Move over, MacBook: Apple’s most basic desktop has quietly become the company’s hardest machine to get. The Mac Mini, long a bit player in Apple’s lineup, has turned into a go-to box for techies running “always-on” AI agents like OpenClaw and hefty large language models—tasks that chew through memory and make high-RAM configurations the prize, reports the Wall Street Journal. Those versions are now either listed as “currently unavailable” on Apple’s site or delayed for up to 12 weeks, a shortage echoed at other retailers. An Apple Store employee even referred to the Mini as an “OpenClaw machine,” reports CNN. Users pair OpenClaw with a messaging app like WhatsApp, and sic it on tasks. “It’s running in the background, doing things that I’m not doing at work,” says one user who uses it to research things like toys for his kid.

Apple isn’t saying what’s behind the bottleneck, but analysts see a mix of factors:

• Demand: The company apparently misjudged how many AI power users would snap up Minis, historically a niche machine. “Apple was caught up by the number of people buying Minis for Clawdbot [aka OpenClaw], which would have been impossible to predict a few months ago,” said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president at research firm IDC.
• New desktop Macs are coming, using Apple’s latest M5 chips are likely on deck, meaning Apple could be keeping inventory lean.
• A global scramble for memory, driven by AI data centers, is tightening supply—though experts note Apple’s buying power cushions it from the worst. Their consensus: this is mostly a surprise hit, and if your dream Mac shows a three-month wait, it may be worth seeing what Apple announces next.