Sure, but then shouldn’t they have a lower power CPU?

I’d be worried about starving my storage need for CPU (ZFS can use a good amount of CPU power) inadvertently.

Running some small services is nice, to avoid having more devices, but I think people want “server with storage” and not actually a NAS, which on the face of it is growing out from nothing more than an SMB share.

Lower power CPUs are very powerful nowadays. Like the one in your phone - it sips power and can do what a full server could do a decade ago.

storage has also increased (thus, its management overheads).

And, to be honest with you, I’d prefer phones that are battery powered get the 3nm process node and these kind of devices lagging on 7nm or whatever, since they have the capability to be powered from the wall, and you can have less consumptive cpus taking a larger spaces making a bit more heat/power per cycle: but since you need less you can get away with it.

Not everything can be 3nm or lower, the yields aren't good enough.

What I care more about is ECC.

The rumoured Apple server (for their use, not for customers) makes me sad. I want one.

Apple silicon with some other os would be an amazing low power nas.

Do you run services on your home router, your cellphone, and your microwave just because they have CPUs?

Your home router is a pretty good place to run some services… Highly recommend running VPN so you can access your home network from anywhere.

Plenty of people run ad-blocking DNS on their router, or mesh VPN software. Handy for devices where you can't install an ad blocker directly, and for working around CGNAT issues due to IPv4 exhaustion.

If my microwave had programmable firmware I'd absolutely reprogram it, get rid of the annoying clock and make my own quick buttons for my most common meals...

My microwave, unfortunately, is closed source. However my home router runs a web server, and my cellphone runs a service called Airdrop, when I turn it on.