How Apple Stumbled Into AI Hardware Success With the Mac

The hottest products at Apple right now are not the iPhone, the iPad or a buzzy new show on the company’s streaming service. They are two of the lowliest members of Apple’s venerable Mac product line: its boxy Mac mini and Mac Studio computers, which come without monitors, keyboards or mice and are designed for professional users.

The products are currently flying off the shelves, because it turns out that the machines are well suited to running agents—AI software that handles multistep tasks, from editing and testing code to automating email inbox organization and summarizing documents. And they’re also a hit with AI developers who want to save on cloud computing bills by training and running their models locally. In the most recent June quarter, Mac sales grew nearly 29% annually to $10.4 billion, faster than any other product segment at the company.