Why Apple TV 4K can’t — and won’t — become a Mac

The MacBook Neo runs macOS on an Apple A-series processor with excellent performance, which has caused people to suggest that the Apple TV 4K could be hacked to run macOS and create a full-featured desktop computer for $129.

Or they propose Apple itself port macOS onto the video streamer and release it as a desktop that costs $200 or less.

Neither one is likely at all. Here’s why.

Why an Apple TV 4K can’t run macOS

The MacBook Neo uses an Apple A18 Pro processor from an iPhone, not the M-series chip in every other Mac. Nevertheless, it offers excellent performance for an entry-level notebook.

That proves an A-series chip can handle macOS. Because the Apple TV 4K also uses an A-series chip — can it be hacked to run macOS? Theoretically yes, but the result wouldn’t be a useful computer.

First off, the most recent version of the video streamer includes an A15 Bionic. That chip is from five years ago and runs about 40% slower than the chip in the MacBook Neo.

Even more critically, the Apple TV 4K includes just 4GB of RAM. macOS might run with that amount, but it wouldn’t run well enough to be usable for most people. Apple’s operating system is efficient, but there are limits. It would be forced to constantly swap data onto the SSD to make up for the lack of RAM, causing apps to run very slowly.

Also, the streamer doesn’t include any USB ports. Users would have to depend entirely on Bluetooth for accessories.

In short, while some brilliant hacker might be able to port macOS onto an Apple TV 4K, it would only be for bragging rights. Nothing useful could be done with the resulting computer.

Why Apple won’t make a $129 Mac

So if the Apple TV 4K sells for $129, why can’t Apple make a computer that runs macOS for that same price? It’s simple: Macs cost a lot more to make.

Obviously, such a device would need a newer, faster processor. And some USB-C ports, too. That adds to the cost.

And the computer would need 8GB of RAM, double the current amount. Given the current RAM shortage caused by the boom in AI data centers, that would also push up the price.

Plus, more goes into a Mac than hardware. Software is equally important, and each device that Apple sells must pay for a share of the development cost of macOS and associated applications. This may be a higher amount than you realize.

We don’t have an exact figure for macOS development, but we know Apple spends about $35 billion a year on all R&D. Apple brings in about 8% of its revenue from Mac, and it’s reasonable to assume it spends approximately that amount on developing Mac hardware, macOS and related software. That gives us a ballpark figure of $2.8 billion. The company shipped around 25 million Macs last year, so each one of these has to pay for roughly $112 in R&D cost.

Add up the cost of the hardware and software, throw in some profit, and the total gets to about $399. That’s the price Cult of Mac thinks Apple would charge for an entry-level macOS desktop we dubbed the Mac Neo.

So drop the idea that your Apple TV 4K is going to have a second life as a Mac. And everyone please move on from the theory that Apple could make a $129 Mac if it really wanted to. Or even a $199 one.