Apple quietly drops cheapest Mac mini variant, trims entry-level options
What's the story
Apple has silently removed the cheapest variant of its Mac mini desktop, a move that leaves buyers with fewer affordable options. The $599 model with 256GB storage has been pulled from Apple's online store in the US and India. The company had previously shown long shipping delays for this entry-level model before changing its status to "currently available." Now, it has disappeared from Apple's website altogether.
Price increase
Mac mini lineup now starts at $799
With the removal of the 256GB model, Apple's Mac mini lineup now starts at $799 in the US and ₹79,900 in India. This new entry-level model comes with an M4 chip, 16GB RAM, and 512GB storage. Although Apple hasn't raised the price of this mid-range model itself, it has effectively increased the minimum amount a buyer has to spend on a new Mac mini by $200 in America and ₹20,000 in India.
Widespread shortages
Other models facing long wait times
The supply issues aren't just limited to the most affordable model. The 512GB Mac mini is backordered until June in America, while several high-end variants are either on long wait times or marked as "currently unavailable." This is also true for India, where higher-end models are facing similar delivery delays. Configurations with 32GB memory are particularly hard to come by, and even Amazon listings are reportedly facing stock shortages across many Mac mini versions.
CEO comments
Increased demand for Macs due to AI workloads
Apple's CEO Tim Cook recently spoke about these supply and demand issues during the company's quarterly earnings call. He said that the Mac mini and Mac Studio are witnessing stronger-than-expected demand, especially from users interested in AI workloads. "On the Mac mini and the Mac Studio, both of these are amazing platforms for AI and agentic tools, and the customer recognition of that is happening faster than what we had predicted," Cook said.
Chip manufacturing
Cook warns of prolonged shortages
Cook also highlighted pressure around "advanced nodes," referring to the cutting-edge chip manufacturing processes used for Apple silicon. This indicates that Apple may be facing both strong demand and supply-side limitations at the same time. He added it could take "several months" before supply and demand come back into balance, which means shortages could persist over the next few months.