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Apple is known for its careful, usually clever design work, which is why it sticks out more when the company fumbles. Last week, Apple started shipping its new M4 devices, and despite getting pretty stellar reviews, the device lineup has Apple fans scratching their heads at the latest in the company’s bizarre design decisions: the Mac mini’s power button is on the bottom of the computer.
To celebrate what at this point seems like spite, let’s take a walk through some of my favorite baffling Apple design decisions.
The Mac mini’s power button is on the bottom of the computer
Credit: Apple
It’s a good thing 2024’s Mac mini is so small, because you’re going to need to pick it up every time you need to access the power button. In an unfortunate asterisk on what otherwise seems like a slick, Apple TV-esque redesign, the M4-powered Mac mini’s power button is on the bottom of the device.
Speaking to Chinese website ITHome, Apple VP Greg Joswiak justified the decision by saying “you pretty much never use the power button on your Mac,” according to a machine translation. That may be so, but it hasn’t stopped the community from designing all sorts of fixes that make the power button more accessible.
Joswiak says, “I can’t remember the last time I turned on my Mac,” so I suppose my guy doesn’t live in an area prone to thunderstorms. I use sleep mode as much as the next person, but as someone who grew up in tornado alley, I also know that when a power outage strikes, it’s nice not to have to rearrange your desk just to turn your computer back on.
You can’t charge the Magic Mouse and use it at the same time
Credit: PCMag
Here’s another Apple device that buries away key functionality for seemingly no reason. Announced alongside the M4 iMac, Apple’s 2024 revision of its Magic Mouse accessory left a key opportunity on the floor—literally. The update’s only change was to update its charging port to USB-C, but frustratingly, that charging port is still on the bottom of the mouse.
I’ve never been much of a fan of the Magic Mouse, because I need my dedicated right-click button. But I acknowledge the versatility that comes from combining a touchpad with a mouse. Unfortunately, even my less Windows-poisoned colleagues hate this thing.
That’s because it’s impossible to use the Magic Mouse and charge it at the same time. Granted, Apple says the Magic Mouse only needs charging about once a month, but if you end up needing to charge while rushing up on a deadline, that won’t be much consolation.
It’s a problem that would have been easily avoided by putting the charging port on the front side of the mouse, like every other wireless mouse I own. There are a dozen generic charging cases on Amazon that all claim to fix this problem (plus make the notoriously flat mouse more ergonomic while they’re at it), but it really shouldn’t be an issue in the first place.
The “brave” decision to remove the iPhone’s headphone jack
Credit: Mashable
This is the big one: the one that has changed how every other phone is made. In 2016, with the release of the iPhone 7, audiophiles and casual users alike noticed a missing port on their new phones—the headphone jack was gone.
It wasn’t exactly a surprise. Consumers knew this was coming from the phone’s announcement a week prior, where then marketing chief Phil Schiller famously said what it took to get rid of the beloved audio standard.
“It comes down to one word,” Schiller said on stage in what has since become one of the most-memed moments in the company’s history. “Courage. The courage to move on and do something new that betters all of us.”
Yeah, OK bud.
In place of the headphone jack, Apple announced the first set of AirPods at the same conference, beginning the swap over to wireless listening for many. There’s no doubt that AirPods were definitely convenient for anyone who could afford the premium, but the rest of us were left using a clunky adapter (at least we couldn’t accidentally flush our headphones down the toilet nearly as easily, though). And while Samsung and Google originally made fun of Apple for the move, it wasn’t long before they followed suit.
In the years since, there have been a few benefits from losing the jack—mostly that it made it easier for phones to be thinner and more waterproof. Apple’s (very) recent move to USB-C has also made it a bit easier to connect a wider range of accessories to its phones now, but back during the lightning years, “pass the aux” suddenly meant wrangling way more cables than anyone behind a steering wheel should.
The MacBook Touch Bar
Credit: Amazon
Up through last year, Apple was still selling at least one MacBook with a Touch Bar, a relic from an era when the company decided that a long, thin touchscreen would be better received than dedicated media keys or a proper escape key.
The idea was solid on paper: Replacing the function row with a Touch Bar allowed users to see contextual controls for the app they were in, like emoji keys when messaging, or different font options when in a word processor.
