Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Well?

  • Once (initial power up)

    Votes: 84 52.5%
  • 2+ times

    Votes: 21 13.1%
  • 5+ times (once a day)

    Votes: 4 2.5%
  • 10+times

    Votes: 10 6.3%
  • It’s completely ruined me. Returning soon 💔

    Votes: 41 25.6%

  • Total voters
    160

G5isAlive

Contributor
Aug 28, 2003
2,870
4,924
So people complain that Apple doesn't innovate, but every time they 'think differently' people rise up in arms and complain. The power button placement is no different. Initially I thought how strange, then I got one, and realized the thing was so light that it needed to be held in place to push the button. Heck I have to use two hands to push my Mac Studio power button. Putting it on the bottom means I only have to use one hand, if one is coordinated enough. If you are open to new ideas, then 'thinking different' and putting the button on the bottom does work for a lot of cases. Obviously if you pile something on top of the MacMini that changes the equation, but most people wont do that. Apple designs for most people, not edge cases. Try it, you'll like it.
 

mgscheue

macrumors regular
Nov 4, 2018
107
220
Once on power-up, once when I accidentally pushed it when I was moving it. I expect minimal impact here on out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: G5isAlive

Rychiar

macrumors 68040
May 16, 2006
3,081
6,542
Waterbury, CT
I pressed it once. but even still it's no less covenient than any other Mac. I stuck my new mini on the little backpack shelf I got for my studio display and the button area hangs off
 
  • Like
Reactions: G5isAlive

Allen_Wentz

macrumors 68040
Dec 3, 2016
3,371
3,825
USA
I've been troubleshooting some really old backup drives, some of which that seem not to like this machine so much. They take a long time to mount or unmount, and sometimes don't unmount at all. When that happens I shut down the machine and unplug the drive, and then I turn the Mac back on.

Because the Mac mini sits underneath the monitor, it means raising up the monitor (which fortunately is easily height adjustable) and then lifting the Mac mini to turn it on. It's annoying, but not a huge deal in the greater scheme of things. I've done this about a half dozen times now in the last three days.
Old problematic drives should not be in anyone's life when cheap/fast/reliable modern drives are ubiquitous.
 

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,968
12,935
Old problematic drives should not be in anyone's life when cheap/fast/reliable modern drives are ubiquitous.
They're old, but they weren't problematic before on other machines. I wonder if it's some sort of incompatibility. (One's a SATA SSD in a third party USB 3 enclosure.) But yeah, I'll use different drives.
 

Parowdy

macrumors regular
Mar 16, 2024
158
104
Europe
I've been troubleshooting some really old backup drives, some of which that seem not to like this machine so much. They take a long time to mount or unmount, and sometimes don't unmount at all. When that happens I shut down the machine and unplug the drive, and then I turn the Mac back on.

Because the Mac mini sits underneath the monitor, it means raising up the monitor (which fortunately is easily height adjustable) and then lifting the Mac mini to turn it on. It's annoying, but not a huge deal in the greater scheme of things. I've done this about a half dozen times now in the last three days.
Now I knew there was some scenario I couldn’t remember where I would struggle with a Mac mini more than with my MacBook, unmounting drives that refuse to work properly (it’s a 2017 MBP too so wth). It’s annoying already, would be even more if I had to lift my desktop.
 

grad

macrumors 6502
Jun 2, 2014
398
480
Just because there are not many alternatives out there it doesn't that I have to like or live with the power button new position. Same with the single mouse button, the Apple Magic Mouse charging port, the MacBook's butterfly keyboards, the integration of title bar with the toolbar after Big Sur, etc (the historic list is long).
 

Anaxarxes

macrumors 6502a
Feb 27, 2008
502
740
Amsterdam, Netherlands
It's so sad that good UX design gets tossed like this.

There is a good reason for the power button to be there OTHER than the cosmetic considerations.

For such a small device, placing the button anywhere else makes it nearly impossible to turn on *with one hand*.

Put it in the front, and you’d have to hold the device with the other hand or twist awkwardly to press it. Place it on top, and you risk accidental pushes that could turn it off or put it to sleep unintentionally. The bottom is the only logical, ergonomic, and safe spot. You can turn it on with one hand by simply pinching the device. Think back to when Apple first put the iMac’s power button on the lower back—it was for the same reason. Any front placement would require an awkward hold or rotating the device.

Apple has an excellent industrial designer who truly cares about human-centered design, much like Dieter Rams did.
 
Last edited:

ahaslam

macrumors member
Oct 31, 2017
48
55
Arizona
On my old iMac, I had a habit of putting it to sleep and only shutting down or restarting maybe once or twice a month, especially as it got slower to boot back up towards the end. But on the Mac mini, I've been shutting down every night since it's so snappy. It's not a big deal, though I wish the switch were toward the front instead of the back.
 

Parowdy

macrumors regular
Mar 16, 2024
158
104
Europe
Old problematic drives should not be in anyone's life when cheap/fast/reliable modern drives are ubiquitous.
Cheap, fast and reliable?
Name one that meets all these criteria because I’ve been looking for one and either it’s a „cheap“ aka more affordable HDD without the speed or the reliability I’d want from a portable drive, while faster and more reliable SSD‘s are far from cheap.
SSD‘s with 500GB are as expensive as HDD‘s with 1TB.
It should be mentioned that I’m in Germany though.
 

Parowdy

macrumors regular
Mar 16, 2024
158
104
Europe
On my old iMac, I had a habit of putting it to sleep and only shutting down or restarting maybe once or twice a month, especially as it got slower to boot back up towards the end. But on the Mac mini, I've been shutting down every night since it's so snappy. It's not a big deal, though I wish the switch were toward the front instead of the back.
I’ve heard it’s better to put it to sleep and, if anything, restart it, in your case maybe once a week. Maybe that’s a more worthwhile habit to get into as restarts are better than shut downs and start ups as they properly flush the system of unneeded logs and stuff.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.