Your new Mac might take five months to arrive. Here’s why
High-end setups are hit as AI demand puts pressure on the global memory supply
If you were planning to spec up a new Mac Mini or Mac Studio to go alongside your shiny new iPhone, you might want to sit down for this.
Apple’s online store is currently showing shipping delays of up to five months for certain configurations – particularly those with higher amounts of RAM.
If you have your sights set on, say, a Mac Mini with an M4 Pro chip and 64GB of memory, the current estimated wait is around 16–18 weeks before it even ships, MacRumors reports. Even the base model with 16GB of RAM isn’t immune, with roughly a one-month delay attached.
Things are similarly stretched at the top end. A Mac Studio with an M3 Ultra chip and 256GB of RAM is showing four to five months of wait times, with in-store pickup unavailable until September. Apple has also removed the Mac Studio’s 512GB RAM option altogether, highlighting the pressure on memory supplies.
The reason for all this is a global memory chip shortage, driven largely by the ongoing AI boom. Companies building AI servers require huge amounts of RAM, putting pressure on supply chains and reducing availability for consumer hardware.
PC gamers will already be familiar with the pain, with RAM and other components’ prices skyrocketing compared to just a few years ago for the same parts.
While prices might be stabilising a bit, they’re still sitting well above historical norms, which means that shipping estimates for higher-end Mac Mini and Mac Studio models might not improve significantly in the near term.
As for now, if you need a new Mac any time soon, sticking to lower RAM configurations – or being prepared to wait – might be your most realistic options. Thanks, AI.
Esat Dedezade
Contributor 
