The new Mac mini is almost certainly coming

[sublunar]

They could have just bumped the 2014 mini to a newer Intel mobile-class chipset. Instead there was a significant shift to making it a bit more "pro", using desktop-class processors (I think people thought that Trunderbolt external GPUs were going to be a thing at the time).

As @sevoneone said - Apple also did a major U turn on desktop Macs in 2017 so who knows what internal shenanigans went on. They may have been planning to drop the Mini and go all-iMac.

At the time I recall it needing engineering resources to create a refresh mini (remember the MacBook Pro got annual upgrades so the same chipset could have been used) - bizarre thinking but then the sudden pivot to 2018 Mac mini with Coffee Lake desktop class Intel CPUs (along with thunderbolt ports) and still upgradable RAM was a pleasant surprise.

And yes I did research thunderbolt enclosures with GPUs but then found that Nvidia was off the table, AMD was limited choice and the price of adding 4x PCIe 3.0 lanes to then add a limited choice of GPUs was not a great value proposition.

YMMV but I wouldn't touch the tvOS only ATV at those prices - actually I wouldn't touch the current ATV at its new price. Virtually any modern TV has the basic streaming services (and, often, Airplay) built in and, if not, there are cheaper FireTV and Roku boxes.

Otherwise, I remain to be convinced that there is a market for - effectively - an Apple games console. I suspect that the target market will already have a games console (probably a much more expensive one) which can double as a streamer.

The "computers" App which could play material (particularly Music) from my Mac was an attraction - but with Apple pushing towards the cloud and using the Music app instead that's becoming less important, and there are alternatives like Jellyfin (...which has better clients on other platforms).

...and your last option, effectively a Mac Neo, would be interesting - but a whole other type of purchase.

The Apple TV has the biggest percentage price increase across all Apple products due to the low start price - which is already high for a streaming box. If you're not pushing the gaming aspect (admittedly it would take a couple of years to come to fruition) and TVs are starting to get the Apple TV app as well as Airplay then what exactly is it for? The homeOS powered iPad on a stick pastiche of a G4 iMac might take away the thread powered HomeKit Hub role which has already been removed from iPads.

There's already been some disquiet from the PS5 crowd about the loss of discs - Apple don't have discs to lose I guess but there are devs being released after a recent run of layoffs. The latest news seems to be Microsoft following suit with Xbox in terms of price increases so I suppose there's little reason to be surprised by the price re-alignments.

I guess on a value perspective the only thing left would be to give us a 399 USD 256Gb device that can boot into macOS as a Neo.

For me, the possible attraction of a Mac connected to my TV would be the ability to run MacOS Kodi (or JellyFin/Plex/whatever) alongside the tvOS streaming clients. So I agree that running tvOS Apps under MacOS (plus, as I mentioned earlier, a 10' interface like the old Front Row that could launch both tvOS and MacOS apps).

Well, I'd prefer long term support for macOS on ARM - if there's ways to keep it going on M1 Macs then I'm all for it.
Other than that, what else could you do with an M1 Mac mini (bringing this back on topic) in 2032 if macOS has left it behind completely? A games machine with a respectable library of games would be good, or and afterlife as a home hub - imagine if an M3 MacBook Air could perform the same job as a Home Hub with included Thread radio?

However, I'd say the concept remaining would be to try old Macs out as a tvOS based gaming platform which might actually give Apple Arcade a reason to exist.

 

[sevoneone]

Well, I'd prefer long term support for macOS on ARM - if there's ways to keep it going on M1 Macs then I'm all for it.
Other than that, what else could you do with an M1 Mac mini (bringing this back on topic) in 2032 if macOS has left it behind completely? A games machine with a respectable library of games would be good, or and afterlife as a home hub - imagine if an M3 MacBook Air could perform the same job as a Home Hub with included Thread radio?

However, I'd say the concept remaining would be to try old Macs out as a tvOS based gaming platform which might actually give Apple Arcade a reason to exist.

Well, currently the M1 and M2 can natively boot linux with pretty decent support. M3 kinda works. So the door is open for some interesting options. You could also potentially run arm64 linux virtual machines while running the last supported version of macOS for a long time I'd assume... You'd just need to do some networking bridging shenanigans and keep macOS off the internet while letting the Linux VMs talk to the world.

