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More and more indicates that the situation regarding the availability of Apple computers is becoming really unusual. The most powerful configurations of the Mac mini and Mac Studio are disappearing from sale in various regions, and where they are still available, the wait time reaches even several months. The problem mainly concerns the top versions with a large amount of RAM and the most powerful chips, which immediately triggered a wave of speculation. Is this the result of huge demand, production issues, or perhaps a sign of an upcoming hardware refresh?
The strongest models disappear the fastest
The most affected configurations are those such as Mac mini with M4 chip and 32 GB RAM and Mac Studio with M3 Ultra and even 256 GB of memory. It is these variants that have completely disappeared from sale in many countries, including the USA, the UK, and Australia. In practice, this means that users do not have the option to order them even with a long waiting time. Interestingly, this situation does not resemble a typical temporary lack of availability. In the past, similar cases often ended with the withdrawal of a given model from the offer, as recently happened with the Mac Pro. This suggests that Apple may be slowly phasing out the current configurations, preparing the ground for something new.
AI, memory and the upcoming M5
One of the main suspects is the growing demand for memory and components related to artificial intelligence. AI servers and data centres consume vast amounts of resources, which may impact the availability of components for consumer computers as well. In Apple's case, the situation is complicated by the fact that the company uses unified memory, which cannot be later expanded; everything must be available at the production stage. On the other hand, there are increasing indications that a new generation of hardware with M5 chips is just around the corner. Apple may therefore be deliberately limiting the availability of current models to make way for new devices. Furthermore, according to users and industry observers, current models are experiencing enormous interest partly because they are excellent for running local AI models. This combination of high demand and potential refresh may explain the current situation.
Regardless of the reason, one thing is certain something big is happening in the Mac offer. Stock shortages may be a signal of upcoming changes, and for buyers, this is the last moment to grab the current models… if they are still available somewhere.
source: techradar
