We have received a tip indicating that, contrary to other reports, supplies of the Mac mini are getting a little constrained ahead of a potential refresh when OS X 10.7 Lion launches. Major US seller Best Buy has now put the Mac mini on back-order with an estimated arrival date beginning on the 12th July (hat tip – 9to5Mac noticed this a while back). Amazon UK has done the same with an estimated in-stock date of the 5th July.
It should be noted that both sites are indicating that it is the old model that will be re-stocked (no new model is mentioned) and Best Buy is still showing pick-up availability at many stores. Earlier in the week, it emerged that Amazon UK was running low on the Mac mini and MacBook Air and it was noted that Best Buy had ceased shipping the current model MacBook Air.
New Mac mini models have been rumored to launch around the end of July / beginning of August and are expected to incorporate Sandy Bridge processors together with the Thunderbolt high speed interface. Apple has been rumored to be holding back on releasing the update to the Mac mini until the retail version of 10.7 Lion is made available so that all new Macs are able to ship with the new OS already pre-installed.
Tight…