought was going to happen this year isn’t going to happen.
The AI effect
AI is “the thing” now in technology, and it’s so overwhelming that it’s at the root of the supply chain shortages. Chip components are being swallowed up by manufacturers for AI infrastructure. The demand is so high that suppliers can’t keep up, and chips of all kinds that should be destined for consumer products are suddenly very difficult and expensive to get.
Macs that are currently in Apple’s lineup are already affected. Apple is resorting to narrowing down the options customers once had when shopping for Macs. The entry-level $599 Mac mini is no longer available, replaced by the $799 model with 512GB, double the storage of the previous $599 model. Both the Mac mini and Mac Studio no longer have their highest RAM configurations (32GB, 128GB, respectively) available. If you order a MacBook Neo from Apple, you still have to wait a week or so, though stock for some color options on Amazon and other third-party retailers has improved to overnight delivery (for now).
The…
