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M1
- Thread starter 2010mini
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I don't see Apple putting an M1 in a 179$ product.
A15 is more likely unless Apple raises the price by quite a bit.
EDIT: By the way... I wonder what would happen if somebody hacked an hypothetical M1 Apple TV to run macOS. You could buy a 200$ box that's basically the same as an M1 Mac mini.
A15 is more likely unless Apple raises the price by quite a bit.
EDIT: By the way... I wonder what would happen if somebody hacked an hypothetical M1 Apple TV to run macOS. You could buy a 200$ box that's basically the same as an M1 Mac mini.
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There were rumors of a M1 ATV a while back, but just that, rumors.
Actually, there has been rumors of gaming-focused ATV since 2014, but again, nothing so far.
The A10X in the ATV4K1 is actually a pretty decent chip that in terms of raw graphics performance, it is capable almost three times more powerful than a PS3 and Xbox 360.
The current ATV4K's A12 isn't quite as powerful, but still more than capable for more than just a streaming box.
The probably that the ATV and tvOS is that gaming developers don't like it for various reasons, mostly probably being that the platform is mostly ignored by Apple. *see how many times it was mentioned during the WWDC22*
If the platform is ignored by Apple, people will not know the benefits of paying the premium price of the HW, and people will not buy it. If people won't buy it, developers can't justify the cost of supporting tvOS version of apps.
If Apple keeps ignoring the platform, and/or their focus is keeping the ATV an overpowered, but overpriced streaming box, there probably no reason to have an M1 in the ATV.
Other than that, then you are correct, the current hardware is way more than capable for just a streaming box.
Actually, there has been rumors of gaming-focused ATV since 2014, but again, nothing so far.
The A10X in the ATV4K1 is actually a pretty decent chip that in terms of raw graphics performance, it is capable almost three times more powerful than a PS3 and Xbox 360.
The current ATV4K's A12 isn't quite as powerful, but still more than capable for more than just a streaming box.
The probably that the ATV and tvOS is that gaming developers don't like it for various reasons, mostly probably being that the platform is mostly ignored by Apple. *see how many times it was mentioned during the WWDC22*
If the platform is ignored by Apple, people will not know the benefits of paying the premium price of the HW, and people will not buy it. If people won't buy it, developers can't justify the cost of supporting tvOS version of apps.
If Apple keeps ignoring the platform, and/or their focus is keeping the ATV an overpowered, but overpriced streaming box, there probably no reason to have an M1 in the ATV.
For gaming and AR/VR.
Other than that, then you are correct, the current hardware is way more than capable for just a streaming box.
Using an M1 chip might happen some day, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Apple seldom updates the Apple TV devices, and when they finally do, the updates are usually just incremental updates. Personally, I prefer they don't update to M1 chips if that would drive the cost up any more, and it certainly would. The Apple TVs are already overpriced IMO, and I would not buy one if I had to pay $400+ for it, and I suspect it would be even more than that with an M1 inside of it.
The rumors are always thick around this forum site, hence the name MacRumors, but mostly they should be ignored unless there is some good data to back them up like FCC filings for new devices, supply chain leaks of actual parts or bits that can be verified, or hints from Apple managers who are very high up in the company. Rumors are a huge unknown. What we do know is that Apple rarely updates the Apple TV, and when they do they more often than not use yesterday's tech rather than the current cutting edge tech they put into more expensive devices like iPhones, iPad Pros, MacBooks, and other high end devices. Apple even throttles some of the high end tech, like the TB3/USB4 ports on my MacBook Air M1.
The rumors are always thick around this forum site, hence the name MacRumors, but mostly they should be ignored unless there is some good data to back them up like FCC filings for new devices, supply chain leaks of actual parts or bits that can be verified, or hints from Apple managers who are very high up in the company. Rumors are a huge unknown. What we do know is that Apple rarely updates the Apple TV, and when they do they more often than not use yesterday's tech rather than the current cutting edge tech they put into more expensive devices like iPhones, iPad Pros, MacBooks, and other high end devices. Apple even throttles some of the high end tech, like the TB3/USB4 ports on my MacBook Air M1.
Apple seems to put their highest-volume SoCs into the ATV. The newest one has an A12, which was used in the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPad Air 3, iPad Mini 5, and iPad 8, and from 2018 to still being sold new today - not to mention the many other products that used the X and Z variants. In other words, they made a whole ton of those chips where the amortized cost per chip was tiny by the time they put it in the ATV.
Whatever chip is in the next ATV, it will be the one that is first used in a bunch of iPhones and iPads spanning several generations and years.
Whatever chip is in the next ATV, it will be the one that is first used in a bunch of iPhones and iPads spanning several generations and years.
This isn't exactly correct for all the models. While the ATV doesn't get updated yearly, there does seem to be a pattern, and it is not just incremental.
2007: ATV1 - First generation, very different from the successors.
2010: ATV2 - The first big update. New form, new OS, new features.
2012: ATV3 - On the surface, maybe incremental, but it was equipped with new A chip, fastest at the time, with the exception of the A5X that was launched in the iPad the same day that the ATV3 was launched.
2015: ATV4 - New design, new OS, new features, like the ATV2. Slower A chip than other current HW.
2017: ATV4K1 - Like the ATV3, might seem only a small incremental update, but it launched with the fastest A chip at the time, the A10X. This was a huge upgrade for the GPU as well.
2021 ATV4K2 - This one breaks the cycle in a way, as the A12 has a less powerful GPU as the A10X. The ATV4K2 was the first model that the chip was not a current year chip, and it was a few years old. I suspect this release had more to do with using the same chip as many other devices that was still being sold, as the A10X was only in one other devices, and one that had been discontinued for a while.
202? ATV4k3 - I have a feeling this will go like the ATV3 and ATV4K1, sticking with the trend and putting a very powerful A chip (X, Z, or M variant) in it, and increasing the RAM and Storage to 128GB ro 256GB. Maybe have a cheaper ATV, less gaming-focused for the masses that just want a streaming box, keeping the storage at 32GB, and keeping the A12.
That, or Apple quietly discontinues it....
I think this was the case for most models, but the ATV4K1 was an odd one, as it had the fastest chip at the time, and it was only on one other device, the 2017 iPad Pro.
That's true, I forgot that one used the X variant in that one. It might be that they used a binned A10X for the ATV (it had less RAM than the iPad Pro version), so maybe it was a way to use chips that would otherwise be wasted?
I disagree. Devices Apple pushes tend to get yearly updates. ATVs get sporadic upgrades which tend to be rather incremental in nature. Plus the tvOS updates tend to be even more sporadic, except for security updates, and they tend to be rather lackluster. The ATV remains a step-child device one step away from foster care. Apple makes no attempt to make it cutting edge, usually doesn’t even fully adopt industry standards, but charges twice what other companies charge for their “premium” streaming boxes, and those competitive devices do just as good of a job as the ATVs. Actually they tend to do better if you watch much Youtube because Amazon and Roku don’t have a running issue with working together with Google.
It depends on the product line, most are not yearly.
iPhones and AW are yearly.
iPads, usually yearly, but some subgroups are less often, Air, Pro, Mini.
Macs, are definitely not yearly. Some get released more often than others.
Think of it this way, since the ATV3, there has been just as many Mac Mini releases as ATVs.
This, I agree.
The ATV and tvOS could be so much more, but due to Apple’s apparent lack of interest, it is just an expensive, overpowered streaming box.