Half of Apple's MacBook Air lineup now sold out at Amazon ahead of WWDC

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
MacBook Air models, including Apple's popular 11.6-inch, sub-$1,000 offering, continue to go out of stock at Amazon ahead of an anticipated product refresh that's expected to add Intel's latest-generation Haswell processors.

MacBook Air


As of Thursday morning, our Apple Price Guide shows Amazon is completely sold out of the 11.6-inch MacBook Air with 64 gigabytes of storage and a 1.7-gigahertz Intel Core i5 processor a handful of used and refurbished units remain in stock.



Notably, the listing for the entry-level 11.6-inch model is consistent with a discontinued item on Amazon, with no indication that stock will be replenished. In contrast, the online retailer typically portrays a simple stockout with availability advertised for "1-2 months."

The 128-gigabyte version of the 11.6-inch model remains in stock for now, as does the entry-level 13-inch model. But beyond that, all MacBook Air configurations are completely out of stock at Amazon.

Similar constraints of MacBook Air inventory can be seen at other resellers, including MacMall, MacConnection, Best Buy, and J&R. All of those stores currently show stockouts of a huge swath of MacBook Air configurations.

Best Buy has also begun to run out of in-store MacBook Air inventory. For example, as of Thursday the entry-level 11.6-inch model was unavailable for pickup at about half of the retailer's New York City stores, while even fewer locations in the suburbs had available inventory.

As of yet, there is no sign of those same constraints at Apple's own retail stores. On Thursday morning, stores around the country showed both 11.6- and 13-inch MacBook Air models remain in stock and available for in-store pickup.

MacBook Air


Last week, the first major signs of reduced MacBook Air inventory were spotted, beginning with the 13-inch model. Apple typically draws down inventory of current models at its resellers ahead of a product refresh.

It's expected that Apple will introduce new MacBook Air models next month at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. The refreshed thin-and-light notebooks are expected to feature Intel's latest-generation Haswell processors, which offer greater performance along with reduced power consumption.

Intel's Haswell chips will launch the first week of June. Likely CPU candidates for the new MacBook Airs will include Intel HD 5000 integrated graphics that promise a 50 percent improvement in performance over their predecessors.

Readers can find the best deals on still-available MacBook models in the AppleInsider Mac Price Guide, included below. In particular, B&H is exclusively offering AppleInsider readers an exclusive $200 discount on a handful of remaining BTO MacBook Air models, which brings the 1.8-gigahertz 11.6-inch down to $1,199, and the 2.0-gigahertz 11.6-inch model to $1,549. Savings increase when purchasing news Macs with 3 Years of AppleCare extended warranty (see our New Macs + AppleCare price guide)

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Haswell that ends well, I guess. Can't wait to see what Apple does with the new line. Bet they'll tout the power of the integrated graphics. Hope they don't think they're TOO good and drop dedicated on the 15".

  • Reply 2 of 25
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I may buy a Retina MBA.
  • Reply 3 of 25
    chandra69chandra69 Posts: 638member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I may buy a Retina MBA.


    Waiting for it. Retina MBA. +1

  • Reply 4 of 25
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    My main machine is a 2012 MBA, I have absolutely no complaints about it, best computer I've ever owned- yet I'm incredibly excited to see the next potential iteration.
  • Reply 5 of 25
    dnd0psdnd0ps Posts: 253member


    Will they introduce the new rMBP at WWDC?


    I have the 15' rMBP. Not sure if I should sell it now if I wanna buy the next iteration.

  • Reply 6 of 25
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I wonder if we'll see the same vitriol from people that such a high resolution and pixel density on a notebook is pointless now that Win PC vendors are starting to catch up with Apple?
  • Reply 7 of 25
    extremeskaterextremeskater Posts: 2,248member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I may buy a Retina MBA.


    Have you seen anything that would lead you to believe that is going to happen in June? Everything I have read has said not to expect a Retina MBA just a Haswell update. It would be great if both happened in June.

  • Reply 8 of 25
    extremeskaterextremeskater Posts: 2,248member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dnd0ps View Post


    Will they introduce the new rMBP at WWDC?


    I have the 15' rMBP. Not sure if I should sell it now if I wanna buy the next iteration.



    Because Intel is moving to their 4th generation processor. It should give a 10-15% cpu boost but the biggest benefits would be gpu and battery life performance. Most reports say Haswell has already been shipped to vendors and they just have to wait until the June 2nd announcement by Intel.

  • Reply 9 of 25
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    All this talk about limited availability of MBA's but not for MBP's. What Apple is only going to refresh the MBA with Haswell? I hope not because I've been putting off purchasing a new MBP for the last month or so because of the expected Mac-wide system upgrades to be announced at the WWDC.
  • Reply 10 of 25
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I may buy a Retina MBA.


