Dan Moren: M4 Mac Mini Review: Phenomenal Cosmic Power, Itty-Bitty Form Factor

When it comes to desktop Macs, it’s quite possibly the best one Apple offers.

This is an amazing metric and does seem to check out. The Mac Studio and Mac Pro specced out with M2 Ultra chips still hit higher performance highs, but the M4 Pro smokes them in single-core performance and I’d wager is indistinguishable for most tasks most people do on their computers.

And that’s all in the lightest Mac Apple’s ever made and that sits in a 5 inch square on your desk.

I have no place in my life for one of these lil babies, but I wish I had an excuse to get one.

There is one somewhat puzzling decision on the design front: the power button has migrated from the back of the mini, and not to the front but to underneath. If I had to speculate, I’d guess that space on the back of the machine was at a premium and putting the button there would have necessitated the use of a curved aluminum button à la the Mac Studio’s, if it could have been fit in there at all. This feels like a change made for cost and expediency.

Products are always a collection of compromises. Is the power button on the bottom the most convenient place for it? No. If you were designing the computer to be as easy to power on and off as possible, would you put the button there? Again, I’d say no. Is it more important for the other i/o to be easily accessible in the limited space they have to work with? Absolutely.