【Seung Ha (승하) Archives】

The Seung Ha (승하) Archivesnew Mac mini, powered by the M4 chipset, was announced last month. Not only is the new M4 Mac mini arguably affordable and powerful, but it also ushered in a complete redesign for the computer. The new Mac mini is now Apple's smallest computer ever.

However, there is one pretty controversial design choice with the new M4 Mac mini: The power button. 

Previously, the Mac mini was designed with the power button located on the back of the device alongside all of the computer's ports. With the redesigned M4 Mac mini, however, Apple placed the power button on the bottomof the device.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

That's right. The power button for the new M4 Mac mini line of computers is located underneath the device.

SEE ALSO: M4 Mac mini vs. M2 Mac mini: What are the differences?

Apple responds

Now, we have some answers regarding what Apple was thinking with the M4 Mac mini power button.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Credit: Apple

In an interview with IThome, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak and Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus addressed the location of the Mac mini's power button.

After being asked about the design choice for the Mac mini, the Apple executives explained that it was the "optimal spot" for the power button due to the redesign. According to Apple, the new location is notinconvenient. Users can just tuck their finger underneath the computer and press the power button.

In addition, the Apple executives brought up how users don't really utilize the power button on the Mac mini all that often. 

Mashable's take

As an owner of both the M1 Mac mini and the new M4 Pro Mac mini, I can attest to what Apple is saying. I've rarely had to use the power button on my old Mac mini. The most regular use for the power button was during the rare occasions where there was an issue with my computer and I had to force restart by holding the power button down. Otherwise, I'd rarely shut the Mac mini off. I just let it drift off into Sleep Mode.

As for the location of the power button on the new redesign M4 Mac minis, that's true, too. The location of the power button is not that big of a deal. It's still accessible for those rare occasions where I'll need to use it.

The location of the power button has garnered so much attention, it's reminiscent of another controversial Apple design: the Magic Mouse. Apple placed the charging port for the Magic Mouse underneath the device, meaning if you need to charge the mouse while using it, well, you're out of luck. You can't.

Unlike the Magic Mouse, though, the location of the power button on the Mac mini does not affect any use case scenario whatsoever.

Topics Apple

• Social Good
• Deals
• Digital Culture
• Games
• Life
• Entertainment
• Science
• Tech

• Put Me In, Coach!
• Russia’s Dr. Seuss by Anthony Madrid
• A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Make Money from Again by Jenn Shapland
• Redux: Knowing It Would End by The Paris Review
• Insane wildfire photo perfectly sums up America in 2017
• Cooking with Hilda Hilst by Valerie Stivers
• Staff Picks: Scenes, Screens, and Snubs by The Paris Review
• A Poem Is Not a Frontal Assault: An Interview with Jane Hirshfield by Ilya Kaminsky
• Mary Shows Up
• Emily Dickinson’s White Dress by Martha Ackmann

• Facebook shuts down Ramzan Kadyrov's accounts after U.S. sanctions
• Bono thinks music got 'very girly' and it's been great knowing you dude
• Museum doppelgängers tweet goes massively viral because they're always amazing
• 10 albums turning 10 years old in 2018
• Here's why Apple is getting sued for slowing down phones
• The 'Fantastic Beasts' sequel conjures up a bunch of new images
• Dustin Hoffman's accusers thank John Oliver for confronting him
• True wireless charging is about to become a thing
• Well the weather in Chicago is frightful, but these sad tweets are so delightful
• Instagram adds 'Recommended for You' feature to your feed

• Comparing Team Communication Apps: What Do You Get for Free?
• On the Timeless Music of McCoy Tyner by Craig Morgan Teicher
• Staff Picks: Spines, Spaniels, and Sparsity by The Paris Review
• Bread, Banana, Apple, Milk, Goodbye by Jennifer Tseng
• Creator job opportunities grew 7x in recent years [April 2025]
• Fairy Tales and the Bodies of Black Boys by Sabrina Orah Mark
• Redux: Monologue for an Onion by The Paris Review
• Redux: Pull the Language in to Such a Sharpness by The Paris Review
• Skype is finally shutting down
• The Photographer and the Ballerina by The Paris Review

• Amazon Spring Sale 2025: Best Apple AirPods 4 with ANC deal
• America Infected: The Social (Distance) Catastrophe by J. Hoberman
• The Artist’s Hypothesis by The Paris Review
• Sleeping with the Wizard by Sabrina Orah Mark
• Bangladesh vs. New Zealand 2025 livestream: Watch ICC Champions Trophy for free
• Kamau Brathwaite: 1930–2020 by Vijay Seshadri
• The Artist’s Hypothesis by The Paris Review
• Whiting Awards 2020: Jake Skeets, Poetry
• Impact of Temperature on Intel CPU Performance
• A Story in One Picture by The Paris Review