In reality, though, the Touch Bar simply wasn’t useful enough, and relied on developer support that just wasn’t there. It also made controlling media way less tactile, which can be an issue for buttons that most people don’t actively look at while pressing. Not to mention, all the frustrating calls with less tech literate relatives who suddenly couldn’t find their escape key. (Look above the keyboard, grandma.)
Maybe Apple will refine the Touch Bar and bring it back in the future, but this is one tech trend that the rest of the world (except Dell, for some reason) did not follow.
The butterfly keyboard was as fragile as its namesake
Credit: PCMag
Keyboard mechanisms are something that usually only worry tech nerds. I might have gone out of my way to type this article on low profile mechanical switches, but for my relatives, they’ll just use the keyboard that comes with their computer or in a $30 bundle at Best Buy. That’s why it’s extra impressive how much of a disaster the butterfly keyboard ended up being for Apple.
The butterfly keyboard’s story began in 2015 with the 12-inch MacBook. The idea was the keyboard’s switch mechanism, which resembled a butterfly’s wings, was thin enough to make room for extra components or just make the laptop thinner. Plus, keys would ideally be more stable as you typed. The reality, however, was that it was so small and fragile that it was prone to breaking at the slightest hint of dust or debris.
Worse yet, Apple often didn’t service the single key that happened to break, and would frequently take apart the entire machine to fix it, which proved much costlier. And because of its unique construction, third-party repair shops were often unequipped to help, leaving customers with no choice but to rely on Apple itself.
Apple stopped using the butterfly keyboard in 2020, but not until after extending the warranty on it and having to pay out a $50 million class action settlement first.
The iPod Shuffle with no buttons
Credit: CNET
In 2009, Apple decided to really lean into the iPod’s similarities to hard drives by ditching buttons. I’ve never been a big fan of any iPod shuffle, since I usually only listen to music when I want to hear a specific song or album, but the 2009 model was beyond the pale. The device had no playback buttons on it, and instead required users to listen through a specific pair of headphones bundled with it.
The headphones did have a capacitive touch pad, something that users would get used to as smartphones became more commonplace, complete with the now standard “click to pause, double-click to go forward, triple-click to go back” controls. Mercifully, you could also tap specific areas next to the touch pad to adjust volume, but if you wanted to do anything more complex, you’d have to either consult the manual or get help from a voice assistant called VoiceOver.
As ahead of its time as it was, I’m still not sure this would fly even nowadays. We’re used to these click controls now, but even then, our phones have screens to help us with more complex navigation. Throw in being limited on which headphones you could use, and the whole proposition was just too finicky to work as more than a fashion accessory.
The Mac Pro’s $700 wheels
Credit: Apple
In 2020, Apple started selling $700 wheels for the Mac Pro. The sentence sounds ridiculous enough that it feels like it doesn’t need elaboration, but the controversy actually ended up being a bit more nuanced.
The Mac Pro is generally not intended as a consumer level device. Starting at $6,999 for the tower that this would be attached to, it’s more aimed at enterprise customers than anyone else. If you opt for wheels at checkout, they’ll run you $400. The wheels are just kind of in line with how everything else about the Pro is priced.
So, were they worth it for businesses? Well, their entirely metal and rubber build makes them far more reliable than the plastic caster wheels you might be more accustomed to from cheap computer chairs, which means they do a better job of protecting your investment. In other words, if you go for cheaper wheels and they fall apart while you’re moving your Mac Pro, you could be out far more than $700 as it crashes to the ground.
Even then, though, these wheels have no brakes and are meant to be attached to a computer that has to be plugged into a wall. Being able to occasionally move that computer out from under a desk is nice, but it’s not $700 nice, especially when you could just place the Mac Pro on a cart instead. An executive’s who’s not just in it for image is going to have a hard time justifying the expense.
So, the jokes flooded in, with more than one influencer using the wheels to make hyper-expensive skateboards.
But maybe the joke’s on us. As tech commentator Marques Brownlee argues, the Mac Pro wheels are so expensive and so niche that they were never intended as a serious product, but instead to help Apple maintain its luxury image.
5D corporate chess aside, though, I feel bad for anyone who bought these things, only to have the Mac Pro be stuck on an M2-series chip for years after.
