On: Apple announces it will switch to its own processors for future Macs

[jdhn]

I was interested by the GPU that was mentioned in the slide, does this mean that Apple is thinking that they have the expertise to take on Nvidia and AMD in that space?

[bredren → jdhn]

Nearly the entire demo set was about GPU performance by demoing graphic responsiveness. Almost a bigger deal than the processor itself it seemed like.

[nouveaux → jdhn]

Whether or not they think that or they can, they have been developing GPUs for iOS devices. It'll be interesting to see what they do for their desktops.

[jdhn → nouveaux]

I agree. I know they're currently using AMD GPUs, but how much longer will they keep using AMD if they believe that their own in house chips can do a better job? Also, I'm curious as to whether they would try to sell their GPUs (iGPU?) to gamers who traditionally don't stay within the Mac ecosystem at all. Having a 3rd major player in the GPU space would be wild.

[bredren → jdhn]

It helps explain why they haven’t added nvidia support. Apple is going the opposite direction and getting rid of both.

[pedrocr → jdhn]

> Having a 3rd major player in the GPU space would be wild.

Reportedly 4th as Intel is supposedly trying once again for that market.

[donarb → jdhn]

Apple uses SOCs, the GPUs are on the same chip as the processor.

[stu2b50 → jdhn]

The advantage Apple has is that Nvidia and AMD and Intel have to actually make money from their chips. Apple can break even or make a loss on the chips themselves.

So maybe, they certainly have the budget to try.

[jandrese → stu2b50]

I don't expect Apple to sell the hardware for cost. They are quite adept at selling products with a hefty profit margin.

[stu2b50 → jandrese]

I don't mean in pricing, but design. Other companies have to design chips that make sense in the market. Apple makes it for themselves, and they can make chips that would not make financial sense, but perform great.

And charge you a bunch for the whole package, of course.

[monocasa → jdhn]

I think it's their modified PowerVR cores they've been using.

Probably only focused on the iGPU segment.

[jandrese → jdhn]

Given the lackluster support Apple has for the AMD GPUs they currently ship I bet it will feel like an upgrade. Plus a lot of the product line uses the integrated Intel graphics so beating that isn't much of a challenge.