It's official. You have to lift up the mini to turn it on

[mcled53]

I'd initially not been too bothered by the power button being on the bottom, seeing it as no different to placing the power button on the back of the device in reality. Except rather than reaching to the back you'd reach to the bottom left of the device and press the inset button. The circular base would of course have enough height so you could place your finger under the corner. No problem.

That's now all changed as The Verge has just confirmed you have to actually lift up the device to press the button. Yes, lift up your desktop computer to turn it on. From the hands on article "He also says there’s no way to reach the power button, which is on the underside of the computer, without lifting it up."

https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/30/24283861/apple-redesigned-mac-mini-macbook-pro-imac-m4-photos

This is a disaster.

I use the power button about 5 times per year... I'll survive.

 

[Micky Do]

On the picture, this redesign is quite bad to be honest. But I still have several questions before the product arrives:

• Is this power button really hard to reach or press?
• Can keyboards and mouses turn on the Mac just like MacBook?

Not defending Apple, but Mac mini and iMac used to put power button on the back, and not seeing someone said "It's official. You have to turn around the Mac to turn it on."

1 - No, but does it matter anyway? Just leave the Mac Mini on, and let it sleep when not in use.

2 - No, but the keyboard or the mouse can be used to wake a Mac Mini. Hit the fingerprint ID key of an Apple keyboard and you are ready to work or play without having to enter your password.

 

[salz4life]

Apple Mini stand $99 coming soon!

Let's be realistic.... $139

 

[Micky Do]

I and everybody (whose habits) I know turns their home computer off at least overnight.

Why?

Yes, I know it was recommended practice in days of yore, but since the 2005 Mac Mini original, at least, Apple has suggested leaving it switched on unless you are going to be away for some time…. days or weeks, not hours.

 

[theluggage]

This was the really bad placement for it, IMO, right next to the power cord.

That's what we all thought until they moved it to the bottom...

Can it really be super-expensive rocket surgery to, you know, integrate it with the power LED on the front?

 

[sarcasticgamer]

How will I ever be able to cope??😏

 

[GrindBoxNotGears]

OH MY GOD ITS A DISASTER!!!!

Thanks, Apple. Now we have to lift up the smallest Mac ever made to turn it on. What's next – will we have to lift up the smallest iPhone ever made to turn it on?

You don’t understand! It weighs over a pound! We’re gonna have to hit the gym if we even want to use this thing! It’s the computer for body builders. And what about all the people that don’t even have hands!
Plus, we always turn our computers off after using them. You know how much it costs to keep a chip as efficient as this on all the time?

DISASTER!!

 

[familychoice]

Due to the lack of sockets, and sheer amount of electrical equipment in my home office, my Mac Mini is plugged into a multi-socket extension cable. “I hope that‘s switched off during the evenings”, warned the local fire safety officer. “Yessir”, was my reply.

So the new power button location (which let’s face is, is one heck of a design fail) is going to be a minor PITA for me, but at least cheaper than getting the builders/electrician in and rewiring the house…

 

[Timpetus]

The solution is to put it on the top. But maybe Intel patented that?

View attachment 2445319

I used these for a while at my old job. Definitely hit the button on accident a few times because the machine is small enough that we kept them right there on the desk, where you'd set things like your phone on top of it. I still think the bottom is fine, I literally hit the power button on my mac mini less than once a year since I bought it about a decade ago. If you need to hit the power button a lot, lay it on its side, so you still have access to all the ports, and then it'll be on the side of the machine instead!

 

[jdb8167]

I use my MacBook Air in clamshell mode when working at home. That means the power button isn’t available unless I undock it, open it up, then press the button (if necessary), close it, put it back in the dock, and finally press the touchID button on the keyboard.

Even though this is a much more complicated process than tilting a small computer and pushing a button, I would hardly call it a disaster. It isn’t even inconvenient because it almost never needs to be done.

 

[Analog Kid]

I sympathize with people who are concerned that we're not in good enough shape to be ready for the change. Workplace injuries are a leading cause of lost productivity, so be sure you're in proper condition to reach for that power button and do not attempt to power on your Mac if you feel it might lead to injury.

There are many products available that you might want to use at home to build up the necessary strength, I will leave a link to one below. I hope Apple Watch will add these regimens to their workouts to help us track progress against our goals.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0949VT6DY/

 

[BSoares]

They probably made this thinking you'll never turn it off. When I had an iMac, the only time I used the power button was to force it to turn off in case something screwed up the OS and that was very rare. Other than that, it was always on or sleeping and then touching the keyboard or mouse would wake it up.

 

[BrianBaughn]

This does kinda goof things up if you were thinking you could set it on an air filter…the way a lot of Mac Studio owners have done.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-to-clean-the-mac-studio-from-dust.2338827/

Then again, just pick it up and turn it on.

 

[warriors2017]

Hide the power button so users won't be tempted to turn on and off causing parts to fail

 

[aevan]

This is a disaster.

This is a

Spoiler

nothing.

 

[spillled typos]

Just leave it upside down. Maybe better airflow that way too?

 

[aibloop]

I will buy one JUST for throwing it into the ocean! The outrage! 😄

 

[rulymammoth]

Due to the lack of sockets, and sheer amount of electrical equipment in my home office, my Mac Mini is plugged into a multi-socket extension cable. “I hope that‘s switched off during the evenings”, warned the local fire safety officer. “Yessir”, was my reply.

So the new power button location (which let’s face is, is one heck of a design fail) is going to be a minor PITA for me, but at least cheaper than getting the builders/electrician in and rewiring the house…

What's so special about the structure in your house that requires the local fire safety officer to say that?

 

[ignatius345]

OH god no. Now the whole experience of touching the power button every few months will be ruined. Ruined!

 

[Tyler O'Bannon]

Let’s all stop and ask ourselves, is this really, really, REALLY, actually a big deal?

No, it isn’t. Just like the port on the bottom of the mouse. It doesn’t take long to charge and it’s simply not a big deal. At all.

 

[seek3r]

That's what we all thought until they moved it to the bottom...

Can it really be super-expensive rocket surgery to, you know, integrate it with the power LED on the front?

A capacitive button like what was on the G4 Cube would even have let them keep a buttonless aesthetic

That said, for the relatively few times I use the power button the placement doesnt really bother me too much, it's a little silly but not a real problem

 

[john123]

I don't think anyone thinks it's a good design decision, but some of us are reacting to the hysterics: "This is a disaster."

100%.

I'd love to know why they did it though. I'm sure there's a reason, and I bet it's interesting.

 

[teh_hunterer]

this is a laughably terrible design decision, and it is instead somehow the persons discerning enough to understand that are being unreasonable, then you need to take a look at the level of Apple fandom present in your thinking

We (as a species) should actively resist being rabid, unthinking, fanboys of any company or product, period. It allows us to be manipulated, tricked, and conned.

I think the power button is fine and that your rambling is coming across as unhinged.

 

[teh_hunterer]

dmr says:
"It's not 1997. When have any of us routinely used the power button to turn our computers on or off?"

It's still "1997" here.
I shut down my Mini every night, and flip off the power to the surge suppressor, too.

I'll even shut off the Mac if I'm going out for a couple of hours.

Same with my MacBook Pro 14".
It's downstairs now, shut off, and I won't power it on until I use it later this afternoon.

I've done things that way since my first computer back in '86 (Apple //c).
Old and grey now, and I'll be doing it until "the end".

There is no rational reason to be doing that. You can do it if you want to, but don't be surprised that Apple doesn't cater to that in their design.

 

[john123]

Let’s all stop and ask ourselves, is this really, really, REALLY, actually a big deal?

No, it isn’t. Just like the port on the bottom of the mouse. It doesn’t take long to charge and it’s simply not a big deal. At all.

The mouse is/was a bigger deal just because you can't use it while it's charging. If I'm at my computer doing stuff, I don't want a forced interruption, even if brief, because someone made a deliberate design decision that prioritized form over function. That's different (I assume — perhaps incorrectly) from the Mac Mini situation here.