Apple has quietly removed several high-memory configurations of the Mac mini and Mac Studio from its U.S. online store over the weekend.

Models featuring 32GB and 64GB RAM for the Mac mini, along with 128GB and 256GB variants for the Mac Studio, are now listed as "currently unavailable," with no delivery estimates in sight.

Some configurations had already been experiencing shipping delays of up to 18 weeks, but the sudden disappearance of these options has raised concerns about deeper supply issues.

Pricing Changes and Configuration Cuts Signal Supply Pressure

MacBook Pro

Before the shortage, Apple had already made subtle but telling adjustments. The company removed the 512GB RAM upgrade option for the Mac Studio entirely, reducing the maximum available memory to 256GB.

At the same time, Apple increased the price of its 256GB RAM upgrade by 25%, according to The Next Web. This suggests mounting pressure from rising component costs and constrained supply chains.

AI Boom Driving Global DRAM Shortage

The root of the issue appears tied to a global DRAM shortage driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Industry data shows PC DRAM prices more than doubled, and server DRAM prices surged by up to 95% quarter-over-quarter.

AI workloads require significantly more advanced memory, particularly high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which consumes more manufacturing resources than standard DRAM. This shift has redirected supply away from consumer devices.

Major AI firms, such as Anthropic and CoreWeave, are aggressively scaling their infrastructure, further tightening global memory availability.

Rising Demand From Local AI Workloads

Demand-side pressure is also increasing, partly due to tools like OpenClaw, which enable users to run AI models locally. Apple's unified memory architecture makes its desktops especially attractive for these workloads, allowing efficient handling of large language models.

As a result, high-RAM Mac configurations have become highly desirable among developers, researchers, and enterprise users.

M5 Refresh Could Be Behind the Scenes

Another possible factor is an upcoming hardware refresh. According to reports from Mark Gurman, Apple may be preparing updated Mac mini and Mac Studio models powered by next-generation M5 chips, potentially launching in 2026 around WWDC.

This could mean Apple is both managing limited supply and clearing inventory ahead of new releases.

Originally published on Tech Times