Apple is taking a hit.

High-end Mac Mini and Mac Studio models are sold out at the Apple Store. Photo: CNET .

Many high-RAM configurations of the Mac Mini and Mac Studio are showing "out of stock" on the US Apple Store, meaning they are currently unavailable for purchase. Affected configurations include the Mac Mini with 32GB and 64GB of RAM, and the Mac Studio with 128GB of RAM. Even those configurations that are still available have delivery times ranging from a few weeks to five months.

Previously, many believed that Apple could avoid the memory chip crisis by using RAM soldered directly onto Apple Silicon chips instead of standard discrete RAM like other manufacturers. However, reality is proving otherwise.

"The demand for Mac Minis with higher RAM is causing longer delivery times. This clearly shows that Apple is not out of the woods as many people thought," TechRadar commented.

The root cause is the AI boom and the construction of global data centers. Companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft need large quantities of HBM, a type of high-bandwidth memory specifically designed for AI. As Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron shifted most of their capacity to HBM production, the supply of conventional consumer DRAM was drastically reduced.

The CEO of Western Digital stated that the company has sold out its inventory until early 2027. Building additional factories typically takes 12-18 months, meaning supply is unlikely to recover anytime soon.

There are two possible explanations for Apple's sudden withdrawal of high-end configurations from stores. Firstly, the company may genuinely be experiencing a RAM shortage. Secondly, the company is preparing to launch the Mac Mini and Mac Studio, both using the M5 chip.

"Apple typically withdraws products when preparing to launch a new generation, but this move usually happens closer to the launch date than two months beforehand. It's possible that the surge in demand for high-end configurations caused inventory to dry up faster than expected, forcing Apple to accelerate the withdrawal of these configurations before the Mac M5 generation launched," CNET analyst Matt Elliott commented.

The impact of the RAM crisis extends beyond just shortages. Memory upgrades on Macs are extremely expensive. Upgrading from 16GB to 32GB costs an additional $400 , even though a standard 16GB DDR5 RAM module costs around $230 on the market. Experts predict the RAM crisis will peak in 2026-2027, meaning iPhone manufacturers will likely have to increase prices for higher memory configurations in their next product generation.

Source: https://znews.vn/apple-het-mien-nhiem-with-khung-hoang-ram-post1643714.html