[AI Boom Leads to Supply Shortages, Apple Raises Mac Mini Starting Price to $799] According to Golden Finance, on May 2, Apple raised the starting price of its Mac Mini computer from $599 to $799 to address inventory shortages and chip supply constraints driven by artificial intelligence demand. The company effectively implemented the price increase by discontinuing the entry-level configuration. The previous entry-level model featured the M4 chip with 256GB of storage, while the new starting version still uses the same chip but now comes with 512GB of storage. The starting price for the M4 Pro model remains unchanged at $1,399. Since the $599 configuration is sold out at most sales points, it is no longer available for purchase. For other configurations, shipping from Apple's online store still requires several weeks or even months, and availability at Apple retail stores is also very limited.