Like every other company, Apple partners with a number of offline and online retailers to sell its products. Even though a number of retailers offer big discounts on its products, Apple's own online store still remains one of the reliable ways to buy Cupertino giant's products. There are certain benefits of buying products from the company's online store that other stores don't offer, such as free engraving and specs customization. However, if you're looking to buy products from Apple's online store right now, you might need to hit that buy button as soon as possible.

If you've been to Apple's online store in the past few days, you must have noticed that most of the Mac and iPad models are facing delays in shipping. While some products are available to ship in a few days/weeks, some Mac models, such as the last year's MacBook Pro, might not ship until August — a three-month delay.

While shipping delays are common for companies in this day and age of global chip shortage — the new Google Pixel 6a will be available for purchase almost two months after its announcement — it has generally not been the case with Apple. Many suppliers have prioritized the supplies for the cash-rich company. However, it appears that due to some unavoidable circumstances, the company is facing issues in shipping its products, which has led to frustrated customers and could also have huge ramifications on its future product launches.

Apple M1 MacBook Air on table

Earlier this month, we reported that iPhone 14 could be delayed by a few months due to the COVID-19 situation in China. The cases of COVID-19 are surging again in China, due to which Apple has had to shut down its factories. The lockdown had only affected iPhone factories in China until now. However, it appears that it's started affecting Apple's current Mac and iPad supply.

The shipping date for a lot of Apple products, including the newly announced Mac Studio, has slipped to July/August and doesn't look like it will get better anytime soon. Here's what the shipping dates of some of the Apple products look like currently (via Bloomberg):

  • MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch models: Deliveries and in-store pickup delayed until as late as early August.
  • MacBook Air: As late as early June.
  • iMac: As late as early August.
  • Mac Studio: As late as the end of August.
  • Apple Studio Display: As late as August.
  • Apple Pro Display XDR: Deliveries as late as early August, with no in-store pickup availability.
  • Mac Pro: As late as June.
  • iPad Air: As late as the end of June.
  • iPad Pro: As late as June.

On the contrary, the situation Apple's facing with its online store doesn't necessarily mean that other retailers are facing it as well. Amazon and Best Buy are shipping the new MacBook Pro models as soon as the next day. So, if you are thinking about getting a new iPad or a new Mac, you should hurry and place an order right now!

What could be the ramifications?

Apple M1 MacBook Air display

Source: Pocketnow

As expected, Apple knows about the situation and has already notified its shareholders that it can't really do anything about the delays but wait. The company has already announced that lockdown restrictions and pandemic delays may reduce its sales by up to $8 billion in the current quarter. In addition to huge financial loss for the company, the delays could have some huge implications on its future launches.

While a lot of people believe that Apple pushes the delivery dates of its product whenever it's about to release a new one, the situation is a bit different this time. Apple just released the new iPad Air with the M1 chip earlier this year, and an upgrade is not expected very soon. However, the product isn't shipping until the end of June in some locations around the world.

This could mean that the company is indeed facing production delays in China — where most of the iPads are manufactured — and it could, in turn, have a knock-on effect on the new product launches. Apple is reportedly planning to introduce its new M2 MacBook Air at the next month's WWDC 2022 developer conference. But, if the delays continue, the company could decide to delay the launch rather than see a lot of customers get frustrated.