Apple stuck the Mac mini power button on the bottom

 (appleinsider.com)

32 points | by croes5 hours ago

16 comments

  • jwells894 hours ago
    Looks like the button is probably accessible without picking the machine up thanks to the outer edges being raised enough to fit a finger underneath. If that's the case, I don't really see an issue, and if anything it's preferable since the old position was easy to accidentally press when plugging things in.

    Most people probably leave their macs running all the time anyway, making the button infrequently used.

    • duxup3 hours ago
      Only time I touch my macbook power button ... is to switch profiles. So a lot, but never as an actual power button.

      Used to be back in the day power and reset were very much needed, to the point that I wished they were on my keyboard.

      Now, almost never need them.

      • mikae11 hour ago
        > Only time I touch my macbook power button

        I almost never use it either, but I don't see how that comparison is relevant. That's a portable computer with a battery. I always turn off my desktop computer at the end of the day.

      • wordofx3 hours ago
        Why do you need the power button to switch profiles?
        • notpushkin3 hours ago
          A single short press locks screen by default. Just a convenient shortcut.
    • stemlord3 hours ago
      >Given the clearance between the main part of the Mac mini and the slight lift that the vents give it, it's most likely that users will have to tip or lift the device to reach the button
  • dumpsterdiver3 hours ago
    The Mac Mini’s great grandfather, the G4 Mac Cube, had a motion sensing power button placed on top. If “astonishing” is what they were going for, they nailed it. Reaching for a paper on your desk? Astonished. And of course you’d have to fend off jokester friends waving their hands around like madmen.

    Edit: searching online I’m seeing that apparently it wasn’t a motion sensor? So maybe it was vibration or light contact (with clothes, etc) that caused it? For context, ours even started having phantom power downs that I assumed were from the power button, so it may have just been a failing component.

    • abruzzi3 hours ago
      I think it was capacitive touch button. There was no physical button movement, and a light came on when touched. I never had issues with mine. I actually still have the cube, including the original speakers, keyboard, and mouse that came with it. I haven't powered it on in years.
      • dumpsterdiver3 hours ago
        I was just reading other accounts online about the power button sensitivity, and I was indeed in a high static environment (extremely cold and dry in winter (Arctic), carpeted floors) which appears to be a common factor in those reports. That seems like a reasonable explanation for what I observed.
  • constantlm4 hours ago
    Strange design choice. That said, I've used the power button of my existing Mac Mini perhaps once in the past several years.
    • wenc3 hours ago
      I think I used it twice this year to turn it back on because of power outages.

      But yeah, I just sleep my Mac Mini. I have never needed to turn it off.

      • jjtheblunt3 hours ago
        macOS can set to reboot on power loss, so I wonder if that's part of the rationale...that most machines are set to reboot when power (from the wall) resumes.
        • wenc3 hours ago
          Oh I didn't know that! Found the setting. Now I really don't need to touch the power button.
  • keyle3 hours ago
    I'm old school. I like to shutdown devices. Apparently that's going away on desktop computers too now.

    It boggles my mind, really. Anyway, I also love the value for money of the mini. I have had quite a few mac mini and this won't stop me from buying the M4 pro...

    I'll just stick some tiny rubber feet to the side of the mac mini and rest it 90 degrees on its side. Done. Thanks Apple.

    • anyfoo3 hours ago
      I mean, you still can shut it off, but it’s really pretty unnecessary nowadays. Sleep mode has gotten very reliable and efficient. In deeper power states devices don’t draw much current at all, and still wake up transparently instantly.

      People don’t shut their phone down very much, it’s similar with laptops and desktops nowadays.

      • keyle3 hours ago
        I don't like devices that sip on power when I'm not home, or asleep. It makes no sense at all. It's not like fetching emails involves connecting to a landline, ring up a dialing device, get... The mac boots faster than my ass gets in the chair. Stuff loads instantly. I turn off the whole desk at the wall at bed time, so all the "mood lights" go off as well. Simple, safe.

        I get the convenience of always on, it's just not my jam.

        • coriny24 minutes ago
          Shutting down and starting up again can draw more power than sleeping/other low power mode. e.g. airplane mode on a phone is probably better than turning the device off for the night. Old dumb phones used to sip power when switched off so the alarm would work.

          No idea with desktops, but I wouldn't be surprised if suspend used less power than stop/start for overnight in some cases.

      • bitwize3 hours ago
        Microsoft appears to be deprecating sleep in favor of Modern Standby, in which the machine draws enough juice to download and install updates. You know, because Windows is a service, and your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to install the updates. Modern Standby is a low-power variant of S0, the normal "awake", "computer is on" state.

