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[Radical_3d]

The end result is a machine with macrocephaly that is going to wipe the floor with the consoles CPUs while also not needing so much CPU since it's not running stupid Windows (with RAM to spare on top). At the same time it's anaemic GPU released already one generation dated it's going to struggle both in raw power and in the VRAM department giving the user more headaches than it needs

An apple chip is the epitome of this. That's why they are fantastic productivity machines (best in class and best bang for the buck) and poor gaming devices.

 

[old-parts]

No Apple wont be entering that market and Apple GPU's are mobile/productivity focused, they aren't good for games.

Someone can make a Arm system that could run SteamOS but only provided the drivers are open source and built into the Linux Kernel which is what Valve and SteamOS rely on (this means no closed source drivers).

State of Arm GPU's.
* Apple GPU - not supported in linux kernel, a custom linux distro exists for Apple Arm hardware with many drivers that are outside of kernel, will take time to bring those in.
* Arm Mali - Arm's own in house GPU's do have good Linux support but not the latest generation, it takes while for those to come up support wise.
* Qualcomm - Very good support in Linux, latest Snapdragon Elite X2 GPU is in the processing of being added.
* PowerVR - only in the past few years or so have started to properly support open source drivers under Linux.
* AMD - open source driver works fine with Arm.
* Intel - open source driver works fine with Arm.
* Nvidia - viable RTX open source drivers in development but unusable unlikely to be used by SteamOS till it matures.

So no there isn't going to be some kind of rush on Arm Steam Machines any time soon, the only one that is really viable right now ( in next 2 or so years) is Qualcomm because Valve will already have done some of the driver and firmware legal work to make it all work under linux via the Steam Frame.

 

[Esppiral]

No Apple wont be entering that market and Apple GPU's are mobile/productivity focused, they aren't good for games.

Someone can make a Arm system that could run SteamOS but only provided the drivers are open source and built into the Linux Kernel which is what Valve and SteamOS rely on (this means no closed source drivers).

State of Arm GPU's.
* Apple GPU - not supported in linux kernel, a custom linux distro exists for Apple Arm hardware with many drivers that are outside of kernel, will take time to bring those in.
* Arm Mali - Arm's own in house GPU's do have good Linux support but not the latest generation, it takes while for those to come up support wise.
* Qualcomm - Very good support in Linux, latest Snapdragon Elite X2 GPU is in the processing of being added.
* PowerVR - only in the past few years or so have started to properly support open source drivers under Linux.
* AMD - open source driver works fine with Arm.
* Intel - open source driver works fine with Arm.
* Nvidia - viable RTX open source drivers in development but unusable unlikely to be used by SteamOS till it matures.

So no there isn't going to be some kind of rush on Arm Steam Machines any time soon, the only one that is really viable right now ( in next 2 or so years) is Qualcomm because Valve will already have done some of the driver and firmware legal work to make it all work under linux via the Steam Frame.

Wait PowerVR is still alive?

 

[Baemono]

They already have one, the MacMini

 

[Wildebeest]

The Mac Mini was already, on paper, a more impressive hardware launch than the Gabecube. The problem is that instead of Vulkan it use uses their own proprietary Metal API which means they can't use Proton and piggy back on the game compatibility work done by other people, and Valve.

 

[FingerBang]

Wait til you find out the Mac Mini is cheaper and better spec'd than the Steam box.

This.
I got one, it's a mighty machine for a tiny price (and size). A base M4/M5 can definitely play some nice games at 1080p, it's mostly an issue with support. All Apple should do is take the whole gaming compatibility seriously, the same way Steam did it.

They won't unless the direction changes. Their software is also getting shittier.

 

[Hudo]

Isn't this what the Mac Mini is supposed to be?

 

[Aressa]

Who knows? They have a phone sock sold at a premium so maybe. Will not be cheap though.

 

[Alexios]

It's a PC. They already have those, as do other companies, in all kinds of form factors for any kinds of uses, gaming, workstation, living room, home theater, all in one, they aren't Steam Machine clones, they are PCs, as the Steam Machine is, so as it came later that's the clone, but it's not, it's a PC

 

[Geometric-Crusher]

I'm surprised you didn't mention Android in your bold assumption! That OS is definitely reaching for new horizons!

It's also possible, there are two lines of action I see happening.

Firstly, several Steam Machine clone devices are trying to gain space in living rooms, using Windows or Linux.

Secondly, companies are literally attaching an operating system to a physical box; these boxes use standard PC parts, so they will need their own operating system instead of Windows.

One example could be PlayStation OS; install it in place of Windows and bingo, you'll have a PlayStation without having to buy a PlayStation. It's an OS battle that may or may not happen, after all, nobody knows what the future holds.

 

[RoboFu]

Not steam but the Apple TV will soon be strong enough to run anything at low settings. But again it won't be steam . Apple is coming from the other direction. Instead of desktop to smaller devices they coming from mobile to more powerful mobileish devices.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

The new M5 chip from Apple has the most powerful CPU core for any procceser ever. People underestimate how good an Apple console or PC hybrid would be. Slap Steam on an M3 - M5 powered box and you would have a very compelling device, imho.

 

[twilo99]

It's Os, there is no "PC" what exists is Windows, but Valve is using its Steam store to promote another OS.
They are on a collision course with Microsoft and could be kicked out of Windows soon.

Valve used the Windows platform for decades as a foundation to build it's own platform to now compete against it…

 

[diffusionx]

Apple has absolutely no interest in helping Valve sell games on Steam. So disabuse yourself of that notion. They will not help with that.

They want people buying apps on their app store, whether it is Mac or iOS. So anything they do will be about getting more people on those services, or getting the people already on them to spend more money.

I could see them releasing an Apple TV with a better CPU (the current one is really old), and pushing "real" games on that platform, instead of these RE8 iPhone vanity ports, saying that Apple TV is the best way to play them. It also helps that you can buy RE8 on Apple TV and play it on your iPad, or iPhone, or maybe even Mac. They could also make sure that games ported to MacOS like BG3 also run on Apple TV. I think that they could do this.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

They don't have the imagination.

 

[Sethbacca]

I won't be surprised if some of the minipc makers get in on the action. Minisforum, Beelink, shit like that. Once Strix Halo gets replaced with it's next gen upgrade and becomes cheaper it would be a helluva little steam box at the right price just throw SteamOS on it.

 

[AJUMP23]

Mac Mini or Ipad.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Let's hope they never do it.

 

[Brakum]

Apple never cared about games ecen being playable at all on their OS. They're not gonna start now

 

[Moses85]

For

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Wait til you find out the Mac Mini is cheaper and better spec'd than the Steam box.

It's a great device for certain uses, like running local LLMs, where these things (if maxed out) are absolute kings due to their integrated memory. But just not so great for gaming.