By Rolfe Winkler

Apple raised the starting price of its Mac Mini computer a day after Chief Executive Tim Cook said the company is struggling to meet demand.

The entry level desktop computer now starts at $799, and comes with 512 gigabytes of storage. Previously Apple sold a version for $599 that came with 256 gigabytes.

Mac Minis have been flying off Apple's shelves in recent months thanks in part to demand from AI power users for whom it is the must-have computer for private, "always-on" artificial-intelligence agents, such as OpenClaw. Apple's website says orders placed today will be delivered in early-to-mid June.

Cook told investors Thursday that Apple has been unable to get as many chips as it needs to make as many devices as customers want to buy. In the March quarter, that was mostly related to iPhone models, he said, but in the current quarter it is having a bigger impact on Mac sales.

"We think, looking forward, that the Mac Mini and the Mac Studio may take several months to reach supply-demand balance," Cook said.

While AI demand is helping power Mac Mini sales, it is also cutting into supplies: Rival companies are getting a bigger share of the fastest chips being made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, limiting Apple's supply and its ability to make iPhones as fast as people want to buy them. Cook said on the earnings call that continues to be a problem after he cited it last quarter.

Removing entry level storage tiers for its devices is a tactic Apple has used to, in effect, raise prices for its products. The iPhone 17 Pro model cost $100 more than the prior year's Pro model, but came with more storage.

The Mac Mini and more expensive Mac Studio are square desktop computers that have no monitor or attached keyboard.

Besides lack of chip supply, Apple is also contending with skyrocketing prices for memory and storage, which are key components inside its smartphones, computers, and tablets. Tech companies building out massive data centers need both memory and storage to power their AI infrastructure.

Apple said in February that it was working with Foxconn to open a new assembly line in Houston for Mac Mini computers in order to meet local demand.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the removal of the lower storage tier Mac Mini, and pointed to Cook's comments from yesterday's earnings call.

Write to Rolfe Winkler at Rolfe.Winkler@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2026 17:53 ET (21:53 GMT)

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