New Mac mini power button location; workarounds?

Apple account beta Bob's just accepting that their Apple engineered devices which generally cost double of perfectly fine phones and tablets of other major manufacturers… That we should just willingly accept obvious shortcomings in the functionality of Apple devices.

Having tight engineering for 32 years, we took pride in anticipating users concerns and potential problems… And re-engineered our products before sending them to market.

We would also pay "product testers"… Everyday people like you and I… To come in for a couple hours to an unbiased testing partner facility and have them use our products and to give any concerns or feedback whether it was how easy the instructions were to interpret… Or if the design of a particular item resulted in you resting your hand in a certain place that always caused the product to shut down or go to sleep mode or some other weird thing.

As engineers, our viewpoint was quite simple and it went something like this ...

"If every day users can spot problems with the engineering design of one of our products… That's a big problem!"

Similarly, if every day users like ourselves can spot functionality issues of an Apple product within the first 48 hours of using that Apple product, that's a problem ... especially when paying a "premium price" associated with Apple products.

That was a great workarounds! Maybe it's because I taught engineering for 32 years, but am I the only one who feels letdown and frustrated with Apple that their engineers clearly don't test their prototypes with unbiased outside product testers who like ourselves can find obvious engineering flaws like the location of a power button on the underside of a tight fitting product… Particularly when the previous incarnation from 2014 had the power button in a very easily accessible back right corner.

Frustrating indeed.🤪🤯

Thank you for your reply. I'm stunned that after you pay $800 for a computer that YOU PERSONALLY would find it completely reasonable and acceptable to have to physically lift up your computer each and every single time you want to power it on?

Based on your logic, you'd find it perfectly acceptable to have to reach over into your glove box of your car in order to push the "start button" on your brand new 2026 Mercedes Mercedes-Benz multiple times each day… Every day… For the next 10 years?

Or after buying an overpriced Mercedes-Benz which cost that much because it's supposed to be "engineered better"… That you would find a completely acceptable to learn that the only way the brakes will properly stop your brand new car is that you have to use BOTH OF YOUR FEET ON THE BRAKE PEDAL ... yes, kind of "Flintstones" style?

Oh… "NOW"

you finally see the point that lots of other logical Mac mini users have pointed out in these discussion threads and replies.👏

What mine is Apple charges premium dollar for all their under engineered products… And the most recent incarnation of the Mac mini first came out in 2024… That's over two years ago… And they still have not listened to the consumer and re-engineered that power button.

I bet you don't even bother to ask yourself why.

Because this way they get to sell all the ridiculous products and workarounds such as "platform risers"… Or additional power strips… Etc. all because they are too lazy to put any common sense into the location of that most important button. 🤦‍♂️🤪

Thanks go out to user OpodW for a wonderful set of options.

For the time being I'm gonna stick with the side orientation and your reminder to keep the ventilation on obstructed is spot on.

I also appreciate that you're a "regular person" when it comes to using Apple products and not one of these community users who don't see or read all of the media of engineering complaints that Apple has had over the years with various products… All while charging nearly double but most other global manufacturers charge for high-quality cell phone phones tablets laptops etc.

I'm over 60 years old and my family has been a "Mac family" since we got our first monochrome all in one unit Mac back around 1985.

It's just that having taught Engineering for 32 years, it's ingrained in my DNA that the engineers at a company should NEVER send out products that have not been thoroughly prototyped at our facility… Then test marketed to un buy a sample groups from outside our company… And then re-engineered to incorporate fixes to whatever the general population didn't like.

Unfortunately, Apple has had two years on this latest version of the Mac mini to resolve the location of the power button and they have chosen not to do that… Which it never should've reached that point anyway because I have yet to find a single person who said "oh yeah, that button tucked underneath the bottom side where you can't even reach it without physically picking up the device or building a platform for it to rest on… Yeah that was a genius stroke of engineering by Apple". 🤣

Thanks for some wonderful suggestions.

Thank you also for sharing your good fortune at having your Mac mini remain "on"… Though in sleep mode… And merely powering down the monitor.

Lots of good choices. Thank you so much.

To IKRUPP ...

your points are well taken. Thank you for replying.