Mac mini and Mac Studio sold out: Apple is running out of some Macs
Storage crisis, AI maxxing, or upcoming upgrades: Observers are puzzled as to why Apple can no longer deliver some Macs.
(Image: heise medien)
Apple's desktop Macs are facing increasingly tight supply situations, with the new MacBook Neo also experiencing multi-week waiting times. The Mac mini and Mac Studio are now completely unavailable for immediate delivery from the manufacturer. Apple's own forecast indicates that some models will not be shipped again until mid-June. For larger storage configurations, the company is even foregoing an estimated delivery time and simply listing them as “unavailable”.
Apple has not yet commented on the bottlenecks, but the entry-level configurations of the Mac mini (starting from 629 €) and Mac Studio (starting from 2068,05 €) are still available in retail, including in Germany – albeit at rising prices.
MacBook Neo meets demand
With the MacBook Neo, Apple seems to be struggling with the high demand for the comparatively inexpensive entry-level model, which has only recently been launched. It is expected to be available again in a few weeks – from early to mid-May – and ready for pickup in Apple stores. This applies to both the base configuration with a 256 GB SSD and the 512 GB model in all color variants.
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Observers disagree on the reasons for the massive delivery problems with the Mac mini and Mac Studio. It is clear that both product lines are due for an upgrade with M5 chips: the current configuration of the Mac mini M4/M4 Pro has been available since autumn 2024, and the Mac Studio M4 Max plus M3 Ultra for just over a year. According to information from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple internally now expects to launch a new Mac Studio only in October, not by mid-year. The expected MacBook Pro redesign with touchscreen is also likely to be delayed “a little later” due to supply chain issues.
Storage crisis and AI agents
Analysts suspect that the major storage crisis is now affecting Apple as well and that the manufacturer is preferring to use available capacity for its popular laptop lines. Furthermore, there is speculation that AI enthusiasts are buying up remaining stocks of the Mac mini M4 in large quantities to use it as an assistant in the OpenClaw style.
Unlike other manufacturers, Apple has not yet increased its prices for storage, although Apple's upgrade prices for SSDs and RAM have long been notoriously far above market prices. Retrofitting is no longer an option with Apple devices, not even with desktop Macs. Only for SSD upgrades are there individual DIY solutions.
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