Apple is pulling a classic “stealth hike” to protect their 48% margins, and the market is just starting to wake up to the trick. Yesterday’s guidance of 14-17% revenue growth looked like a miracle given the 9% consensus, but the math didn’t add up until the Mac Mini update dropped. By killing off the $599 entry-level model, they’ve effectively jacked up the starting price by 33% overnight.
Demand for the Mac Mini is surging — and Apple just raised the starting price from $599 to $799
“Apple’s “most affordable Mac” just got more expensive.
The starting price for the Mac Mini jumped $200 this week as the company reported an AI-fueled increase in demand for the compact computer.
The $599 base model with 256GB of storage, touted on the website as the “mini-est, most affordable Mac with mighty performance,” had disappeared from Apple’s site as of Friday.
The website now says the starting price for a Mac Mini is $799, which comes with 512GB of storage. Earlier this week, the website listed the starting price as $599, the Internet Archive shows.
While it’s not an increase in price for the model that comes with 512GB of storage, it means the entry point for a Mac Mini is now higher.”
Management “conveniently” forgot to mention the model culling on the earnings call. They wanted the stock pop from the 14-17% revenue target without the PR nightmare of a price hike.