Apple’s M4 Mac mini, from $599, is becoming impossible to find
▼ Summary
– Apple’s Mac mini and Mac Studio desktops are becoming harder to buy, with many models showing delayed ship times or “currently unavailable” status on Apple’s website.
– The baseline $599 M4 Mac mini with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage is now listed as “currently unavailable” for the first time.
– Available M4 and M4 Pro Mac mini models require 5 to 12 weeks for delivery, depending on the configuration.
– Specific configurations, including all M4 Mac minis with 256GB storage or 32GB RAM, and M4 Pro models with 64GB RAM, are listed as unavailable.
– The supply issues are specific to Mac mini and Mac Studio, as M4 iMacs and new MacBook Pros remain readily available with short delivery times.
It is an excellent moment to shop for a MacBook, given the low entry price of the MacBook Neo, the raw horsepower of the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros, and the versatile appeal of the M5 MacBook Air. However, Apple’s desktop lineup tells a different story, and the challenges go beyond the fact that these machines are overdue for their own M5 upgrades.
Over the past several months, both the Mac mini and the Mac Studio have become increasingly difficult to purchase. Apple removed the 512GB M3 Ultra Mac Studio from its online store entirely, and delivery estimates for remaining configurations of both desktops have stretched from a few days to several weeks, and in some cases months. Within the last two weeks, many models of the Mac mini and Mac Studio have been marked as “currently unavailable” on Apple’s website, an unusual status that typically does not appear even when a hardware refresh is imminent.
This week, as noted by MacRumors, the entry-level $599 M4 Mac mini, equipped with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, received the “currently unavailable” label for the first time.
Most Mac mini configurations can still be ordered, but patience is required. An M4 Mac mini with 512GB or more of storage and either 16GB or 24GB of RAM will take between 5 and 12 weeks to ship, depending on the exact specs chosen. M4 Pro Mac mini models, regardless of storage size and with either 24GB or 48GB of RAM, face similar delays, with most showing availability within 10 to 12 weeks.
Several specific models are now listed as “currently unavailable”: all M4 Mac minis with 256GB of storage, all M4 minis with 32GB of RAM, and all M4 Pro Mac minis with 64GB of RAM. The same goes for Mac Studio configurations featuring 128GB or 256GB of RAM. Other Studio models still show the same five- to 12-week wait times seen on the Mac mini.
This shortage does not appear tied to the M4 chip generation itself. Most M4 iMac configurations, including those with 32GB of RAM, ship within one to two weeks of ordering. It is also not solely a result of ongoing RAM or storage shortages, as new MacBook Pros with 128GB of RAM and large SSDs still arrive within two to three weeks.
(Source: Ars Technica)
