Mac mini Ports and Power Buttons

The M4 Mac mini was expected to have up to five ports, but Apple surprised us by putting three on the front.

It’s a move that makes total sense in retrospect. The Mac Studio has the same design, and the new Mac mini looks even more like a baby brother to Apple’s powerhouse than the original.

Sadly, it’s not all good news, as those front ports are only USB-C with USB 3 support for speeds of up to 10Gb/s, even on the M4 Pro model, which sports three Thunderbolt 5 ports around the back. Still, that’s more than sufficient for connecting many peripherals, and anyone who needs more than three Thunderbolt ports can always add a hub.

The other odd thing about the new Mac mini? The power button is on the bottom. Apple probably doesn’t expect people to actually turn it off, assuming standby mode is good enough for most folks, but it’s still an awkward place for it.