Apple has quietly removed the entry-level Mac Mini M4 from its global lineup. The 256GB base model has been discontinued worldwide, and the Mac Mini now starts from 512GB storage — with a revised base price of $799 in the US and ₹79,900 in India.

The move affects buyers who were counting on the lower entry price to get into Apple’s most popular desktop, and it signals a broader shift in how Apple is approaching storage configurations amid a tightening global memory market.

New Mac Mini M4 Base Pricing

Region	Old Base Price (256GB)	New Base Price (512GB)
United States	$599	$799
India	₹59,900	₹79,900

That is a ₹20,000 jump in India for the base model alone — a significant leap that pushes the Mac Mini further away from the budget-conscious creative and developer audience it historically served well.

Why Did Apple Do This?

The discontinuation is directly linked to a global memory shortage, driven primarily by surging demand for high-bandwidth memory chips from the AI industry. Data centres and AI accelerator manufacturers have been consuming NAND and DRAM supply at an unprecedented rate through 2025–26, squeezing availability and pushing up costs for consumer device makers.

Apple, which controls its own silicon but still sources NAND flash storage from third-party suppliers, is not immune to these pressures. Rather than absorb the cost or reduce margins, the company has opted to eliminate the lowest storage tier entirely — effectively forcing buyers to pay for more storage whether they need it or not.

This is not an isolated move. The broader consumer electronics industry has been quietly retiring 128GB and 256GB base configurations across laptops, tablets, and phones over the past 12 months, with Nothing’s recent price hike and OnePlus revising its flagship pricing reflecting the same upstream cost pressures.

What It Means for Indian Buyers

In India, the Mac Mini has long been positioned as the most accessible entry point into the Apple desktop ecosystem — significantly cheaper than the MacBook Air and a favourite among students, video editors, and developers building for Apple platforms.

At ₹79,900, the new base price puts the Mac Mini M4 in a considerably more premium bracket. Buyers who were comparing it against a base MacBook Air M3 will now find the price gap has narrowed considerably, making the laptop a more compelling value proposition for those who do not specifically need a desktop form factor.

The 512GB starting configuration is objectively more useful for most users — especially with macOS storage demands growing — but the price jump will sting for first-time Mac buyers.

Should You Still Buy It?

At $799 / ₹79,900 for 512GB and the M4 chip, the Mac Mini remains one of the best performance-per-rupee desktop computers available. For developers, content creators, and professionals already in the Apple ecosystem, the value proposition holds. For casual users who were drawn in by the old ₹59,900 price point, the calculus has changed.

Check current availability at the Apple India Store or authorised resellers.

The Bottom Line

Apple’s decision to discontinue the 256GB Mac Mini M4 is a direct consequence of AI’s voracious appetite for memory chips reshaping the entire consumer electronics supply chain. The 512GB baseline is welcome, but the price jump is hard to ignore. Expect other manufacturers to follow suit as memory supply constraints persist through 2026.

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