Apple May Be Digging AMD's Fusion APU
Apple may or may not be eyeballing AMD's upcoming Fusion APUs.
During the annual AMD Financial Analyst Day presentation last week, Senior VP and Chief Sales Officer Emilio Ghilardi showed a slide (#7, in fact) featuring iMacs and Mac Pros. Since then, rumors have surfaced that Apple has been named as one of many companies having signed up for AMD's Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), slated for a launch early next year.
However AMD quickly swooped in and cleared the air. "Neither Apple nor AMD have made any announcements regarding Fusion in any future Apple product," said AMD Senior PR Manager Chris Hook. He added that Apple is merely an AMD hardware partner, and is not listed as a Fusion customer.
It's still curious as to why AMD would flash an iMac / Mac Pro slide during a Fusion APU presentation unless Ghilardi was referencing Apple's use of Radeon graphics. The company said last week that some Fusion shipments have already landed into manufacturers' hands, giving way to speculation that Apple could be toying with the APUs in pre-production test units. With that said, Apple may not be an official signed partner until the company determines if the product is right for the Apple brand.
In the meantime, AMD's upcoming APU definitely looks promising. "With our upcoming AMD Fusion APUs combining our DirectX 11-capable graphics processors and next-generation microprocessors on a single chip, we are poised to lead the industry’s next computing era with richer, more vivid digital experiences," said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO during the Financial Analyst Day event.
To see AMD's Fusion technology in action, check out the video below (if you haven't already).
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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rpgplayer AMD should have been catering to software companies long ago about their stream API. a fusion processor isn't as attractive unless you have the software to support it.Reply
not to demean the APU in the least, it's just they are way behind when it comes to software support. -
jonpaul37 Even though i HATE Apple, i like this move, it paves the way a little bit more for AMD...Reply -
victorintelr Of course it's right, now Apple computer will go from overpriced to:Reply
Super-overpriced! -
User69 Please don't taint AMD's success with an Apple rumor, your article is shedding a bad light on the manufacturer.Reply -
miloo eventhou now i dont own a AMD laptop or desktopReply
but this APU looks promising, might try one in the future
future laptop will be more smaller i guess ~
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hellwig AMD is the only future for Apple right now. Intel has forced Apple's hand with its "I'm taking my ball and going home" lawsuit against Nvidia about Nvidia's chipset manufacturing license (i.e. Nvidia cannot make chipsets for Intel's latest processors). The reason is simple, graphics. Yes, Intel SandyBridge is including GPU-capabilities on-die, but that's not enough for mainstream and enthusiast users. Apple still needs a discrete-option, and right now, only AMD offers Chipsets + Discrete GPU solutions. Nvidia can provide GPUs, but they can't provide motherboards and chipsets for Intel. Intel can provide chipsets, but they have no discrete option.Reply
Apple doesn't want to go to multiple vendors (that defeats the whole "it just works" philosophy). They want a single provider. AMD can offer a CPU Chipset+GPU solution at every level (on-die with Fusion to discrete with Radeon). It just makes sense with Apple's business strategy.
Still, knowing Apple, it will be overpriced.
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jimmysmitty I can only see Fusion for the Mac Books. For their work station PCs, I don't see them moving away from a high end quad core and discrete workstation grade GPU.Reply -
saturnus jimmysmittyI can only see Fusion for the Mac Books. For their work station PCs, I don't see them moving away from a high end quad core and discrete workstation grade GPU.Reply
But that high end quad core could very well be a bulldozer design combined with a radeon gpu when it's time for the next upgrade of the mac line in about 6-7 months time.