Apple Increases Mac Mini Base Price
▼ Summary
– Apple removed the $599 Mac Mini with 256GB storage from its online store, raising the starting price to $799.
– The discontinuation follows Tim Cook’s earnings call statement that a chip shortage will affect Mac products in the coming months.
– Cook said the Mac Mini and Mac Studio may take months to reach supply-demand balance due to higher-than-expected demand.
– Many customers are buying the Mac Mini for use with AI agents like OpenClaw.
– Apple expects significantly higher memory costs due to a global memory shortage, which could increasingly impact its business.
Apple has quietly raised the starting price of the Mac Mini to $799, removing the previous $599 base model with 256GB of storage from its online store. The shift, first flagged by MacRumors, arrives just one day after Apple CEO Tim Cook warned during an earnings call that a chip shortage will create supply constraints for several Mac models in the months ahead.
During the call, Cook noted that the Mac Mini and Mac Studio are among the devices facing the most significant pressure. “If you look forward to June, the majority of our supply constraints will be on several Mac models,” he said. “We think looking forward that the Mac Mini and the Mac Studio may take several months to reach supply-demand balance.” Cook attributed the tight supply to higher-than-expected demand, fueled in part by customers purchasing the Mac Mini for use with AI agents like OpenClaw.
Compounding the issue, Cook highlighted a global memory shortage that is driving up costs. “We expect significantly higher memory costs going forward,” he said, adding that this could have an “increasing impact” on Apple’s business. The price hike on the entry-level Mac Mini appears to be an early consequence of these pressures, as the company adjusts to a landscape of constrained supply and rising component expenses.
(Source: The Verge)
