Mac Mini M4 pro plugged into Eve smart power plug

As long as the Mac does orderly shutdowns and power ons then it should be just fine. HOWEVER, if the computer is running and suddenly loses power because you told the power strip to turn off, that is not good for the Mac or Mac OS.

To be honest though, I think this is a little over the top for home automation. I have smart plugs all over the house controlling all kinds of things from lights to fountains but never thought of using a smart power strip to power on my Mac.

Leave the power on to the M4 Mac mini and get a side stand or a dock with a finger slot.

I keep my Mac powered 24/7 and has been that way for several years with no ill effect. In addition, the new Macs draw so little power at idle that it pales in comparison to your overall electric usage.

So, just enable Lock Screen and eventually (actually relatively quickly) your display will go into a low power mode.

The only time I shut down my Mac is when it is time clean my workstation area. This is primarily due to the fact that drive manufacturers use the cheapest possible USB-C connectors that eventually they weaken so much that a slight bump can cause a disconnect.

There is no reason to shut down the Mac except about 1x per week . For most users the power button location is a non issue but I can see where it would be a very minor annoyance.

If you just want your Mac to shut down and start up each day automatically then use the free all "Onyx" which has a utility that lets you set the times you want for that action.