Apple removes further RAM configurations for Mac mini and Mac Studio
Apple has removed some previously available RAM expansion options for its two compact desktop Macs. There were already restrictions before.
Mac Studio: If you want more RAM, you have less choice.
(Image: Apple)
Anyone interested in a Mac mini or a Mac Studio now has (even) less choice than before: Apple has restricted the RAM configuration options once again. After the top configuration for the Mac Studio (512 GByte RAM) was already removed from the market in March, and wanting a RAM doubling of the standard version of the Mac mini M4 and M4 Pro in April (plus 128 GByte on the Mac Studio M4 Max), one was left empty-handed. At the time, it still looked like a temporary problem, but Apple is now making the supply restriction standard.
Local AI needs a lot of RAM
In practice, this means that for the Mac mini, the standard model with the M4 chip can only be purchased with 16 and 24 GByte. In addition, the 256 GByte SSD is no longer available, which led to the deletion of the cheapest model at the beginning of May. Those who want to purchase the Mac mini M4 Pro with a faster processor can now only get 48 GByte RAM. 64 GByte is completely gone.
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On the Mac Studio M3 Ultra, there is no longer 256 GByte of RAM, with 96 GByte being the limit. This is likely to massively disrupt local AI enthusiasts in particular. In addition, both Mac Studio M3 Ultra and Mac Studio M4 Max can only be ordered with a delay of up to ten weeks (at least from Apple).
Tim Cook had already announced it
The change comes after Apple CEO Tim Cook had already informed analysts that Mac Studio and Mac Mini have a RAM problem. Apple seems to have run headlong into the current component inflation or is unable to get its contract partners to deliver sufficient quantities.
However, there is something else: Both Mac Studio and Mac Mini are facing an update. The popular, because compact and fast, Mac mini M4 (Pro) already dates from November 2024; Apple last updated the Mac Studio in March 2025. Apple is likely to equip both models with M5 chips shortly. Whether this will also lead to restricted RAM configurations remains to be seen. Apple makes no official statements about models not yet announced. However, Cook had said that Studio and Mini might need “several months” for supply and demand to return to balance.
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