M2 MacBook Air preorders are already slipping into August

Apple has opened up preorders for the new MacBook Air, which brings a new M2 chip, design, and display to Apple’s most popular laptop. As expected, just minutes after preorders went live, deliveries are slipping from the original July 15 date.

If you buy the base model with an 8-core GPU and 256GB of storage, you’ll still get it in July, but depending on the color it could be a few days after it officially hits shelves on July 15. And if you want a better processor, more RAM, or the new Midnight color, you’re looking at an even longer wait into August. Here are the shipping estimates as of 8:30 am ET:

• Space Gray M2 MacBook Air (8‑core GPU, 8GB memory): July 15
• Starlight M2 MacBook Air (8‑core GPU, 8GB memory): July 18-25
• Midnight M2 MacBook Air (8‑core GPU, 16GB memory): August 2-9
• Starlight/Space Gray M2 MacBook Air (10‑core GPU, 8GB memory): July 15
• Silver M2 MacBook Air (10‑core GPU, 16GB memory): July 26-August 2
• Midnight M2 MacBook Air (10‑core GPU, 16GB memory): August 2-9

These shipping estimates are likely to continue slipping as the day goes on, so if you want one, you should act fast. Apple has been struggling to keep up with demand for many of its products due to supply chain problems, and it looks to be affecting the MacBook Air as well.

At $1,199, the new M2 MacBook Air has a starting price that’s 20 percent higher than the M1 model, but it brings a host of upgrades, including a new design with slim bezels, a larger 13.6-inch display, and MagSafe charging. Read: M2 MacBook Air vs M1: Spending $200 has never made more sense.