Goodbye to the Cheapest Mac: Apple Raises the Starting Price of the Mac Mini to $799

Source Domain: iphoneislam.com

It seems the era of the “cheap Mac” is gradually fading from the shelves of the official Apple Store. In a surprising move for fans of small desktop computers, Apple has removed the base Mac Mini model that was sold for $599 and came with 256GB of storage. Now, if you are thinking about entering the world of macOS through the Mac Mini, you must be prepared to pay at least $799, a price that gives you 512GB of storage but raises the bar of expectations (and costs) for new users.

A Sudden Disappearance and a Shift in Options

This change didn’t just happen overnight; its signs began to appear when the 256GB model stock ran out at the store last weekend, before the option disappeared entirely from the device configurator. The matter was not limited to the general store, but extended to include stores dedicated to education and the military, which means there is currently no way to order this version at its old attractive price.

As of now, the only option to get a Mac Mini at a lower price is to search in the Refurbished section of the Apple Store, although the availability of these devices there is not always guaranteed and is subject to inventory fluctuations. As for the current version available for $799, it is also suffering from demand pressure, as its shipping is currently being delayed until next June, while higher versions (especially those with 32GB of memory) appear as “currently unavailable” devices.

Why This Increase? Tim Cook Answers

We cannot blame Apple alone without looking at the big picture. During the Q2 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook warned investors that supply shortages for the Mac Mini and Mac Studio could last for several months. Cook attributed this deficit to “unexpectedly strong demand,” noting that these devices have become very popular platforms for running local artificial intelligence tools and agentic tools.