Apple Drops Mac Studio to 96GB Max as DRAM Shortage Squeezes Local AI Builders

9to5Mac·medium signal

Apple quietly removed the remaining 256GB M3 Ultra Mac Studio config on May 5, leaving only 96GB — down from 512GB available a few months ago. The 512GB option vanished in March, 256GB followed with a $400 price hike before being cut entirely. The DRAM shortage is driven partly by AI infrastructure demand, and the Mac Studio had become a favored workstation for running large local models. Builders relying on Apple silicon for 70B+ parameter models are now forced to look at Mac Pro or multi-GPU setups.