Need a Mac before Sept. 22? An M4 Max Studio costs more than waiting
The new Mac minis ship Sept. 22, with Studios following through Oct. 12. Until then, an M4 Max Studio available immediately costs more than its M5 Max replacement. Some M4 minis are the exception.
If you need a current-generation M4 Max Mac Studio in hand before the first new Macs ship Sept. 22, the cheapest one in the base configuration we found is $2,689 — used. Its replacement, the M5 Max, is new, faster and $2,499, with delivery by Oct. 5. Having the older machine a few weeks sooner costs $190 more than the newer machine costs outright. The cheapest new M4 Max shipping now is $3,000, $501 over the M5 Max.
If you need a Mac mini, the picture is friendlier: the M4 Pro mini is in stock at major chains at or below its $1,599 list, $129 less than its successor. The squeeze is a Studio problem.
This is a fulfillment comparison. Our announcement-day used Mac price panel tracks the broader movement in asking prices.
Mac prices and delivery dates before Sept. 22
Here is what ships now, what it costs and what the replacement costs when it lands:
| Config | Cheapest new, shipping now | Cheapest secondhand | Successor price, delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| mini M4 16/256 | $899 | $650 used | M6, $899, Sept. 22 |
| mini M4 Pro 24/512 | $1,570 | $1,395 used | M5 Pro, $1,699, Sept. 22 |
| Studio M4 Max 36/512 | $3,000 | $2,689 used | M5 Max, $2,499, by Oct. 5 |
| Studio M3 Ultra 96/1TB | — | $5,250 used | M5 Ultra, $5,499, by Oct. 12 |
Can Apple deliver a current Mac before Sept. 22?
The M4 Max Studio still lists for $2,499 — the same price as its successor — but that price wasn’t shipping. CDW’s listing reads “item backordered.” Sweetwater’s reads “temporarily out of stock,” with a Sept. 30 estimate — after the M5 Max ships. One specialist reseller showed both Studios at list and “In Stock” on Aug. 24; by the next evening, both listing pages returned not-found errors. A list-price M4 Max was a price on a screen, not a machine in a box.
Apple’s own store is no faster. Every current-model delivery quote now lands after Sept. 22:
| Current model | List | Quoted delivery | Successor arrives |
|---|---|---|---|
| mini M4 16/256 | $799 | Oct. 1-8 | Sept. 22 |
| mini M4 Pro 24/512 | $1,599 | Oct. 1-8 | Sept. 22 |
| Studio M4 Max 36/512 | $2,499 | 10-12 weeks (about Nov. 17) | Sept. 28-Oct. 5 |
| Studio M3 Ultra 96/1TB | $5,299 | 13-14 weeks (about Dec. 1) | Oct. 5-12 |
No. Ordering a current model from Apple on Aug. 25 means it arrives after its own replacement — for the M4 Max, about six weeks after. Ordering from Apple therefore does not solve a before-launch deadline.
The M3 Ultra rows are thinner — four secondhand listings — and wider. The cheapest used ask, $5,250, sits just under list. The median of the four is $6,437, and a refurbisher asks $6,975 with one-to-two-day shipping. The M5 Ultra is $5,499, delivered by Oct. 12.
Which Mac minis can ship before Sept. 22?
The M4 Pro mini was in stock at four chains Aug. 24-25: $1,570 at Costco and Walmart, $1,599 at Best Buy and B&H, with two-day and next-day shipping. No premium, no wait, $129 under the M5 Pro’s launch price.
The base M4 mini sits closer to the line. B&H had it at the $799 list on Aug. 25; by evening the same listing read $899 — exactly what the M6 costs on Sept. 22. Other at-list listings were marked unavailable, and in-stock big-box asks started at $1,050. Used is the one channel clearly under list, from $650.
Should you buy a Mac now or wait?
On price and delivery alone, the answer splits by product. Wait for the M5 Max Studio unless getting an M4 Max before Sept. 22 is worth at least $190. For Mac mini, an in-stock M4 Pro at $1,570-$1,599 costs $100-$129 less than the M5 Pro and ships sooner.
Apple’s prices and ship dates are published commitments. Everything else here is an asking price on a particular day, from two days of listings. We are not projecting where asks go next — this window between announcement and first deliveries has no recent precedent under a supply shortage, and two days don’t make a trend.
As of Aug. 25, an M4 Max Studio before Sept. 22 costs more than its M5 Max replacement, while an M4 mini costs the same or less than its successor if you catch a chain at list. For the value comparison beyond delivery dates, see our Mac mini and Mac Studio price-performance analysis. We’ll rerun these tables as the ship dates approach.
About the data: Apple prices and delivery quotes were read from apple.com on Aug. 25 for a New Jersey ZIP code; quotes vary by destination and change without notice. Market asks are the latest observation per listing from our crawler across roughly 35 retailers, marketplaces and refurbishers, Aug. 24-25, in-stock listings only, auction bids excluded, scam-shaped listings filtered, rounded to the nearest dollar. Asking prices are not completed sales. The M3 Ultra secondhand pool is four listings; treat those figures as a small sample.