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

Date:
Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:56:24 +0000

Description:
It looks like Mac mini and Mac Studio PCs have been hit by the
'RAMpocolypse', with delays of up to four months.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
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your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter It looks like the global RAM shortage has claimed more victims, as its 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. Ive 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. Article continues below You may like 'Something big is happening': Apple may be heading for a Mac mini shortage Forget the RAM
crisis these Mac mini M4 deals could be the bargain of the year The MacBook Pro M4 Max is facing delays, but not for the reason you might think 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.

Its 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 youre looking for a compact PC, there really is no better alternative. However, its difficult to recommend to people if they cant get hold of one. Today's best Apple Mac mini (M4 2024) deals 599 549 View 549
View Low Stock 569 View Show more We check over 250 million products every
day for the best prices Is this why weve 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 isnt as immune to the global RAM shortage as some had thought. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from
us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

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 to read next Amazon 'flash deal' for DDR5 RAM costs 2.5x what it did just 4 months ago I was so sick of Windows 11, I panic-bought an M4 Mac mini ahead of the RAM crisis and I'm totally
converted Tim Cook hails MacBook Neo launch as best ever for Macs despite shipping delays

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

Its important to remember, however, that because of the compact design of the Mac mini, as well as Apples 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 wont be able to add more later. The best MacBooks and Macs for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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 Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/macs/thanks-ai-global-ram-shortage-means-m y-favorite-mac-ever-is-getting-harder-to-find


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