Order a Mac Studio or Mac mini that’s loaded up with RAM, and you’ll wait until August for the delivery. Yes, August.
A rumor going around blames the shortage on people snapping up high-end machines to run local AI models. But there’s another explanation.
Why Mac wait times stretch past summer
Wait times for Macs configured with lots of RAM are absurd. Order an M4 Mac mini today, configure it with 64GB of unified memory, and the wait time to have the device delivered from the online U.S. Apple store stretches out 16 to 18 weeks. That means cooling your heels until August.
That said, every configuration of Mac mini remains in short supply. The wait time for even the base model extends into May. (Fortunately, we expect a replacement with an M5 chip this spring.)
However, the current situation is even worse for the Mac Studio. Configure this high-end desktop with an M3 Ultra chip as well as 256 GB of RAM, and Apple says the wait will last four to five months.
There’s still plenty of stock of the base model Mac Studio available in Apple stores. Its replacement might be further away.
But running short of high-end desktop Macs doesn’t mean Apple is selling so many that it can’t keep up with demand. Instead, wait times for some Mac Studio and Mac mini configurations stretch out months because Apple already stopped producing the premium versions.
Blame the AI-fueled RAM crisis for long Mac wait times
Understanding why Apple would stop making chips for computers that it still sells begins with understanding that Apple processors use unified memory that’s mounted directly on the same package as the processor. Apple silicon doesn’t use traditional removable RAM sticks.
This design brings a tremendous boost in speed and efficiency. But it also means that when a customer orders a Mac, Apple can’t take a chip and add RAM to it. Apple chipmaker TSMC must preproduce a certain number of M3 Ultra chips with 256GB of RAM, for example. Apple can’t use those processors for anything else.
If all those chips aren’t sold, Apple has to eat the cost. And that’s during a time when 256GB of RAM costs the company between $1,000 to $2,000.
Why are prices so high? Blame the AI boom. AI data centers consume enormous amounts of high-bandwidth memory for training and running large models, with companies racing to secure suppliers. Demand exceeds supply, so prices go up. It’s Economics 101.
No more M3 Ultra chips with 64GB of RAM
The high cost of processors with RAM already installed reportedly caused Apple to take an unusual step.
Vadim Yuryev, who runs the Max Tech YouTube channel, explained the situation Monday in a post on X.
“Apple stopped production of these custom configuration (high RAM) M4 series and M3 Ultra chips early to make sure they sell out completely,” said Yuryev.
In other words, the months-long wait times for a premium Mac Studio configuration don’t mean Apple is selling them all to other people. It means there aren’t any more, and never will be.
“If you see a far-out 4-5 month shipping estimate by Apple for a custom Mac configuration with high RAM, it actually means that it’s completely SOLD OUT and Apple is cleverly trying to push you towards buying one of the remaining standard RAM configuration Mac models,” said Yuryev.
Where is the RAM going?
Don’t mistakenly think that the lack of M4 series and M3 Ultra processors means Apple faces a chip crisis. The company simply shifted its focus to the M5 series.
As noted, while a Mac mini with an M5 processor is not yet available, it’s expected soon. We should see one this spring, perhaps at WWDC26 in June. Surely one will hit the market before August, when that M4 Mac mini with 64GB of RAM you might order today is due to arrive.
Similarly, a version of the Mac Studio with an M5 Mac or M5 Ultra should arrive in the coming months.
“The RAM that Apple has secured during this RAM crisis has instead been for the past few months soldered onto the new M5, M5 Pro, M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips that will be going into the new Mac mini and Mac Studio,” said Yuryev.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
