Mac mini starting price rises to $799 as Apple stops offering 256GB option
Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Apple has quietly discontinued the 256GB Mac mini M4 model, increasing the entry-level price from $599 to $799 for the 512GB version.
- Macworld reports that this change appears on Apple’s website without an official announcement, potentially reflecting a strategy to manage rising memory costs.
- The move forces customers to adopt higher storage tiers, with only the MacBook Neo and iMac still offering 256GB options in Apple’s lineup.
If you’re looking for the cheapest desktop Mac, you’ll need to spend a little more than you did last week. On Apple.com you can no longer buy the M4 Mac mini with 256 GB of storage. No, it’s not simply out of stock nor are there extended delivery times (as has been the case for some time). It’s just gone. This is no longer an option on the Apple Store.
This is what the storage section of the configuration page now looks like:
Apple
Although Apple hasn’t increased the cost of the 512GB model (or other options and variants), it still makes the Mac mini more expensive. Previously, you could get one for $599, and now you have to pay $799, even though you get double the storage. The MacBook Neo and iMac are now the only Macs that still have a 256GB option.
During Apple’s earnings conference call yesterday, Tim Cook said he was exploring “a range of options” to address the massive increase in memory costs. It’s a tactic: Apple charges an incredible price for RAM and storage upgrades, asking customers to pay several times more than the going rate for these components. By effectively forcing consumers to buy an “upgraded” model, it can absorb the increased price of memory chips while still maintaining a high profit margin.
It’s unclear if that’s exactly what’s happening here, or if Apple will use the same tactic on other products to increase the average selling price and profit margin of certain products, without actually doing so. technically increase prices. Apple made this change to the Mac mini configurations without comment or announcement, so we can only guess as to the reason for this change.
