For the foreseeable future, Apple will not only abandon Intel processors in Mac computers, but also AMD Radeon graphics accelerators. The Californian firm has already begun work on own ruler of video adapters, and it is a question both integrated, and about discrete decisions. All of them will be united in family Metal GPU Family which has received the name from graphic API Metal.
Experts have already expressed the opinion that Apple’s migration from x86 to ARM will lead to rejection of AMD discrete video adapters. Now this theory is confirmed on slides for developers. At present, Advanced Micro Devices supplies Apple with about five million GPUs annually, and it is hard to judge how soon “apple” will bring this number to zero.
Apple’s own ARM processors are predicted to be the first to migrate the MacBook Air laptop and mini Mac Mini, now powered by Intel integrated graphics. In the future, MacBook Pro laptops, iMac monoblocks and Mac Pro workstations will follow suit. These cases raise many questions about ARM processor performance and support for third-party GPUs, such as those connected via the Thunderbolt 3 docking station. Let’s hope Apple doesn’t procrastinate on the “great migration” of Mac computers.
