Apple is working to keep up with the surge in demand for Mac Mini. We’re getting an unexpected boost from AI.
CEO Tim Cook said during Thursday’s March earnings call that the company’s two desktop computer models, Mac Mini and Mac Studio, are both “great platforms for AI and agent tools.”
“Customer awareness of it is moving faster than we expected,” Cook said. “And we’ve seen more demand than we expected.”
He said the company is facing supply constraints for both models heading into the June quarter and “it could take several months to reach a balance between supply and demand.”
Mac sales rose 6% year over year to $8.4 billion in the March quarter despite supply constraints. Cook told analysts that Apple’s Mac supply chain would become “less flexible” after a period of record new customer numbers. The new, lower-priced MacBook Neo also helped bring in many new Mac customers.
Apple is moving to close the gap between supply and demand, announcing plans to bring Mac Mini production to the United States later this year as part of a $600 billion investment in American manufacturing.
The base model of the $599 Mac Mini has been sold out on Apple’s U.S. website and some third-party retailers in recent weeks, and Apple is estimating shipping delays for higher memory configurations. In April, some used models were listed on eBay for $200 more than the retail price.
Cook said Mac Mini sales are rising in part because it “allows you to run advanced models locally in a way that wasn’t possible before.” This year, technology enthusiasts have been paying close attention to OpenClaw. OpenClaw is a rapidly evolving open source AI tool that can run locally on computers, driving demand for larger memory devices.
Mac Mini is here to help.