Thanks, AI: global RAM shortage means my favorite Mac ever is getting harder to find

It looks like the global RAM shortage has claimed more victims, as it’s becoming increasingly difficult to buy new Mac desktop PCs.

As Mac Observer noticed, if you try to order a Mac mini or Mac Studio from Apple’s online store you could end up waiting several months for your new device — especially if you add extra memory.

I’ve tried this myself to confirm, and the situation does indeed appear bleak. Attempting to buy a standard M4 Mac mini from Apple's US store, the website informs me that shipping will be four to five weeks — that's a big delay for people expecting the usual next-day delivery.

Upping the memory from the default 16GB to 24GB extends the delivery estimate to 10 to 12 weeks, and increasing the memory again to 32GB pushes it back to 16 to 18 weeks, which means some people could potentially be waiting over four months for their new Mac.

It’s a similar story in the UK and Australia, with waits of up to 18 weeks for the Mac mini with 32GB of memory.

This is a real shame, as the current Mac mini is one of my favorite products of all time — if you’re looking for a compact PC, there really is no better alternative. However, it’s difficult to recommend to people if they can’t get hold of one.

Is this why we’ve not had an M5 Mac mini yet?

The fact that changing the amount of memory on the Mac mini makes the delivery delays worse certainly suggests that Apple isn’t as immune to the global RAM shortage as some had thought.

Because Apple uses what it terms ‘unified memory’, which is soldered directly onto its M-series chips and shared between computing and graphics tasks, rather than that off-the-shelf RAM that other laptop makers use, it had initially looked like Apple might escape the worst impacts of the memory shortages, but it seems not.

This could also explain the absence of an M5 Mac mini (and Mac Studio), despite Apple releasing M5 versions of its MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops. If the company is struggling to get enough memory for its existing portfolio of products, I can understand why it would be reluctant to launch any more.

On the other hand, could Apple be holding some of its memory stock in anticipation of the M5 versions? Apple is typically tight-lipped about these things, so we can only guess.

What I do know, however, is that if you want a Mac mini that will be delivered in a relatively reasonable time, you’re going to have to either buy one from another retailer, or stick with the base 16GB model if you buy from Apple.

It’s important to remember, however, that because of the compact design of the Mac mini, as well as Apple’s frustrating antipathy to designing products that can be upgraded and fixed by its customers, if you do buy a Mac mini (or Studio) with a reduced amount of memory, you won’t be able to add more later.

The best MacBooks and Macs for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best MacBooks and Macs
1. Best MacBook overall:
MacBook Air 13-inch M5
2. Best budget MacBook:
MacBook Neo
3. Best Mac:
Mac mini (M4)
4. Best MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro 14-inch M5
5. Best Mac for professionals
Mac Studio M4 Max

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