When Apple launched the new-generation Mac mini M4 at the end of October, we marvelled at the miniaturised design that made it barely bigger than an Apple TV box.
However, there was one slight design quirk that raised a few eyebrows. The decision to place the power button on the bottom of the device. So, if you want to power it on, you’d have to lift it to tuck your finger underneath. Kinda odd, right?
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Anyway, Apple has gone on the record explaining why it chose that placement and it falls in line with a couple of our own suspicions.
In an interview published on the Chinese site BiliBili, Apple executives Greg Joswiak and John Ternus addressed matters.
In translated comments spotted by ITHome (via 9to5Mac) the Apple execs said: “Well, we’ve shrunk the size of it so much, right? It’s equivalent to half the size of the previous generation. So we needed to put the power button in the most appropriate spot because it’s so small. It’s convenient to press. Just tuck your finger in there and hit the button.
“In fact, the most important thing is you pretty much never use the power button on your Mac. I don’t even remember the last time I turned on a Mac.”
A worthy design sacrifice
The justification mostly passes the sniff test. It’s true, the design gains are well worth this small sacrifice. The feat of engineering required to make the supremely powerful Mac mini as tiny as it is, is massively impressive. And it’s not that big of a deal to lift the 1.5lb device with a fingertip and power on the device.
And it’s true, not many people turn their Macs on and off anymore. However, part of the Mac mini’s allure – especially now – is the ability to be a take it on the go with you and plug it into a display and use Bluetooth accessories. So there certainly will be more cause to turn this on and off than there has been with other Mac products.
