There are many great things about the Mac mini M4, from its rock-solid performance to its extremely compact design. However, if there is one complaint, it is the placement of the power button. The power button is located on the bottom of the computer, and on the back, a rather inconvenient position. Now one of Apple's executives has responded to this controversy.

Speaking to Fast Company, Kate Bergeron, Apple's vice president of hardware engineering, discussed various aspects of the Mac mini M4 design. Its placement, including the power button, was apparently due to Apple's desire to “put as much I/O as possible into this small product.”

Apparently this “necessitated some choices in other respects,” but at the same time he said the Mac mini M4's recessed lip means “pretty good access” to the buttons. Bergeron also noted that most people don't actually use the power button on Apple's silicon Macs, and “most people just put the computer to sleep when not in use.” So Apple decided that having a USB port on the front was more important than a more prominent power button.

Ease of access would depend on your setup and placement of the Mac mini. If you need to turn the machine off regularly, you may want to consider its inconvenient location when moving to your new home.

There was also talk of modular storage for the Mac mini M4. While some people thought the Mac mini M4 would be easily upgradeable, this was not the case. In fact, modular storage was apparently adopted out of necessity due to the amount of stuff packed inside the Mac mini.

According to Bergeron, the Mac Mini is “so tightly packed that, in fact, there is not enough room on the main logic board to place storage on board in a large storage configuration. Therefore, modular storage was adopted, allowing Apple to offer larger storage options that would not otherwise fit inside.