- Several Mac models have now been pulled by Apple
- Mac minis and Mac Studios are now available in fewer configurations
- The AI and the associated lack of memory are to blame
With demand for AI data centers sucking up the world’s supply of RAM, consumers are feeling the effects: After removing some configurations of the Mac Studio and Mac mini from its store last month, Apple has now further reduced the options available.
As MacRumors has seen, you can no longer buy Mac mini models with 32GB or 64GB of RAM, while the M3 Ultra Mac Studio with 256GB of RAM has also been discontinued – so right now that computer is only available with 96GB of RAM.
Meanwhile, both the M3 Mac Studio and M4 Max Mac Studio show delivery estimates of 9-10 weeks. Even if the configuration you want can be purchased through the store, you may be waiting a long time for it.
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As for Mac minis, you’re left with a 48GB RAM option for the M4 Pro model and 16GB or 24GB for the standard M4 version. The 256GB SSD storage option has also been removed in recent weeks, raising the starting price.
‘Supply demand balance’
Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook says that “Mac mini and Mac Studio could take several months to reach supply-demand balance” — and Cook specifically cited AI and agentic tools as reasons why these computers are in such demand.
These Macs are being pressured in two ways: not only are they ideal for running AI models and software, which increases their popularity, but the same demand for AI processing power also significantly reduces the stock of memory to go inside these computers.
And there are no signs that the situation will improve in the short term. The biggest players in the industry have warned that it will take a while for supply to catch up, which is not encouraging for availability and pricing going forward.
The reaction online has understandably been negative: “I’ve come to despise AI,” admits one Redditor, while other commenters want to see more done to limit the number of machines that can be purchased at once (mostly for large, complex AI projects).
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