MacBook Air, Mac mini orders starting to ship ahead of November 17 release date

Posted:
in General Discussion edited November 2020
Customers who preordered the new Apple Silicon Macs are beginning to see tracking information updates that suggest the devices are already in transit.

MacBook Air, Mac mini orders starting to ship ahead of November 17 release date


On November 10, Apple opened preorders for the new Apple Silicon MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. The first customers to place orders will likely see their devices delivered on or near November 17, Apple's announced availability date for the models.

AppleInsider staffers ordered personal units within minutes of preorders going live, and have received these notifications. In our case, expected arrival is November 22 and November 24, with both orders for a Mac mini. We have yet to receive one for the MacBook Air, but have been informed by readers that deliveries are expected between November 17 and November 24.

It is unlikely that many -- if any -- customers will see their devices before November 17. As with the first wave of orders and other previous product launches, Apple works with delivery partners to try and maintain the set release date for its products, meaning that deliveries will largely occur on or after Apple's mandated release date.

All three devices were announced at Apple's "One More Thing" event on November 10. They are the first of Apple's computers to feature the new Apple M1 chip.

The new Mac mini starts at $699, the MacBook Air starts at $999, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 chip start at $1,299. They are also available at an educational discount, bringing their prices down to $679 for the Mac mini, $899 for the MacBook Air, and $1,199 for the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

In addition to orders from Apple.com and the Apple Store app, the company said that M1-equipped Mac models will be stocked at select Apple Store and Apple Authorized Resellers the week of November 16, as well.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    I assume these are all vanilla units as it would take 2-3 weeks to arrive in the U.K. if you are buying a BTO (upgrading  RAM and SSD).
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 12
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,904member
    Wish I didn't buy my son's Macbook air few months back. No brainer if you are in market for new Maxbook.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 12
    anomeanome Posts: 1,531member
    Mine hasn't changed, but it's not due for another week, since I got the 16GB RAM.

    I'm curious to know if any of the people who got on and ordered right away got the 17th as delivery for a 16GB machine, or if it was always held up by a week or so.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 12
    mwhitemwhite Posts: 287member
    anome said:
    Mine hasn't changed, but it's not due for another week, since I got the 16GB RAM.

    I'm curious to know if any of the people who got on and ordered right away got the 17th as delivery for a 16GB machine, or if it was always held up by a week or so.

    I ordered the 16 gig ram and a 500 gig ssd it shows the the 24-27 but this evening it changed to preparing to ship. I put my order in within the first 30 minutes.
    edited November 2020
  • Reply 5 of 12
    wood1208 said:
    Wish I didn't buy my son's Macbook air few months back. No brainer if you are in market for new Maxbook.
    Why did you buy it then? That was after the WWDC announcement. You knew this would happen. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 12
    According to UPS my new MacBook Air will be delivered on November 16.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 12
    anomeanome Posts: 1,531member
    mwhite said:
    anome said:
    Mine hasn't changed, but it's not due for another week, since I got the 16GB RAM.

    I'm curious to know if any of the people who got on and ordered right away got the 17th as delivery for a 16GB machine, or if it was always held up by a week or so.

    I ordered the 16 gig ram and a 500 gig ssd it shows the the 24-27 but this evening it changed to preparing to ship. I put my order in within the first 30 minutes.
    Mine's still at processing. I got in pretty early, started as soon as the store was back, and didn't spend long tossing up options, so I'd hope it was in the first 30 minutes.

    Still, will wait and see what happens.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    anomeanome Posts: 1,531member
    Got an announcement it's shipped. Still won't get here for a week, though.
  • Reply 9 of 12
    anomeanome Posts: 1,531member
    It turned up on Sunday morning...
  • Reply 10 of 12
    I ordered the MacBook air with 16GB memory and 512GB disk. I was originally told 11/27-12/4, then saw that it was shipping and has a delivery date of 11/30. Today i get an email saying my order is now being processed and i'll get it by Dec 30th.

    Not very happy about this, really hope this is there mistake as i already have a shipping number and expecting delivery this coming monday.

    I also am trading in an older MacBook, i got the package to send that back on 11/19, and they want that returned within 2 weeks. I don't want to send that back until i have the new MacBook. 

    Hope this is their mistake, otherwise i'll have to delay trade, and hope they don't try and reduce the trade value as a consequence.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    In chatting with Apple, it appears that my delivery is missing, or otherwise unknown status, and that i really will have to wait till end of Dec now.

    They tell me delaying the trade shouldn't affect the trade value, but they don't provide any assurance or covering message on that.

    This is my 10th mac, so a bit disappointed that a delivery issue which causes a replacement item, puts you right at the back of the queue. surely they could prioritize something like this? Maybe they have lost/misplaced a lot of orders?

    In their words (and not very re-assuring...)

    "We apologize that the initial delivery wencountered some issue, the only thing I can assure. You is that it has been taken cared of."
  • Reply 12 of 12
    Today's email update from Apple - "Your shipment was not delivered by our carrier. We'll be shipping you a replacement, at no charge, as soon as it's available, usually within 24 hours. You'll receive a Shipment Notification email when it ships."

    replacement within 24 hours would be nice, pity the order states dec 30th. oh well.
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