a 16gb version of this machine is a 5+ week wait?

[dmccloud]

I disagree with your Apple apologetics in this case. This is not merely a routine incremental rollover of their low-end model. With the step change in performance the new chips offer, Apple should have foreseen that many early adopters would be enthusiasts who are into things like video editing, etc. and who would desire the higher-spec 16/1tb configuration. It is beyond frustrating that these are so scarce in the retail channel right now.

Then you should blame COVID-19 instead of Apple. There are supply chain disruptions across the board right now, which has made a lot of product lines scarce. Have you tried to buy a printer or printer ink/toner lately? The same applies to the new AMD and nVidia GPUs, anything Oculus, game consoles, webcams, etc. When your manufacturing facilities are all either fully shut down or only partially operational due to the pandemic, it means product takes longer to produce and ship. It doesn't matter how well you anticipate demand if you can not produce the products in sufficient quantities to meet said demand.

 

[torncanvas]

Then you should blame COVID-19 instead of Apple. There are supply chain disruptions across the board right now, which has made a lot of product lines scarce. Have you tried to buy a printer or printer ink/toner lately? The same applies to the new AMD and nVidia GPUs, anything Oculus, game consoles, webcams, etc. When your manufacturing facilities are all either fully shut down or only partially operational due to the pandemic, it means product takes longer to produce and ship. It doesn't matter how well you anticipate demand if you can not produce the products in sufficient quantities to meet said demand.

As someone who has spent the past month jumping through the insane hoops required in order to purchase standard PC components, including joining multiple Discords, leaving YouTube bot streams running, and installing Python and setting up my own purchasing bot, I can say without a doubt that Apple has been on a completely higher level than anyone else in terms of both their policies and operations.

My case was the one component that allowed for a queue, which meant a 4-ish week wait, and I greatly preferred that over the digital bloodbath that was ordering a graphics card within the 4-7 second window Newegg stated we had before they sold out. With the first 4 drops, announced on Twitter just a few minutes before they occurred, I never even saw cards in stock. The 5th I got one only because I was using the app plus Apple Pay to hit under 7 seconds.

 

[VideoFreek]

Then you should blame COVID-19 instead of Apple. There are supply chain disruptions across the board right now, which has made a lot of product lines scarce. Have you tried to buy a printer or printer ink/toner lately? The same applies to the new AMD and nVidia GPUs, anything Oculus, game consoles, webcams, etc. When your manufacturing facilities are all either fully shut down or only partially operational due to the pandemic, it means product takes longer to produce and ship. It doesn't matter how well you anticipate demand if you can not produce the products in sufficient quantities to meet said demand.

Possible, but unless you have inside knowledge of Apple's operations, this is speculation. Let's focus on facts; what I know is the following:

• For the M1 MBPs, they have no trouble keeping the 8/256 and 8/512 models in stock. In my area (suburban Philly), each day I've been tracking the 10 stores that are within 50 miles of my home; on any given day 8 or 9 of these stores will have the 8gb models in stock for same-day pickup.
• For the M1 MBAs, availability is tighter; the base model is sold out, but the 8/8/512 model is usually available in about half of these stores.
• The new, highly-sought iPhone 12/ 12 Pro/ 12 Pro Max phones are widely available too.
• Yet, none of these stores have the 16/1tb MBP model. It shows up sporadically every few days at 1 or 2 stores, and then the stock vaporizes in an hour or two.
• When I look at current delivery times for the 16/1tb configuration BTO, it stands at about 5 weeks, which does not strike me as unusual--from memory this is the case whenever Apple releases a hot, in-demand product.

Where do you see evidence that Apple are having severe supply chain problems?

 

[1240766]

No 8GB should even exist. 16GB should have been the base.

Apple knows exactly what they are doing, real executives (no couch quarterback).

The 8gb is more than enough to the majority of people...heck I am a software developer, running multiple apps and compiling code and the system takes all it is thrown at it.... I am waiting for a 16gb, not because I need but because I want it...but every day I finish my work I wonder why I am doing that...seriously thinking of canceling and if I want upgrade again next year...

The 8gb with 512gb is really all that I need every day and don’t feel a single but how the 16gb would make a difference for me.

 

[pugxiwawa]

It's about 3-4 weeks wait. I ordered 16GB/512GB MBA on 11/27 and was quoted delivery at that time around 12/31. I just got notification that it will be arriving next week on 12/17, so Apple is about 1-2 weeks ahead of schedule.

 

[dmccloud]

Possible, but unless you have inside knowledge of Apple's operations, this is speculation. Let's focus on facts; what I know is the following:

• For the M1 MBPs, they have no trouble keeping the 8/256 and 8/512 models in stock. In my area (suburban Philly), each day I've been tracking the 10 stores that are within 50 miles of my home; on any given day 8 or 9 of these stores will have the 8gb models in stock for same-day pickup.
• For the M1 MBAs, availability is tighter; the base model is sold out, but the 8/8/512 model is usually available in about half of these stores.
• The new, highly-sought iPhone 12/ 12 Pro/ 12 Pro Max phones are widely available too.
• Yet, none of these stores have the 16/1tb MBP model. It shows up sporadically every few days at 1 or 2 stores, and then the stock vaporizes in an hour or two.
• When I look at current delivery times for the 16/1tb configuration BTO, it stands at about 5 weeks, which does not strike me as unusual--from memory this is the case whenever Apple releases a hot, in-demand product.

Where do you see evidence that Apple are having severe supply chain problems?

There is no "speculation" on my part. I work for a major electronics retailer, and we are seeing supply constraints across the ENTIRE industry, not just Apple. When your manufacturing facilities are located in areas among the hardest hit for COVID-19, production capacity does drop. Those higher specced configurations are essentially Build to Order right now, which means they get built overseas, shipped to the US, stuck in Customs awaiting clearance, then eventualy shipped to the customer. Those higher specced configurations can only be ordered from the Apple website (or in store if you're lucky enough to still have one open in your area), so the constraints are all within their supply chain.

 

[Pressure]

There is no "speculation" on my part. I work for a major electronics retailer, and we are seeing supply constraints across the ENTIRE industry, not just Apple. When your manufacturing facilities are located in areas among the hardest hit for COVID-19, production capacity does drop. Those higher specced configurations are essentially Build to Order right now, which means they get built overseas, shipped to the US, stuck in Customs awaiting clearance, then eventualy shipped to the customer. Those higher specced configurations can only be ordered from the Apple website (or in store if you're lucky enough to still have one open in your area), so the constraints are all within their supply chain.

And they are currently supplying the whole world with the new machines.

 

[roflc0pter]

16GB ETA for me was 12/24 when I ordered it on 11/30. It ended up arriving at my doorstep on 12/11

This was for the Mac Mini

 

[Polo2883]

I just kept an eye on the store inventory and went in. The stores will stock 16gb/1TB combinations. It looks like the MBA is more scarce than the MBP in 16gb/1TB in store.

 

[Pressure]

16GB ETA for me was 12/24 when I ordered it on 11/30. It ended up arriving at my doorstep on 12/11

This was for the Mac Mini

I ordered the Mac mini (16GB) the same day and it was expected between the 22nd and 5th of January. It hasn’t moved past preparing yet.

 

[roflc0pter]

I ordered the Mac mini (16GB) the same day and it was expected between the 22nd and 5th of January. It hasn’t moved past preparing yet.

Maybe I got lucky. 512GB storage?

 

[Pressure]

Maybe I got lucky. 512GB storage?

Stock 256GB SSD, going to use an external TB3 NVMe drive (2TB) for storage. Far cheaper than upgrading the internal storage.