Power button placement on Mac Mini M4 and USB audio interfaces in sleep mode

A typical USB-powered audio interface takes less power than the average household LED light bulb. And most modern devices still consume a bit of power even when "shut off". The only way around that for many devices is to disconnect the device completely from AC (which opens up a number of other issues). So what people may think they're doing to conserve power is often a phantom and not really as effective as they believe.

In any case, it's your decision what matters most to you. If having the power button on the bottom of the new Mac mini doesn't fit into your workflow or needs, you'll want to choose a different device. There's still the old Mac mini, while supplies last, and if Apple releases an M4-based Mac Studio, that may have the power button in a different, more accessible location. Or there are the MacBooks.

Regards.

Powering off at the end of a work day is a best practice for cyber security - If the device is off line, it can't be reached. Think of the CloudStrike outrage that took down many airlines and other industries. Any workstations that were powered off when the overnight update was delivered were not impacted. Those left on were bricked by the bad update. There are many bits of software for MacOS that can also update overnight. So, better to power down daily, just as the latest security recommendations recommend daily power cycling your iPhone and iPad. The button placement is cosmetic and less costly to manufacture, but poorly placed.

Sleep is unnecessary on later Macs and should be disabled. Energy savings with Sleep are trivial and self-deceiving. The planet gains absolutely nothing.

For proper, planet-responsible operation, shut your Mac for long absences/idle overnights (i.e. do not manual-sleep), and for regular operation, use the settings exactly as shown below (reboot after changes) should fix.

Additionally, avoid manual sleeping your Mac and use the Lock Screen settings to switch the display off on timer:

You can check on the internet for solutions that can have it sit in its side, there by making the button easily available. Or you could come up with some DIY solution of your own with cheap common kitchen or closet racks or if you know someone with a 3D printer, design one for exactly your needs.

varjak paw wrote:

A typical USB-powered audio interface takes less power than the average household LED light bulb. And most modern devices still consume a bit of power even when "shut off". The only way around that for many devices is to disconnect the device completely from AC (which opens up a number of other issues). So what people may think they're doing to conserve power is often a phantom and not really as effective as they believe.

....

Regards.

There must be a PhD waiting for the right student to take that on...

Despite what some have said in this thread, I don't know anyone with a 1/4" thick finger. Hard to believe any claim that a person can reach the button w/out moving the device.

I found a slick DIY solution however. You just need black electricians tape, and a 3 inch core from an empty roll of masking tape. Just wrap the used core once or twice with the electricians tape. This provides a near perfect diameter base that doesn't block the venting. The black tape disguises the core, looks as if it were part of the device, and lifts it high enough for any finger.

For anyone really concerned about the issue, here's one person's proposed workaround:

https://appleinsider.com/articles/24/10/31/a-clever-hack-fixes-the-new-mac-mini-power-buttons-awkward-location

Simply place a marble beneath the Mac mini power button, so that whenever you need to use it, you can just press down on the top. 😊

Turn it turtle and use the Power button easily

I have solved the power button location on my M4 Mac Mini Pro. I simply oriented it on its side with the fan facing left. I can simply lean forward and reach around the edge of my display and press the power button now. With my M2 Mac Mini Pro, this required me to stand up and reach behind the display owing to the older mini case dimensions and power button location.

The newer Broadcom BCM4388C2 chip also means my Wi-Fi 6 signal is stronger and more consistent than the previous M2 Mini Pro that had the BCM4388 chip. The Wi_Fi radio is no longer on the bottom of the M4 mini (as it was in the M2 mini).

One would need the finger size of an arthropod to reach under the M4 Mac Mini Pro oriented with the fan side down.

I also doubt that most audio interfaces use much power. Certainly they don't consume anywhere near as much power as would an audio amplifier, and I know of few music studios that turn all their amplifiers off at night. So there's really little point that I can see in shutting any Mac off regularly.

In any case, we are all just fellow users here and can only speculate as to why Apple put the button on the bottom. And it really doesn't matter what we think; the fact is that it's on the bottom and people will need to adapt their processes accordingly.

Regards.

seaandnature wrote:

The Mac Mini M4 basically seems like a fine piece of kit, as long as it will able to keep cool under load.

...

Considering we all want to save the planet etc, won't this lead to more people leaving on their audio interfaces, because sleep mode is just more convenient than picking up the Mac Mini M4 to switch it on?

This all rather misses the point that the power switch, even on the M2 mini I have, is awkward to use and seems very fragile, almost an afterthought with little thought. What we need is a decent rocker switch!

The latest silicone Mac's use a very small amount of energy in standby/sleep mode.

The Mac mini is not an audio interface, it is a full fledged desktop computer.

Cycling on/off/on, is harder on internal components and uses more power than just letting it sit in standby/sleep mode.

I’m going to use M4 mini placing it upside down on my desk. That may also help ventilation?