Following up on its rumor of a major AMD design win reported last October, WCCFtech has confirmed via multiple sources that the customer in question is indeed Apple. The latest design win follows Apple's use of AMD 200/300 series GPUs in the top-end 27-inch Retina iMac and 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, and is a boon for the chipmaker that has seen its share of the graphics market dwindle over the past several years.
The design wins make mention of two graphics processor families, Polaris 10 and Polaris 11. The former carries a code name "Ellesmere" and is believed to be in the power range that would make it suitable for an upgrade to the iMac. Polaris 11 has the code name "Baffin" and it is believed to be in the power range suitable for an upgrade to the Retina MacBook Pro.
While Apple has limited discrete graphics chips to the top of its MacBook Pro and iMac lines, there would be suitable chips for all but the smallest form factors of Apple notebooks, should the company choose to embrace discrete graphics on a broader array of models.
As we previously noted, the switch to the new Polaris line of GPUs is set to be a significant performance upgrade over the previous 28nm GPUs. Announced by AMD at Computex, the lower-power AMD GPUs are set to be built on Global Foundries' 14nm process. Through an agreement between multiple foundries, the process is equivalent to Samsung's own second-generation 14nm FinFET process, which is the successor of the process used for the A9 and A9X featured in the latest iPhones and iPads.
Performance of these new graphics chips from AMD is expected to be double that of their predecessors, measured on a per-watt basis. This is thanks to the large size reduction and performance gains in going from the 28nm node first seen in 2011 for graphics processors to the new 16/14nm FinFET processes. This would certainly be welcome to the Mac lineup due to the increased graphics demands of the high-resolution Retina screens featured in both the iMac and MacBook Pro computers. It is reasonable to expect that Apple would allocate roughly the same power budget as on current models, meaning the 2x performance could be seen by users in some cases.
According to earlier reports, the chips should be ready to ship in consumer products in time for the back-to-school shopping season. It is not unheard of for Apple to receive priority on new chip designs, though WWDC would be the most logical time to expect these new Macs to debut. The future of the Mac Pro is less certain, though there will certainly be suitable high-end chips from AMD manufactured on TSMC's 16nm process this year.
Monday October 21, 2024 1:44 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.1 on Monday, October 28, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update marks the first significant step forward in Apple's AI integration, offering a new Siri contextually-aware experience and a range of additional capabilities powered by on-device machine learning and large language models. There are a ...
Monday October 21, 2024 8:21 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The Wall Street Journal's Ben Cohen this summer interviewed Apple CEO Tim Cook about the Vision Pro, innovation, Apple Intelligence, and more. Image Credit: Vanity Fair Cook admitted that the Vision Pro headset is not a mass-market product due to its high price. "At $3,500, it's not a mass-market product," said Cook. "Right now, it's an early-adopter product. People who want to have...
Tuesday October 22, 2024 11:39 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released a new firmware update for the original AirPods Pro, the AirPods 2, the AirPods 3, and the Lightning version of the AirPods Max headphones. The new firmware is version 6F21, up from the prior 6A326 firmware that these devices were previously running. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but given that these are all older models, it is likely that the new...
Apple has abruptly reduced production of the Vision Pro headset and could stop making the current version of the device completely by the end of 2024, The Information reports. Citing multiple people "directly involved" in making components for the headset, the report says that the scaling back of production began in the early summer. This indicates that Apple now has a sufficient number of...
Wednesday October 23, 2024 6:55 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's Mac mini has long been a powerhouse in a compact form, offering impressive performance in a small package. With rumors swirling about a completely overhauled new model that is likely just days away from being announced, anticipation is building for what Apple has in store. From enhanced connectivity to major hardware upgrades, the upcoming Mac mini promises to bring significant...
Tuesday October 22, 2024 10:29 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Just a few hours after claiming that the first Macs with M4 chips are launching "very soon," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has followed up with a slightly more specific timeframe. In his latest social media post today, he said an "M4 Mac launch" is on Apple's schedule for next week, but he did not mention a specific day. A concept of a smaller Mac mini with front-facing USB-C ports "Busy week for...
Tuesday October 22, 2024 7:11 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning to launch its first Macs with the M4 series of chips "very soon," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a social media post today, Gurman said these Macs will include new MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini models specifically. He continues to expect the next Mac mini to feature a "revamped" design, in line with his previous reporting that said the new model will be nearly...
Monday October 21, 2024 10:59 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple may soon release new versions of the Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad, according to code found in the iOS 18.1 release candidate by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. There are references to a new Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2, and several Magic Keyboards, which would include versions with Touch ID and number pads, as well as models without. While there is no...
Apple will release iOS 18.1 next week, introducing a suite of advanced hearing health capabilities to the AirPods Pro 2 and the first Apple Intelligence features. The timing of the update was confirmed by reviewers who were given early access to the AirPods Pro 2's new hearing health features, which are now known to be included in the update. The update will include three core features:...
Monday October 21, 2024 2:37 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Popular messaging app WhatsApp was today updated to add a new Home Screen widget that's specific to chats. The widget is available on the iPhone after updating to version 24.21.81, which came out this afternoon. After updating the widget can be added to the Home Screen using the Edit interface. Users can choose from Recents, Favorites, Pinned, or Frequently Contacted to get quick access to...
If Apple announces a proper new mac mini I will get all caught up in my feels.:oops: It's the only thing I want from Apple. Am I asking for too much?:confused: I will pretend that last updated mini never happened, and all will be forgiven.
Give me a Mac Mini option with one of these in it and I may stay with Apple.
I would really love to see an updated Mac Mini. You know, a real update, not dumbing it down by removing previously available options and calling it an "update".
I know how Apple sees Intel (stalled) and Nvidia (useless pieces of garbage) and dGPUs in general (power hungry, outdated processes, points of failure, useless on any lightweight/well built mobile PC). But frankly, they are paid to find alternatives.
I can't get excited for any of this until Apple resolves the big picture: OS X and its graphical performance that is milleniuns behind Windows. Looking at how FCP takes advantage of OS X and Apple hardware (enough to annihilate competition) one can only imagine what they would be able to do if the support was up-to-date.
Anyone doing professional audio or video should not touch Apple hardware (without being paid to), because you cannot depend on Apple to stick to anything other than satisfying the teen crowd. Mac Pro 3 years old no upgrade/update. No hardware between Mini and Mac Pro. No top end laptops. I could go on. When these people move away from Apple, it no longer makes sense to stay in the Apple ecosystem, except of course for the phone, which is now a commodity with limited growth. I am one of the few professionals that I know in my profession that still uses Apple hardware, the others have moved to windows.
Funny. I work at ESPN, ALL macs in video production. But hey, they're not pros apparently.
And you know what's funny? I've never heard one video editor ever mention anything about the macs. Hell, for all they know their screens are plugged into toasters. You know why they don't care? They're busy getting content on air for over 30 channels, and millions of viewers each and every day. You know, working.
Don't confuse your tech snobbery with professionalism.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are Apple's newest iPhones and follow last year's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, but how different are the two latest models, and what exactly does a "Pro" device offer?
