The newer boxes are ‘being chased’ not just due to the newer HW or AV1, but due to the newer kernel (which is already not very fresh) that has better structure, probably newer DoVi libraries, support for more drivers (network,etc), hopefully less bugs and ‘crutches’. At some point there will be WiFi 7 in the boxes that users might want, etc (and that requires new kernel). 4.9 is a bit ancient in comparison and won’t work for the newest SoCs. As the team mentioned several times their resources are stretched pretty thin already, so it only makes sense that the focus is shifted with Kodi-22. Also the new kernel will still support S922, just without FEL. I don’t think that there will be anything in the new Kodi for FEL playback anyway, so a relatively ‘polished’ 21 will be relevant for a long time. One can also use two cards in the future: one with the latest Kodi/kernel for most of the content and one for FEL (not ideal, but still a viable solution). I am planning to use a switchable dual-card adapter for such scenario if I see a clear advantage in the upcoming version(s) in my setup.
I’m still not seeing the need for two boxes to be honest. Once they can sort out the audio seek issues (which are relatively minor) I don’t intend to even update my AM6B+. Unless a new disc format is released what would I want with a newer version of Kodi?
The device does everything I need it to do. I’m running Ethernet. It plays everything that’s out there. A newer box with a newer Kodi isn’t going to make any of my collection play any better.
that’s understandable (and noone is forcing you to have more). But CE is not about one specific box (though FEL shifted the balance a lot) and there are still users that might not care about FEL at all, but will want to buy a less expensive newer box that is more futureproof, has less bugs and satisfies their media needs using CE and official Android OS (for streaming).
Yeah we’re not too far off being on the same page. I think the issue is that FEL has probably attracted a lot of people to coreelec that hadn’t ever previously considered it. (I’m in that category).
The sole reason I have it is to play my local media. I have an Apple TV which is a highly competent streaming device, it just falls down with playing back local media as it doesn’t support lossless Atmos or FEL 7. I use that for everything else. CoreELEC is my movie player and that’s all it does for me.
As I’ve stated elsewhere, for my purposes Kodi is not ideal software. It tries to do a whole range of stuff I don’t need it to do and it runs across a ton of devices. I imagine this makes it very complex to develop and maintain. And this means that updates can break things as well as fix stuff.
So I guess for people like me, I just want the experience on my current box to be as polished as possible. I wouldn’t ever consider a non FEL device because FEL support is what brought me here. So I get why people with a similarly narrow use case can’t understand why the device is being left behind.
Fortunately for me, I don’t have a compulsive need to update my software if my device is working just fine. Particularly with such complex software, I’m happy if development is frozen with a working stable release. Sure I’d like them to keep it updated but no big deal if they don’t. So long as my box keeps doing what it’s doing. 
heads up aliexpress has started their 11.11 sale
I can’t post links but the AM6B+ is going for $134 from aliexpress from gold seller (pre tax)
if you are from the UK you can add the code AEUK1110
I get $12 off
so it’s
$122.16 (pre tax), cheapest I’ve seen I think
if you have more orders, you get a $25 coupon over $169
I wouldn’t bother but kinhank G1 is going for $44 from official kinhank store
if you add that with the Am6b+ you get both for
$148.73 (pre tax)
since it’s from the Kinhank store I expect those boxes to have updated firmware imo
but that’s insane to get both for that price.
Buy it and check, it’s simple to return 
good point. I’m not looking for a new hardware at this point, but that’s good advice, for $34 (pre tax) the G1 is great
Can you send the private link please?
I can’t send, doesn’t show a send button.
just type
“Ugoos AM6B Plus WIFI6 Amlogic S922X-J 2.2GHZ Andro”
it’s $134.16
from
Timethinker BroadlinkSmart Store
no ratings but check the store feedback, gold member for long time, plus you’re covered by aliexpress.
or did you mean the Kinhank G1?
Yes.CE was never about making one perfect device.It would have never come so far off if it was. @ashlar Plus what updates do you want in the future?As in what would it enable for you as an end user?There are some of us who don’t get the constant pressure for updates as well.
I like a stable device as well and the developers are nice enough to investigate any reported bug with logs and work on it when possible.
I would like to know what updates people are hoping for when they make this comment
The FEL supported boxes does everything that a user would want right now imo maybe except for proper menu support but given there’s no real incentive to work on for the developers right now.Make investments at what something offers and not what the future may hold.
Anyways if anyone who has been requesting these updates explain why they want them and what they hope to gain it would help me understand your perspective better
Just Kodi. It can run on Android 5 devices nowadays. I think it will be a long time before it won’t be handled by the hardware in AM6B+ (I know CE is not Android).
Who knows what Kodi will allow in the future. There are still lot of features that are missing or could be better. Current ffmpeg in use cannot differentiate berween DD+ and DD+ with Atmos, versions are available for movies but not tv shows, etc.
Thank you for your perspective on that.
Does that matter for people using passthrough as well?
I did not get the versions part if you could kindly elaborate that
I use passthrough. But effects on AVR can be different if you are bitstreaming or not. When not using object based surround codecs (Atmos or DTS-X), one could prefer to decode onboard and send out multichannel pcm. Currently, if you decode DD+ you decode DD+ with Atmos too (thus losing Atmos info).
Movie versions allow different releases of the same movie to be presented as single entry in the database, while mantaining access to all versions (think Director’s Cut, Theatrical, 4K, Unrated, etc.).
For TV Shows the functionality hasn’t been implemented yet but it could be useful too.
Ah these can be useful to some I guess but when one is chasing the FEL rabbit hole I think they would chase better audio support via passthrough instead.I see a possibility when they don’t have a AVR but why not let the display decode in that case rather than the box so you bypass this issue entirely.
My point being many wouldn’t have flocked to CE for FEL alone if there was issues that were deal breakers.
Wish there was a statistic as to how many people on CE rely on fel in the first place.Sure I would love to have unlimited support as well but given this is not a commercially available solution and being grateful for all the work done to make this happen for free is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Given how they are stretched thin we should let the developers take decision for what CE was supposed to be rather than cater to one box
I see the argument “I’m ready to donate” but that is just user’s putting a price and hoping developers commit.At that point its not the same anymore.Moreover that attracts even potential lawsuits like how Nintendo went over every emulator that had a donate option.Plus to top it all off if developers feel pressured by such requests when they are doing it for free imagine how much more pressured they might feel when people who donate demand things as they might feel owed.
The problem is that users would pay 5 or 10 € and they expect a feature which costs 100 times more 
That’s why it is better to work without.
No problem, when such an expensive feature is requested, just say the price
The work is priceless. It’s not possible to quantify and certainly impossible to handle with donations. That’s just the way it is. Because the “features” are on top of the daily “work” of maintaining CE.
There was a missed opportunity of moving ng forward. That’s it. For now, case closed.
That’s it, all is said. If someone need a different box because they really want the new hyped feature, they can go ahead and buy it, with CE 32 support, it’s fine for me.
No.
The opportunity is there.
But we know the decision…