Apple Stops Selling Mac Mini With 256GB of Storage, Starting Price Rises to $799

[MacRumors]

Apple this week stopped offering a 256GB storage option for the Mac mini worldwide. As a result, the desktop computer now has a higher starting price.

In the U.S., for example, the Mac mini now starts at $799 with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, whereas it previously started at $599 with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.

While the 512GB configuration always started at $799, customers who want a new Mac mini from Apple for $599 no longer have such an option.

Mac mini models with the M4 Pro chip already had a minimum of 512GB of storage, so there are no pricing changes for those configurations.

The base Mac mini with 256GB of storage had already been unavailable to order since last week, but it has now been removed from Apple's configurator entirely. We have reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

On an earnings call this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that Mac mini and Mac Studio supply is constrained, and he said it may take "several months" for Apple to achieve supply-demand balance. He said both of these Macs are "amazing platforms for AI and agentic tools," resulting in higher-than-expected demand.

In March, Apple stopped offering the Mac Studio with 512GB of RAM.

These changes to Mac mini and Mac Studio configurations are occurring amid a global memory chip shortage, driven by companies building out AI server facilities. Cook said Apple is expecting "significantly higher memory costs" in the current quarter, and tight availability of RAM is likely forcing Apple to make tough business decisions.

Thanks, Spencer!

Article Link: Apple Stops Selling Mac Mini With 256GB of Storage, Starting Price Rises to $799

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

wow, 200 difference. unlike iphone 17 or macbook that "only" got a 100 increase

 

[FatLouie]

Ouch!!
.
iMac is next?

 

[MacUserFella]

In theory, my 256GB Mac mini should be more valuable now, right…?

 

[ThomasJL]

Just another day of Tim Crook being Tim Crook.

When the Mac mini was first released in 2004 under Steve Jobs, the starting price was $499, and the logic being that it was supposed to be an affordable computer. Now, thanks to Tim Cook’s insatiable corporate greed, the starting price is $799.

The Tim Cook supporters will wrongly blame “inflation,” ignoring the fact that computer parts tend to drop in price faster than inflation rises.

 

[poematik13]

Bruhhh lmao

You know its bad when even Tim Cook’s Apple, the supply chain champion of the world, is cutting SKU’s and jacking up prices.

this is worse than the 2020 chip shortage

 

[Macalicious2011]

In theory, my 256GB Mac mini should be more valuable now, right…?

Why?

 

[vegetassj4]

Prices increase w/ less ram = Tim Apple getting it in before he hands over his driver's keys to a hardware guy.

 

[germanbeer007]

AI isn't really a bubble currently when people are buying hardware and still using it for useful tasks.

 

[Agent007]

Make way for the Mac Neo desktop at $699 starting price in 4 adorable colors😆

 

[MacUserFella]

Why?

Nevermind

 

[IceManNCSU]

Glad I bought the 2TB upgrade for my $499 M4 mini when it was $259 from https://expandmacmini.com still working great one year later and no Apple tax!

 

[Slix]

Sigh. We were so close to a $499 starting price for the Mac Mini leading up to this year. Maybe someday.

 

[HouseLannister]

The Tim Cook supporters will fallaciously say “inflation,” totally ignoring the fact that computer parts drop in price at a greater rate than inflation.

Have you been to 2026 yet? Computer prices go up now. Game consoles are more expensive now than when they launched 5 years ago. People are going back to DDR4 RAM because they can't get DDR5 anymore. Video cards are back to crypto scalper highs. Everything is more expensive and it has nothing to do with inflation.

 

[code-m]

Just another day of Tim Crook being Tim Crook.

Remember that when the Mac mini was first released in 2004, it sold for $499, and the logic being that it was supposed to be an affordable computer.

The Tim Cook supporters will fallaciously say “inflation,” totally ignoring the fact that computer parts drop in price at a greater rate than inflation.

Yet you ignore AI hardware vacuum and the Iran conflict which have added to inflation. The tariffs didn’t help either.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Prices increase w/ less ram = Tim Apple getting it in before he hands over his driver's keys to a hardware guy.

View attachment 2626482

Might as well replace the face with Ternus as there’s no way a hardware guy would have made a different choice. 🙂

 

[hieranonymous]

The fact that the entire supply chain has reoriented itself to prioritize server farms over consumers is some seriously dystopian late-stage capitalism ish. They’ve created a perfect circle-jerk where their biggest customers are hallucinating AIs rather than living breathing people.

 

[Populus]

At least they just removed the 256GB option. Those of us that are interested in a 512 or 1TB model shouldn’t worry because we were going to spend that money anyway…

Now Tim make that magic move and release soon the M5 Mac mini, starting at 512GB and $100 cheaper, like you did with the MacBook Air!

 

[CWallace]

Prices increase w/ less ram = Tim Apple getting it in before he hands over his driver's keys to a hardware guy.

RAM capacity remains unchanged at 16GB. Storage has increased from 256GB to 512GB and wasn't 512GB of storage always a $200 upgrade on the Mac mini?

 

[code-m]

Bruhhh lmao

You know its bad when even Tim Cook’s Apple, the supply chain champion of the world, is cutting SKU’s and jacking up prices.

this is worse than the 2020 chip shortage

Tim has no control over areas of industry that have more buying leverage. He cannot force RAM and SSD makers let alone CPU manufacturers to do his bidding when they are getting ample attention from AI vendors.

 

[collin_]

I think this is a margin thing rather than a hard supply constraint. RAM and storage get more expensive = they prioritize MacBooks and configurations where you pay an extra $200 for an extra 256GB of storage (...), which are more profitable.

 

[maflynn]

This is but the first of many price increases, given the state of AI and component availability.

 

[code-m]

At least they just removed the 256GB option. Those of us that are interested in a 512 or 1TB model shouldn’t worry because we were going to spend that money anyway…

Now Tim make that magic move and release soon the M5 Mac mini, starting at 512GB and $100 cheaper, like you did with the MacBook Air!

I wonder how many SSD and RAM manufacturers are producing 256GB SSD blades and 8GB RAM modules.

The AI specs are making larger SSD and RAM cheaper that’s a bonus for the future consumers.

 

[code-m]

This is but the first of many price increases, given the state of AI and component availability.

While not a direct price increase, expect changes during the second half of 2026. Apple cannot escape it.

 

[abatabia]

(Hugs my base model M4 mini)

Apple gonna Apple I guess.