Apple explains why the M4 Mac mini power button is located on the bottom – 9to5Mac

As part of its dramatic redesign, Apple moved the power button on the M4 Mac mini from the bottom of the machine to the back. In a new interview, Apple executives Greg Joswiak and John Ternus addressed this surprisingly controversial decision…

In an interview posted to Chinese video sharing website Bilibili and spotted by ITHome, Ternus and Joswiak explained that the dramatically smaller form factor of the Mac mini forced Apple to find a new position for the power button.

Ternus and Joswiak said (translated):

Well, we’ve shrunk the size of it so much, right? It’s equivalent to half the size of the previous generation. So we needed to put the power button in the most appropriate spot because it’s so small. It’s convenient to press. Just tuck your finger in there and hit the button.

In fact, the most important thing is you pretty much never use the power button on your Mac. I don’t even remember the last time I turned on a Mac.

Various teardowns have also shown the lengths to which Apple went to make the Mac mini as small and compact as possible.

9to5Mac’s Take

For the overwhelming majority of people, this is a non-issue. If you are someone who completely shuts down their computer at the end of the day, this is Apple clearly telling you that you don’t need to do that.

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