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

seek3r

macrumors 68030
Aug 16, 2010
2,566
3,781
Ok those of you who picked the last option :D

Please elaborate
My life is ruined, my poor fingers have permanently cramped beyond recognition and my head is spinning with the effort of reaching the button. I must return, but how when I can barely move thanks to this accursed button!
 

gijsmans

macrumors member
Feb 27, 2011
39
61
Bought the mini m4 on Friday, printed a button thingy on Saturday, saw my design sold on Etsy on Sunday and the Reddit video went viral on Monday. Bad thing is, I only turn the mini on to serve movies for Infuse on the Apple TV incidentally. That’s why.
 

Sleix

macrumors regular
Apr 21, 2003
218
394
Sacramento, CA
Pressed it once to turn on the mac, haven't found a critical use case for it yet, I guess I'm used to the touchID button to put the mac in and out of lock
 
  • Like
Reactions: KeithBN

0423MAC

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 30, 2020
534
708
I’ve used it several times. The stupid computer weighs like a pound, the power button is a complete non-issue.
Yeah it being so light the bigger issue now is with the two ports on the front. You have to hold the Mac mini down in order to plug anything in.

Can't plug anything in without holding it down and also can't turn it off without lifting it up.

A+ level trolling from Apple.
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
Reactions: KeithBN

Siliconguy

macrumors 6502
Jan 1, 2022
434
627
How often do y'all power off your other Macs? I have a MacBook Pro and I never power it off, but I'll restart it from time to time or when there's updates.
If I know I'm not using it for a week, (like I'm on vacation) then I'll shutdown the Air. The Linux box and server get shut down if I'm not using them tomorrow.
 

840quadra

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 1, 2005
9,490
6,392
Twin Cities Minnesota
No option for zero?

Not an issue, no worse than having to open my MBP to power it on, and then close it when the lid is closed and I use it in clamshell mode when docked at home.

I haven't done more than a reboot with M4 Pro Mini since I got it. It is now on 24/7, but prior I did let it sleep before I moved services off of my 2011 Mini that had (IMHO) an equally bad location at the back.
 

xak2

macrumors newbie
Nov 8, 2024
3
1
I don't have a mini yet. But I thought why not stand it on its side vertically. Then there will be no problems with the power button at all. And the cooling will theoretically be better.
 

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
20,397
23,904
Singapore
How often do y'all power off your other Macs? I have a MacBook Pro and I never power it off, but I'll restart it from time to time or when there's updates.
I didn't vote, but my dad uses my 5k iMac now, and he switches it off every night when he is done with it (and thus switches it back on the following day when he wants to use it). I imagine it might be a bit annoying for him if I were to ever replace my current iMac with a Mac mini. Will probably look at propping it up on a small block or something so the power button is easier to access.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saturn007

judethat

macrumors 6502a
Nov 16, 2007
582
390
Once when turned, one more time when tidying power cable but that’s it now. Last mini just turned on and left it until I sold it.
 

Populus

macrumors 603
Aug 24, 2012
5,983
8,448
Spain, Europe
I wanted to clarify that, despite the initial confusion, no, it cannot be turned on by just pressing a key of the keyboard like you do when a recent MacBook Air/Pro is shut down with the lid open.

However, you can actually leave it sleeping and wake it up with just a press on the keyboard. I’m hoping that Apple Silicon Macs are better at sleeping/waking up response and reliability, with lower risk of memory leaks or bugs when the Mac remains powered on during days or even weeks. We’ll see…
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,695
52,575
In a van down by the river
I wouldn’t want to live a life where power button of a device I purchased impacts my life.
Don’t be too short-sighted. There are several machines with power buttons that truly impact peoples lives. Consider an oxygen machine / respirator for people with COPD or having surgery etc, Dialysis machine, just to name two.

I agree with you, though, that the power button placement on the new mini is truly a non-issue and argued over more than it should be.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saturn007

agregson

macrumors regular
Nov 18, 2020
176
109
What power button? Oh that thing I pressed when I took it out of the box. Zero impact. Quite happy for little used or needed things to be hidden from view. Who ever powers off Apple devices anyway? ;-)
 

Saturn007

macrumors 68000
Jul 18, 2010
1,598
1,487
Maybe the button on the bottom will prevent people's cats from turning the Mini on and off several times a day for kicks! 😀

Still, even if it has little or no impact, it is a ridiculous design decision, one that says something about Apple's current design ethos…

To take this in another direction, though, did any of the Jobs-era failures sink to this level of goofiness?
 

apparatchik

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2008
888
2,709
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.

This exactly will be my use case, always sleep and occasional (once a month in my case) restart. So no power button will get pressed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Parowdy
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.