It's Becoming Almost Impossible To Get A Mac Studio Or Mac Mini In 2026

Amid the severe global RAM shortage, Apple recently halted sales of the 512GB RAM configuration of the Mac Studio. While the company didn't explain its decision to discontinue its higher-end customization for the Mac Studio with the M3 Ultra processor, two possible explanations seemed likely: It's been harder to get RAM and/or a new model is on its way. Now, MacRumors reports that getting a Mac Studio or Mac mini in the near-term is almost impossible, with upgraded RAM versions of these products projected to take up to 4-5 months to be delivered.

While it's possible to get your hands on the base-model Mac Studio with 36GB of RAM and M4 Max chip in a somewhat reasonable time frame, it and the $599 base model Mac mini with M4 chip and 16GB of RAM are both estimated to take nearly a month to be delivered. That said, it seems Apple might be storing all the RAM it has for new products, as rumors so far indicate the company could be planning to update the Mac mini and the Mac Studio around WWDC 2026.

On top of that, with the company also recently discontinuing the Mac Pro, it needs to offer a new, "ultimate" upgrade to the Mac Studio to position it as the go-to option for high-end professionals. They were already choosing the Mac Studio, but now know that they don't have any remaining comparable alternatives within the Mac ecosystem.

Over the past month, Apple has raised prices for new memory configurations as it released new products. While there are new iterations of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with the M5 chip available, Apple is also expected to launch the new M5 and M5 Pro Mac mini and M5 Max and M5 Ultra Mac Studio soon. However, it's unclear what the company's approach will be for fully spec-up machines, as memory prices are still too high across the industry.

Besides that, Apple "suffers" from the Mac mini popularity as a perfect machine for OpenClaw, an open-source digital worker that can do stuff for you on your computer, rather than just working as a chatbot. It's become popular among tech professionals, as the Mac mini is a somewhat cheap but very reliable machine. With Thunderbolt 5 support, this also means users can cluster several Mac mini computers together to create their own AI servers.

With Apple computers being more popular than ever and the entire industry suffering from RAM shortage, it makes sense if the company is trying to save RAM for its upcoming products, as it might have to charge a premium price due to the current memory situation. However, besides new processors and improved internals, the company isn't expected to change the design of said products.

Tech columnist Tim Culpan recently reported that Apple's new MacBook Neo is bringing a "massive dilemma" for the company. After all, it released this computer with binned A18 Pro chips, which were leftovers of the iPhone 16 Pro chips. While this strategy was made for the company to save money, as it could use faulty A18 Pro processors that wouldn't have a purpose for any other product in its lineup, it kind of backfired. The MacBook Neo has proven so popular that Apple might have to start producing these chips again.

If that turns out to happen, the company would have to resume production of these processors before it could release a new generation, which could greatly diminish its profit margin. The columnist suggests Apple could temporarily mark the MacBook Neo as sold out, increase its price, or remove the base model and only sell the $799 option. However, as the company is heavily marketing the affordability of the $599 MacBook Neo, it seems the most likely scenario is that Apple might have to cut into its profit margins to continue delivering these laptops.

Even though Apple is navigating this chip crisis fairly well, the company is also "suffering" from its own success, as the Mac mini and MacBook Neo continue to sell so many units that the company is struggling to meet consumer demand.