Apple has spoken up, and it finally explains why the M4 Mac mini’s power button is at the bottom.
Apple Believes the M4 Mac mini Power Button is Extremely Convenient to Reach and You Pretty Much Don’t Use it
Before I dive into what Apple said, I want to make one thing absolutely clear – I turn off my Mac every single night and turn it back on the next day.
No words on Earth will change this habit. Trust me, I tried.
Now, according to Apple executives John Ternus and Greg Joswiak in an interview, there’s a solid reason why the power button is placed on the bottom of the M4 Mac mini.
The reason is, the Mac mini is very small, and Apple wanted to put the button somewhere convenient. Apparently, the bottom makes a lot of sense for Apple since it’s easy to reach.
Just tuck your finger under the Mac mini and you’re powered on.
The executives say you pretty much never use the power button on the Mac, and they can’t recall a time when they powered on their Mac either.
Basically, what Apple is trying to say here is that you don’t need to turn off your Mac at all. That’s the opposite of what I do every single day.
Now, the thing is, I get it’s super convenient to keep your computer turned on all the time since it’s ready to go whenever you need it to be. In fact, the practice makes perfect sense, too.
But, for absolutely no reason, I can’t shed a habit that has stayed with me for more than a couple of decades. My brain constantly tells me keeping my computer on is not a good idea because it may cause the motherboard to wear out over time.
But at the same time, I never turn off my iPad. And iPhone? Why does the iPhone even have a power button?
Maybe I should try again and see if I can make it work and never ever shut down my Mac.
