Mac Mini availability remains tight months after Apple CEO Tim Cook said demand had risen faster than Apple expected. WIRED reports that Apple’s compact desktop is no longer completely absent from Apple’s own store, as it was at the worst point, but buyers still face long waits, especially if they want more memory for local AI work.
The base Mac Mini with 16 GB of RAM now shows a three- to four-week shipping window when ordered from Apple, according to WIRED. For comparison, Apple’s MacBook Air with 16 GB of RAM and the MacBook Neo with 8 GB of RAM were listed with shorter two- to three-week delivery windows.
Why is the Mac Mini hard to buy?
WIRED points to RAM as the main constraint. The more memory a customer selects, the longer Apple’s delivery estimate gets. That is an awkward bottleneck for a machine that has become attractive to people running AI models locally, where unified memory capacity can matter more than it does for ordinary desktop work.
Mac Mini configurations with 36 GB of RAM are taking roughly a month to ship, according to WIRED’s checks. Models with 48 GB of memory are listed at three months or more. The same pressure shows up elsewhere in Apple’s desktop line: a Mac Studio with 48 GB of memory carries an estimated 13- to 14-week delivery window.
Third-party retailers do not solve the problem cleanly. WIRED reports that Amazon can ship some Mac Mini models faster, but with fewer configuration choices and, in some cases, higher prices. An M4 Mac Mini with 24 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage was listed at $1,570 on Amazon, $471 above Apple’s price. An M4 Pro Mac Mini was also listed at $1,570, about $100 more than Apple’s price, with delivery within about a week and a half.
The timing could get messy for anyone ordering now. Apple last updated the Mac Mini in October 2024, and WIRED notes that rumors have pointed to an M5 refresh this fall. If the longest current estimates hold, some M4 Mac Mini buyers could receive their machines after Apple announces a newer model.
How much did Apple raise Mac prices?
Apple has also pushed Mac prices higher. WIRED reports that Apple discontinued the old $599 entry Mac Mini with 256 GB of storage in early May, which temporarily made $799 the starting price. By late June, Apple restored the 256 GB model at $699, while the 512 GB version rose to $899.
The Mac Studio increases are steeper. According to WIRED, the M4 Max Mac Studio now starts at $2,499, up $500. The top M3 Ultra Mac Studio moved from $3,999 to $5,299. WIRED says some Macs now cost up to 25 percent more while still carrying months-long waits.
Apple has described the increases as unavoidable and blamed rising component costs, including memory and storage, according to WIRED. The Financial Times has reported that Apple has looked for alternative memory suppliers, including previously blacklisted Chinese companies. WIRED also cites industry forecasts saying memory prices may not ease before 2030, while SK Hynix has said 2027 could be the worst year for the shortage.
This story draws on original reporting from WIRED.