        Because what a PC is is defined largely by the needs of Windows, many systems shipping today do not support the deeper power states (S1-S3) at all, just Modern Standby.

        • albertopv1 hour ago
          Modern Standby is an abomination. Battery almost completely depleted in a couple of days doing "nothing" useful for me happens too often.
      • andrewmcwatters3 hours ago
        Idle state is probably what, a few watts? Maybe leaving it on 24/7/365 costs you like a few dollars at worst annually or something in even most overpriced energy markets.

        I remember doing the math on leaving every single LED light bulb on all day in the house until bedtime, and the costs were so low I had to convince family that it's just poverty mentality and that we don't live in the incandescent age anymore.

  • SoftTalker4 hours ago
    Can't get telemetry if the user turns the computer off.
    • nozzlegear3 hours ago
      What kind of telemetry do you suppose they're collecting while people have stepped away from their computer for the night? And how does moving the power button on the Mac mini help Apple collect more of that AFK telemetry when users can just as easily (or, indeed, more easily) use the Shut Down prompt via the system menu?
      • m4632 hours ago
        You're kidding but what about find my? I suspect things like location services and find my are reasons apple has gotten in the way of turning off bluetooth and wifi on their devices.

        With wifi they get crowdsourced location data. with find my they get crowdsourced device and airtag location and relay.

        (and ios nfc can't be turned off afaict)

    • 1oooqooq3 hours ago
      tokenminer trojans on m4 without a power off button. i can hear the web3 pyramid scam equivalent sound of cha-ching
      • dzhiurgis2 hours ago
        shitting on web3 is equivalent to betting against internet, web, iphone, bitcoin and llm while shilling google and meta
  • leohonexus3 hours ago
    My first thought was this button would be harder to reach for people with disabilities. It's probably to save space for the IO at the back but they could have gone with a smaller, iPhone-esque power button.

    The truly Apple thing to do is if they figured out a way to use the Touch ID button on the Magic Keyboard as a power button when the Mac mini is off.

    That being said, the power button can be redirected to the back or front with 3D printed compliant mechanisms.

    • compootr3 hours ago
      I think that's a great idea; having the keyboard power it up. Not a mac buyer here, but you'd probably still want a button on the unit in case you decide to get a different keyboard
      • dylan6043 hours ago
        > I think that's a great idea; having the keyboard power it up.

        Again. The power button has been on the keyboard for Mac for many older generations

  • dantillberg3 hours ago
    As a parent, this design looks rather beneficial. I don't need the power button to be easily accessible, but little kids love pressing the button that causes the biggest visual change.

    They'll still find this one (it glows, right?), but at least it increases the difficulty a bit.

  • userbinator3 hours ago
    Flip it 180 degrees? There's nothing on the other side anyway, and the vents ought to be at the top to give it better cooling.
    • tzs3 hours ago
      Or 90 degrees. Although it is smaller by about 36% in width and depth than a Mac Studio, I think that the reasons that prompted my to rotate that 90 degrees counter clockwise would still apply to a Mini for many people.

      My Studio is to the left of my monitor stand and a little back. My monitor has crappy speakers so I have external desktop speakers. They are also a little behind the left and right sides of the monitor. The speakers get in the way of reaching the ports on front of the Mac.

      With the Mac rotated it can be closer in toward the monitor base, and the ports are then easier to each. Also since being rotated reduces the footprint on my desk there is more room for other things, like a hub I have for a USB hub for my non-C peripherals.

    • jansommer3 hours ago
      "You're holding the Mac Mini wrong. Just flip it!"
  • smashedtoatoms3 hours ago
    It makes me wonder if they're intended to be rack mounted on their sides with half a dozen others.
  • burnt-resistor3 hours ago
    Stupid location that will be covered by any sort of mount.
  • superkuh3 hours ago
    Reminds me of the apple magic mouse that had to be flipped over on it's back into an unusable position to plug it in.
    • francis_t_catte3 hours ago
      the resdesigned USB-C magic mouse has the charge port in the same spot.
      • m4633 hours ago
        I've always just shrugged and left the apple mice I've gotten in the box.

        I remember trying to play an FPS game with an apple mouse... lol.

        You couldn't left click without raising your right finger off your mouse.

        (aim and fire? nope)

        • m46311 minutes ago
          sorry, right click
  • paul79863 hours ago
    Love my mac minis... used them since 2006 connected to flat screen TVs (screen resolution set to lowest so it zooms in) and have a wireless mouse as a remote; use Firefox. The entire free un-interuppted Internet from your couch or in your bedroom(s).
  • BonoboIO4 hours ago
    That would be a thing Jony Ive would do. Design first.
  • 3 hours ago
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  • tonetheman4 hours ago
    [dead]