Apple is facing more problems than just memory supply constraints. During its Q2 2026 earnings call, the company admitted it didn’t expect “agentic AI” uses, like OpenClaw, to become so popular. This led to its Mac mini and Mac Studio stocks running out. Additionally, Apple didn’t foresee that its aggressive pricing for the MacBook Neo would deplete the supply of advanced chips for its most affordable portable Mac.
Simply put, the California-based giant is dealing with a problem its competitors would love to have. However, this also means Apple has missed out on potentially millions in revenue and lost thousands of customers who are patiently waiting for these popular products to restock. Given that the company will eventually need to buy memory and storage at higher prices for future products, that extra revenue would have been very useful.
The M4 Mac mini offers an affordable way to easily run local agentic AI programs like OpenClaw. It comes with enough high-bandwidth memory to make these operations smooth. Running local Large Language Models comfortably usually requires more memory than most buyers can afford, making the M4 Mac mini a great choice for this kind of work.
As for the MacBook Neo, Apple was already low on A18 Pro chips, causing major availability issues for the $599 machine. Unfortunately, the company has revealed that these supply shortages will continue for several months. CEO Tim Cook said the company underestimated how quickly these product types would become popular. The lack of advanced chipsets is the main problem, and as mentioned, this failure to predict demand has cost Apple millions in lost revenue.
Also, with most of Apple’s earnings coming from iPhone sales, a huge challenge stands in the company’s way. This challenge threatens to disrupt the stable pricing of iPhones. If Apple cannot overcome this problem, there might not be any competitively priced products left in its lineup to sell. For those still looking for either the Mac mini or MacBook Neo, you’re in luck: Amazon has limited supplies of the MacBook Neo.
However, you’ll need to be okay with not getting these units until late May. The good news is that the base model with a 256GB SSD is slightly cheaper at $589.99, while the 512GB version with Touch ID is listed for $689.99.
