Some configurations of Mac mini and Mac Studio aren't available in Apple's online store. It's an indicator that a desktop Mac refresh is on the way.
So far, Apple's updates to bring its products up to the M5 chip generation has involved portable products, like the MacBook Pro. While the world waits for desktop Macs to get the same treatment, it seems that Apple is preparing for its own product launches.
Customers attempting to buy some models of Mac mini and Mac Studio from the online Apple Store in the United States are seeing some configurations marked as "Currently Unavailable." Spotted by 9to5Mac, some listings are showing extremely long lead times or are outright unavailable.
In AppleInsider's testing, the Mac mini was showing as unavailable when the M4 Pro chip is selected and 64GB of memory. Going to 48GB of memory showed a 10 to 12-week delivery time, regardless of M4 Pro variant.
"Currently Unavailable" indicator for some Mac Studio models.
Likewise, the M3 Ultra chip and 256GB for the Mac Studio is "Unavailable" while the 96GB memory option has a 6-7 week lead time. Similarly, opting for the upper M4 Max chip and 128GB of memory results in an unavailable product.
It is worth remembering that, if you are in need of a Mac mini or Mac Studio and the configuration isn't available online, you could still get your specific model elsewhere. You should check the Apple Store itself, as well as other retailers that have their own stock allocations of Apple's hardware.
A precursor to an update
The unavailability notifications could be due to factors like the ongoing memory crisis affecting the industry. However, it may also be an indicator that Apple is bringing out updates to the two models soon.
The desktop Mac range is the only one not to have been updated to the M5 generation, and that should happen relatively soon.
In early March, it was reported that the Mac mini and iMac with M5 will arrive after the Mac Studio launch. While he didn't say when it will happen exactly, Mark Gurman wrote that the Mac Studio refresh will happen closer to the middle of 2026.
As for what those updates can be, the current expectation are for them all to be spec-bump updates. That is, externally similar to the previous generation of hardware, but with M5 smarts.
