- Apple's $599 M4 Mac Mini has sold out, with delays on models with higher memory configurations.
- AI tools, like OpenClaw, have driven up demand for the device.
- Growing demand for memory chips has also affected the broader consumer electronics market.
Apple appears to be running out of Mac Minis.
The $599 base model has sold out on the Apple website in the US. As of Thursday afternoon, any memory configuration of the M4 chip Mac Mini with the standard 256 gigabytes of storage was unavailable when Business Insider checked. Other models weren't faring much better, with options for more storage quoting wait times of over one month.
Of course, custom and higher-capacity configurations often take longer to ship.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Availability was hit-or-miss with third-party retailers. On Amazon, Business Insider found M4 Pro Mac Minis starting with 512 gigabytes of storage for $1,369, with a wait of less than a month. On Best Buy's website, all Mac Mini models appeared to be unavailable or sold out. On eBay, some pre-owned models were listed for $200 above retail price.
The dwindling supply comes as artificial intelligence companies demand more memory chips, which is also affecting the consumer electronics market. It's driving up costs in some cases and limiting availability in others. Outgoing CEO Tim Cook fielded questions from analysts about increasing memory prices during a January earnings call.
The Mac Mini could also be suffering from its own success. Tech enthusiasts have been all about OpenClaw, a rapidly evolving, open-source AI tool that can run locally on a computer, fueling demand for higher-memory devices. Some people have been snapping up Apple's 5-by-5-inch computer to run OpenClaw.
Google Trends data shows searches for Mac mini have increased in the last year, with a recent peak during April.
When Business Insider previously checked in February, Apple estimated weekslong wait times on its website for options with 24 gigabytes and 32 gigabytes of memory.
There could be other reasons for the shrinking inventory. Apple may be gearing up to launch an updated Mac Mini this year, as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in February. The last iteration, the M4, came out in 2024.
With hardware engineering exec John Ternus set to take the helm as CEO in September, Apple's product road map is unclear, but coming into focus, Bloomberg reported Cook told staff on Tuesday.
