The M4 and the M4 Pro found in the redesigned Mac mini are efficient enough to help Apple reduce the footprint of its compact machine, but apparently, it is not enough reason for the company to change the way the computer receives its power. Where the company’s MacBook Pro and MacBook Air lineups can be charged through MagSafe and USB-C, the Mac mini requires a more conventional way of accepting wattage. However, one person has shown evidence that the computer can receive power through the USB-C port, assuming you wish to make this tweak possible.
The power is shown to be supplied to the Mac mini through a 12-volt powerbank, which appears to be enough
A YouTuber named Saad OUACHE demonstrates that it is possible to keep the Mac mini’s lights on using a USB-C cable, but this appears more impractical than helpful. For instance, a miniature board with a USB-C port is required, all the while keeping the Mac mini disassembled to attach the wires. The ends of the wires are shown to be connected to a powerbank with a 12-volt, 3-amps specification, resulting in 36 watts.
Apparently, this amount of power can keep the Mac mini functional, with the YouTuber showing that a monitor is connected via the HDMI port and is working perfectly. This is clear evidence that Apple could effortlessly bring the feature through a USB-C connection, but chose to omit it, possibly due to cost concerns. After all, it took a great deal of effort from engineers and designers to reduce the Mac mini’s size, and because the company thought that the majority of users would keep the machine plugged in the traditional manner, it might have believed a USB-C passthrough would be unnecessary.
Keep in mind that possessing electrical engineering skills is a must if you wish to replicate this process. Assuming you are bold enough to try this hardware tweak yourself but currently do not own Apple’s redesigned Mac mini, the base model powered by the M4 is going for $502.20 on Amazon, offering you 16GB of unified RAM and a 256GB SSD to get started. Then again, we will not recommend everyone to try this, as you can risk bricking a perfectly good compact computer.
News Source: Saad OUACHE
