M4 Mac mini illustrates Apple’s unhealthy obsession with the power button

I thought a lot about new M4 Mac mini. When I saw this on Tuesday, I decided that, contrary to popular belief, this was indeed the case. No look like Apple TV 4K; it’s more like a smaller Mac Studio. But I’m willing to admit that the new Mini is a little more Apple TV 4K than we expected.

Case in point: Have you ever seen the on/off button on your Apple TV? Of course not, because he doesn’t have one. And judging by recent events, the same policy may soon apply to Macs as well. Apple seems to think that you turn your Mac on once and then use it for years without turning it off. You simply put it to sleep or let the software shut it down and start it again while you update the operating system.

Since you never need to turn off your Mac, it goes without saying that you don’t need to look for the power button. On desktops, Apple hides it quite discreetly at the back. The equivalent button on the MacBook is a little more prominent – in the top right corner of the keyboard – but since it now has Touch ID built-in, there’s no label and it’s fairly unnoticeable.

However, with the Mac mini M4, Apple has taken the task of hiding the on/off switch to the next level. It is now located on lower housing. Seriously.

Instead of awkwardly reaching for your Mac mini to turn it on, you now have to awkwardly lift it slightly to find the power button. Who came up with this nonsense? This was no Jony Ive, but his aversion to buttons and ports is clearly still deeply ingrained in Apple’s DNA.

Apple’s climate controversy

Let’s go back to the idea of ​​never turning off the device. When you don’t use Apple TV 4K for a while, it shows beautiful pictures from around the world and then goes to sleep. But if I really want to turn this thing off, I press and hold the power button. on the remote control and the TV also falls asleep. Does Mac mini M4 have a remote control? No!

So I turn it on once and never turn it off again… how does that fit in with Apple’s carbon neutrality claim? Yes, I cover part of my electricity needs with a solar panel on my roof. And yes, my local supplier uses renewable energy too. But it will still involve burning coal and gas somewhere along the way.

It’s entirely possible that the aluminum in the case is 100 percent recycled, as is the gold in the conductors and sockets inside. It’s also possible that Apple is now saving even more material in packaging and not using plastic. It is also possible that my Mac mini M4 arrived by ship from China to Rotterdam and was then transported from there by rail.

Okay, the M4 is damn efficient and requires much less power with much better performance than my 2018 Intel mini. But I still want to turn off the Mac mini if ​​I don’t need it for a long time, since it consumes several watts even in standby mode. And when I turn it back on, I don’t want to lift this thing, no matter how light it is.

Current Best Price: Mac Mini M4

€699.00

€699.00

€699.00

€699.00

€699.00