One of the secrets behind Apple’s ongoing success is that its supply chain runs like a well-oiled machine. Apple today does an impressive job of accurately forecasting how many units of a particular device need to be produced. So while there are sometimes slight shipping delays when a new iPhone hits store shelves, things tend to reach an equilibrium relatively quickly. This helps Apple’s bottom line because it avoids over-manufacturing any specific device, preventing devices from endlessly sitting on store shelves. By keeping inventory small, Apple can prevent prices from dropping too drastically while also maintaining the perception that its products are in demand.
This, in part, helps explain why some products become incredibly hard to find once Apple discontinues an item or releases a new version of an existing item. Because the existing inventory is lean to begin with, it tends to sell out quickly once a newer version is released.
Sometimes it’s easy to anticipate when a product is going to be hard to find. In some cases, Apple gradually slows down production in the months leading up to a discontinuation. In other cases, it’s easy to predict when a product will be hard to find due to predictable upgrade cycles. As a quick example, it wasn’t much of a surprise that the iPhone 16 became hard to find once the iPhone 17 was released. With that in mind, and based on rumored product releases on the horizon, here are a few products that may be hard to find in 2026.
iPhone 16e
In February of 2025, Apple released the iPhone 16e, a budget-oriented device geared for folks who want a powerful device at an affordable price point. The iPhone 16e is essentially the spiritual successor to Apple’s now-defunct iPhone SE series.
Just because the iPhone 16e is the cheapest device in Apple’s iPhone lineup doesn’t mean it doesn’t pack a punch. On the contrary, it features a 6.1-inch display, Apple’s A18 processor, impressive battery life, and a camera setup that is more capable than anything previously available on iPhone SE models.
Priced at $599, the iPhone 16e is affordable as far as iPhones go. And if you’re thinking about picking one up, you might have a hard time trying to find one in the near future.
According to the rumor mill, Apple may release a successor to the iPhone 16e sometime soon. Specifically, rumors point to Apple releasing the iPhone 17e in the coming days. While a specific release date remains unclear, it’s worth highlighting that Apple recently announced a special event on March 4, 2026. It stands to reason that Apple may use the event to introduce the iPhone 17e. If that comes to pass, the existing iPhone 16e will be hard to find in the next few weeks.
Apple’s original Studio Display
Originally released in 2022, Apple’s Studio Display is a premium display on steroids. Aside from a sleek and ergonomically friendly design, the 27-inch display houses a 5K Retina panel with a 5210 x 2880 resolution, built-in microphones and speakers, and a 12MP Center Stage camera. The speaker array is particularly impressive as it includes six speakers in total that enable support for spatial audio.
Apple’s Studio Display retails for $1,599, which is to say it’s not exactly cheap. Clearly, the display is geared toward professional editors or prosumers who can afford to shell out some serious cash for a serious display. Incidentally, for $300 more, users can upgrade to a Studio Display with a Nano-texture glass variant that helps reduce glare in rooms with a lot of sunlight coming in.
All that said, Apple’s original Studio Display may become hard to find sooner rather than later. According to a report from Bloomberg earlier this month, Apple is planning to release a successor to the Studio Display sometime during the first half of 2026. Recall that when Apple introduces a new version of an existing product, it rarely keeps the older model in stock at a discount. More often than not, the older model disappears from store shelves rather quickly.
MacBook Pro with M4 chips
In recent times, there have been rumblings that Apple is poised to release refreshed MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max processors. If this rumor pans out, you might have a challenging time finding any M4 MacBook Pro units still in stores.
Timing-wise, new MacBook Pro models make sense. Apple introduced its current M4 MacBook Pro lineup back in October 2024. At the time, Apple released three chip options: the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max. About one year later, Apple released a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip. That said, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max support remain notably absent from Apple’s notebook lineup.
As far as a release window is concerned, Bloomberg recently reported that a launch window during the first week of March is likely. Again, this is plausible given the aforementioned special event Apple recently announced for March 4.