 

[DCIFRTHS]

I just hope they focus on maximizing compatibility* and can keep the Apple TV pricing down. I want a new one but not at current prices.

*On my primary TV, I have the original 2017 Apple TV 4K and it sometimes lags. I actually do have the current 2022 Apple TV 4K but I’m using it only on a secondary TV because the 2022 Apple TV 4K has some sort of HDMI compatibility issue with my primary TV setup, causing signal loss which wasn’t fixed by numerous different brand new HDMI cables. My 2017 Apple TV 4K works on that primary TV setup without any such signal loss using the same cables, but as mentioned it sometimes lags.

Signal loss as in complete loss of video and audio?

 

[EugW]

Signal loss as in complete loss of video and audio?

I got occasional complete loss of video and audio. I tried swapping out to newer cables, including certified cables, and got the exact same results. Note that this is through a Marantz receiver, not direct to the TV.

No matter what I tried, I got the same issues. So I swapped in my older 2017 model Apple TV with the same audio and video settings and have no such problems, even with the older non-certified cables.

I now use the newer model on a secondary TV and the older model on main system. The older model works fine overall but as mentioned, it can occasionally lag during OS navigation. Also, my older model is only 32 GB. My newer one only gets used infrequently, but has 128 GB. That seems like a waste.

 

[sublunar]

I got occasional complete loss of video and audio. I tried swapping out to newer cables, including certified cables, and got the exact same results. Note that this is through a Marantz receiver, not direct to the TV.

No matter what I tried, I got the same issues. So I swapped in my older 2017 model Apple TV with the same audio and video settings and have no such problems, even with the older non-certified cables.

I now use the newer model on a secondary TV and the older model on main system. The older model works fine overall but as mentioned, it can occasionally lag during OS navigation. Also, my older model is only 32 GB. My newer one only gets used infrequently, but has 128 GB. That seems like a waste.

Isn’t momentary signal loss down to trying to switch into or out of HDR mode on a tv not capable of it when the menu system and content don’t match? I had similar issues with my second gen 4k Apple TV until I turned that setting off (force 4k SDR) and I’m using a sound bar with pass through.

 

[EugW]

Isn’t momentary signal loss down to trying to switch into or out of HDR mode on a tv not capable of it when the menu system and content don’t match? I had similar issues with my second gen 4k Apple TV until I turned that setting off (force 4k SDR) and I’m using a sound bar with pass through.

By occasional I meant it happened maybe once or twice a day or several times a week, but it was random, sometimes right in the middle of a show. Sometimes it would fix itself after a second or two, but sometimes it would not.

I do keep HDR on since I have an HDR OLED TV, but that momentary blackout from switching formats is a different issue, expected behaviour that I can live with.

 

[CWallace]

The Apple TV has the biggest percentage price increase across all Apple products due to the low start price - which is already high for a streaming box. If you're not pushing the gaming aspect (admittedly it would take a couple of years to come to fruition) and TVs are starting to get the Apple TV app as well as Airplay then what exactly is it for?

For me, the Apple TV box is for a clean UI experience under tvOS and that the box does not track everything I watch and sell it to advertisers.

 

[sublunar]

For me, the Apple TV box is for a clean UI experience under tvOS and that the box does not track everything I watch and sell it to advertisers.

People will inevitably find it hard to find value in a 249 usd streaming box even with that advantage, especially if it used to cost 169 a couple of months ago.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

People will inevitably find it hard to find value in a 249 usd streaming box even with that advantage, especially if it used to cost 169 a couple of months ago.

I had not noticed the price increase.

However, I have tried a number of streaming boxes over the years. The Apple TV is the only one I find nearly flawless. I can stream 2160p videos from my RPi 5 with no problems, at full speed and resolution.
It is far better than the apps built-in to the Smart TV.

I just wish I could have bought a Dumb TV and saved the money.

 

[Macalicious2011]

My 4k ATV that I have owned since 2015 has spoilt me. It makes the UI of every smart tv feel intolerable.

Not just in terms of responsiveness but bloat, ads and cluttered home screens that include live tv schedules.

 

[Cape Dave]

My 4k ATV that I have owned since 2015 has spoilt me. It makes the UI of every smart tv feel intolerable.

Not just in terms of responsiveness but bloat, ads and cluttered home screens that include live tv schedules.

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