I just wanted to give everyone a heads up, if you want a Mac Mini you can’t be in a hurry. Expect a 90 day wait.
I decided to replace my 2020 Intel MacBook Air with a Mini Pro since I use my iPhone for all my mobile computing. After waiting fruitlessly over 30 days for a Mini to appear on Apple’s refurbished section, I decided to purchase a new Mini Pro. None were available on Amazon or B&H, so I ordered from Apple.
Apple accepted my order on April 24th and the delivery is dated is July 27th?!!?
I don’t know if I will get one or if Apple will raise the prices due the crazy RAM price increases.
I thought the backlog was due to Apple updating the Mini, but it turns out Mini’s are great for running AI.
Per Bloomberg News:
“The Mac mini has become a popular choice for running AI agents due to its ability to comfortably run an AI agent around the clock at a low electricity cost, and its sales have taken off along with interest in AI agents.”
Here’s a gift link to the article good for 7 days from today 05/29/26.
I’ll just reply that, first, I am happy that I bought my Mini in early March - I was able to pick it up from my local Apple Store two days after ordering - and, second, many people on Reddit are reporting that promised delivery dates in the mid-summer are suddenly being fulfilled much earlier. In my experience, Apple often beats their first estimated delivery dates for back-ordered products.
I am also surprised, I guess, that Apple has not yet moved the Mini to the M5. Maybe it’s simply to protect the supply of their far-more popular MacBook Air and MacBook Pro products?
While having more demand for your products than you can fulfill is a good problem to have, it’s still a problem. Ideally, every person who wants to buy an Apple product would have their credit cards immediately charged and their product shipped. Unfortunately, we live in a world that suddenly has some dramatic tech supply constraints, and it bit Apple in the second quarter.
Oh, it’s the memory thing again, you might be thinking. But no! Apple’s current supply constraints are actually at Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), which can’t make Apple’s key SoCs (Systems on Chips) fast enough to fulfill Apple’s demand. Apple uses TSMC’s most advanced nodes, and according to Cook, “we’re not at the point where we’re saying this is going to end anytime soon.” There’s no button to push to make the conveyor belt at TSMC run faster.
Who does Cook blame? Himself, more or less. “We just under-called the demand,” he said. This constraint is hitting the iPhone as well as the Mac, and especially the Mac mini and Mac Studio, due to increased demands due to Apple silicon being a pretty great platform for agentic AI applications.
From Doug Miller’s reply above: “Oh, it’s the memory thing again, you might be thinking. But no! Apple’s current supply constraints are actually at Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), which can’t make Apple’s key SoCs (Systems on Chips) fast enough to fulfill Apple’s demand. Apple uses TSMC’s most advanced nodes, and according to Cook, “we’re not at the point where we’re saying this is going to end anytime soon.” There’s no button to push to make the conveyor belt at TSMC run faster.”
It’s time for Apple – with their enormous cash resources – to consider building their own chip-making facility… perhaps right here in the USA.
Of course, from planning to opening will take some time.
But it will leave them in good shape for the future…
For a detailed study of delayed Mac Mini, Mac Studio and MacBook Neo availability over the last couple of months, take a look at this article from Ars Technica earlier this month: