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

[john123]

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.

This situation is slightly different since if you're using it in clamshell mode, you are (I assume) also using an external keyboard. And if you're using the Apple one, then you do have a power button exposed right there.

But I'm gonna keep saying it in my posts so there's no question about how I come down on this issue. Calling this a "disaster" is laughably hyperbolic.

 

[Corefile]

If this is the only thing to complain about then Apple must have designed a pretty awesome product.

 

[familychoice]

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

It’s a normal house - no turrets or underground chambers. The fire safety officer provides a free survey for all local residents, and recommends (sensibly) that devices plugged into electrical multi-plug extension boards are switched off when not in use.

 

[spatlese44]

New design uses only 15% on the aluminum from previous design. I wonder if that’s going to make it feel somewhat cheaply made? We’ll have to wait and see. I‘m definitely buying one and could care less that the button is on the bottom.

 

[Peterrocks!]

I, for one, am happy that it’s on the bottom. I’ve turned-off my recent minis more times by accident than I have on purpose. Maybe it’s because I’m left-handed, but when I go to plug in a cable I have the cable in my left hand and grab the mini with my right, thereby, sometimes, turning it off by mistake.

So maybe that’s the key - all of Apple’s designers are left handed (would make sense) and were therefore constantly turning off there minis by mistake. Makes as much sense as any other theory!

 

[Macalway]

I can see you are all canceling your orders cuz of this.

 

[marstan]

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.

"Can't innovate, my backside."

 

[danpass]

I bought my Mac Mini M1 in Dec 2020 and I think I've used the power button less than 20 times lol

 

[MallardDuck]

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.

From the same company that brought you a brand new USB-C mouse with the power cord in the bottom, and an Apple TV without a power switch.

 

[An-apple-a-day]

It seems like those with non-chubby fingers would be able to reach the power button underneath without actually having to lift the unit.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

a disaster??? simply don't buy one if that doesn't work for you ...

No no no noooooono. You don’t understand. See, at one point in the past, I bought an Apple product. And they’re still in business today. So you could say I LITERALLY saved the company due to my purchase. As a result it’s my right, nay, my DUTY to call out problems with anything that has an Apple logo on it even if I don’t buy it or it’s not for me. Because, if I don’t let people know, there’s literally no one else on earth that will let people know. /s

 

[rafark]

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 get it. This is not a cheap $150 run of the mill computer you’d find at Walmart. This is a premium computer that can cost thousands. Details like this are important and unacceptable in a product like this.

 

[rafark]

HP, particularly, had a habit of hiding the power switch in a new place for every new model of printer.

Macs are not hp pcs, that’s the point.

 

[ozreth]

People shouldn’t need to use this button more than a few times a year at most and with it underneath it saves you from moving it and turning it off on accident which definitely happens spending on people’s setups. I don’t see anything wrong with this and might actually prefer it now that it’s the case and I’ve thought about it.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

What on earth are you people doing with your computers that you don't have to power them back on more than what was it, twice over the lifetime of the machine??? I don't think I have a mac in this office that doesn't get rebooted at least once a day, and a fresh reinstall of the OS every 6-8 weeks bc of some thing not working or an update breaking something. Are you just using a computer to check your email or what?

 

[ozreth]

What on earth are you people doing with your computers that you don't have to power them back on more than what was it, twice over the lifetime of the machine??? I don't think I have a mac in this office that doesn't get rebooted at least once a day, and a fresh reinstall of the OS every 6-8 weeks bc of some thing not working or an update breaking something. Are you just using a computer to check your email or what?

It’s been a long time since I’ve needed to reboot my Macs for anything other than updates. And I’ve never had to reinstall the OS, got my first apple computer in 2007. Can’t imagine what’s happening that you’re needing to do this.

 

[rosecar]

Yeah I don't really get the big deal, echoing what a lot of people have probably said in this thread. We're running a unix-derived OS on hardware that's really, really efficient and has inherited some of the iPhone's "always-on" nature. That said, I also run a Windows desktop (it's where all my disk space lives, plus without having high end Macs, it's a little better for when I'm working on my music at the moment) and even NT, with all its cruft, doesn't really get laggy.

Even Windows, which at times likes to restart just because it feels like it, is good about powering itself back up. On that computer, I only find myself using the power button when I'm changing out hardware.

It's also probably been pointed out, but, on the Mac mini case design previous to this (my first Mac was a late 2012 Mac mini), I don't know about you guys, but I practically had to pick it up and look around it to find the power button anyway-- it was flush with the case and near impossible to find based on feel even when I knew where it was.

 

[profcutter]

It has long been a tradition among technology engineers to hide important stuff like switches, power ports and the like in inaccessible places. HP, particularly, had a habit of hiding the power switch in a new place for every new model of printer.

The only solution is to bring back the Big Red Switch, as found on the IBM PC Model 70, and stick it on the D*MM front!!!.

View attachment 2445101

It is rumoured that the engineer who designed this had his mechanical drawing pencil ceremoniously broken for breaking the sacred tradition of hiding all the good bits...

Mebbe some could come up with an image of a Mac Mini with a Big Red Switch on the front.

That would be a selling point for me. That satisfying click! Add the keyboard with it, now you’d have a sale for sure! Of course, the keyboard connector is wider than the height of the Mac mini, so you might need some adjustments.

 

[Starfia]

You don’t get it. This is not a cheap $150 run of the mill computer you’d find at Walmart. This is a premium computer that can cost thousands. Details like this are important and unacceptable in a product like this.

I was agreeing with you that it's ridiculous. You do think it's ridiculous, right? High five!

 

[seek3r]

What on earth are you people doing with your computers that you don't have to power them back on more than what was it, twice over the lifetime of the machine??? I don't think I have a mac in this office that doesn't get rebooted at least once a day, and a fresh reinstall of the OS every 6-8 weeks bc of some thing not working or an update breaking something. Are you just using a computer to check your email or what?

Why would you have to do this….?

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Some of us aren't simple users, some of us are experimenters, seeking the boundaries of what we can do with our computers.
Some of us have different operating systems we want to run, which means powering down the computer and back up again to switch OS.
Some of us are programmers, and make mistakes that necessitate powering the computer down and back up again.

Should I get one of these (which is most likely) I think I will be standing the computer on a wooden disk, to hold it up high enough to get my finger to the power switch.

As has been noted, Apple have made silly design mistakes before, i.e. the Magic Mouse. I have a 1st generation one (2 x AA cells) and a 2nd generation one (rechargeable). The internal battery in the second has deteriorated, so it doesn't hold charge for very long. Consequently, I use the older one, changing batteries maybe once or twice a year.

I also refuse to use their stupid keyboards, and use either a Logitech keyboard, or mostly, a dasKeyboard, which is a delight to use. The only time I need to pull out the original Mac keyboard is when I am setting up Bootcamp, as you have to unplug all USB devices to make it work.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Macs are not hp pcs, that’s the point.

I rather suspect that some ex-HP engineers are now working for Apple on the latest "Where can we hide essentials like Power, Ethernet cables and Power Switches?" project...

 

[NewOldStock]

Its a feature by design and only you will know how to turn it off and not some passerby...lol

 

[aevan]

You don’t get it. This is not a cheap $150 run of the mill computer you’d find at Walmart. This is a premium computer that can cost thousands. Details like this are important and unacceptable in a product like this.

Then don’t accept them. For me, it’s an amazing little computer.

 

[mahne]

I’m sure Satechi or one of the others will make a hub with a 90-degree push rod and the problem will be fixed.