    Why not just get a Retina MacBook Pro after the Intel 5000 update?


     


    I had the last 2 iterations of the 13" MacBook Air (The 2011 and 2012).  Ever since going to the 15" rMBP- I've never missed it- at all.  Once the 13" rMBP gets up to snuff with the new 5000, why not just get that?  I just don't see the MBA having Retina for quite a while, because that's the biggest reason why to get the rMBP.  Of course, my wife used the MacBook for Photography editing- which the Air is terrible at.  If they ever did get a screen that didn't have such color variance, then that would be a very enticing offer (because we simply don't need a beefy processor).

  • Reply 11 of 25
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    andysol wrote: »
    Aren't those called Retina MacBook Pros?

    Not at all. The Retina MBPs aren't replacing the MBAs. The MBA line is much lighter, thinner, and offers less in terms of performance and features over the MBP line.
  • Reply 12 of 25
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I wonder if we'll see the same vitriol from people that such a high resolution and pixel density on a notebook is pointless now that Win PC vendors are starting to catch up with Apple?


     


    You're late. We already have a big contingent of Google evangelists harping about how awesome the Chromebook Pixel is because of the display, an ultra expensive laptop with 32GB of internal storage that basically runs a web browser, and nothing else. No doubt these same people lol'ed at the price of the Retina MBP with it's "useless" high resolution display, but are now loving it on a "cloud" machine that can't even run any real applications. I'm sure they'd have the same high praise if Apple released a pricey laptop that can only run safari. Don't expect any type of consistency, logic, or honesty from Apple haters. They have a long, long history of mocking any innovations when it's introduced by Apple, but then enthusiastically embracing it when adopted by their company of choice. 

  • Reply 13 of 25
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Have you seen anything that would lead you to believe that is going to happen in June? Everything I have read has said not to expect a Retina MBA just a Haswell update. It would be great if both happened in June.

    I don't think it can happen until Haswell as that microarchitecture is key to making it possible in the MBA with a reasonable battery life. Then you have the possibility of IGZO. I don't know how tough this would be for a larger display over an iDevice but the lower yield over iDevices could make this a reasonable way for Apple to start if former isn't a difficulty and/or cost consideration.

    I think Apple wants to Retinafy their entire line as soon as possible so I think the next MBA release will be Retina if they can line up all the other aspects that would allow for at least the same battery life and cost as in the current MBAs.
  • Reply 14 of 25
    More troubling proof that supply chain darling Tim Cook is failing and should be shown the door. /s
  • Reply 15 of 25
    maccherrymaccherry Posts: 924member


    I think we in the Mac community know damn well that a retina display MBA is the holy grail of computers. As well as a retina display iPad mini. 


    Apple knows this and Wall Street knows this. All hell is going to break loose  soon enough and I can't wait!!!!!!

  • Reply 16 of 25
    jmc54jmc54 Posts: 207member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Chandra69 View Post


    Waiting for it. Retina MBA. +1



    me too!

  • Reply 17 of 25
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    I may buy a Retina MBA.

    Gee you know I wish this would happen but I'm reluctant to believe it is possible yet. Frankly I'd like to see Haswell with a tripling of flash storage in these models. That might be enough for me to look at the AIRs.
  • Reply 18 of 25
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    I may buy a Retina MBA.

    While I love my 2011 MBA, I'd consider an upgrade if the RAM upgrade and CPU on a top of the line model is substantial.

    Retina would be the icing on the cake, but not a deal breaker.
  • Reply 19 of 25
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    The AIRs have been selling really well. The rMBP aren't selling as well. They may get refreshed but we may also see some heavy discounting of existing stock after WWDC to move old inventory. It is pretty obvious, with at least the 13", that nobody was taking the bait at the price point originally offered thus the attempt a couple of months ago to address pricing and configuration.

    I actually think the retina gamble hasn't paid off the way Apple was hoping it would.
    1983 wrote: »
    All this talk about limited availability of MBA's but not for MBP's. What Apple is only going to refresh the MBA with Haswell? I hope not because I've been putting off purchasing a new MBP for the last month or so because of the expected Mac-wide system upgrades to be announced at the WWDC.
  • Reply 20 of 25
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post





    While I love my 2011 MBA, I'd consider an upgrade if the RAM upgrade and CPU on a top of the line model is substantial.



    Retina would be the icing on the cake, but not a deal breaker.


     


    As an owner of the 2011, then 2012 model, I can tell you that I noticed a significant performance boost. Probably due to the newer SSD which was supposedly 2X faster. 

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