Three Months After Launch, Apple Still Struggling to Meet Demand for Redesigned 14-Inch and 16-Inch MacBook Pro

Three months after their launch, the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros continue to experience high demand and seemingly short supply, with shipping dates for both models stretching into multiple weeks in several of Apple's key markets.

In the United States, the baseline 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip is estimated to ship in three to four weeks, promising an arrival by at least mid-February. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with the higher-end ‌M1 Pro‌ configuration or the M1 Max chip faces an even longer wait, heading well into at least early March.

With the larger 16-inch model, the baseline configuration is seeing five to six weeks for estimated delivery, with higher configurations seeing shipping dates estimated to be in late February or early March. In the United Kingdom and Canada, the highest-end 16-inch MacBook Pro shows shipping dates of between five and eight weeks on Apple's online store at the time of writing.

There are several reasons for the continued long wait that Apple customers are experiencing with Apple's latest MacBook Pros. Apple has continued to suffer the consequences of a global chip shortage that cost the company $6 billion last quarter, pandemic-related restrictions possibly limiting device production, on top of high demand for the latest laptops given their major redesign.

With the new MacBook Pros, Apple brought back many features highly requested by longtime Mac users, such as additional ports including HDMI, MagSafe, and an SD card slot. Apple also redesigned the MacBook Pros, making them heavier and thicker to accommodate the more powerful ‌M1 Pro‌ and ‌M1 Max‌ chips.

Apple will announce Q1 2022 earnings later this week where it's expected to provide insight on the sales of the iPhone 13, AirPods 3, the new MacBook Pros, and other new products it announced in the fall.