Apple MacOS Arm64 will only support Apple Metal GPUs

[HEXUS]

So it isn't just a clean break from Intel Apple has planned over the next two years.

Read more.

[HW90]

I don't think Apple has any intention to continue their high end line up, so supporting more powerful GPUs likely isn't an issue for them.

[DanceswithUnix]

If they cared about graphics they would use Vulkan to stay standards based and give themselves options for the future. Metal always seemed anti consumer to me.

[watercooled]

I mean Apple have a lot of resources to bring to bear, but I wonder what's going to happen to the higher end of the market once they abandon AMD and Nvidia? High-end GPUs aren't something you can just start making overnight - just ask Intel, they've attempted it enough times!

Does this mean they're just doing away with the workstation market altogether?

[Tabbykatze]

This is sounding more and more proprietary lock in and anti consumer by the moment. I get that in a small system like a macbook air you really will have to use an on die GPU but to make no indication that any other manufacturers would be included highlights that Apple wants to fully close the ecosystem.

It excites me because there is a strong chance that Apple might really be starting to find out how dangerous doing something like that is. But their phones and tablet markets will keep them afloat, they won't collapse.

[John_Amstrad]

Apple was finished for me when they first soldered the CPU back in 2008-9.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

They attempted to bankrupt Imagination Technologies in Cambridge,by not licensing their GPU technology,opening up an office nearby and poaching their engineers. All this lead was to them getting bought up by the Chinese,and Apple this year started licensing Imagination patents again. So I would imagine these GPUs might be PowerVR based,and Imagination Technologies did show off RT a few years ago too.

[cheesemp]

More proprietary lock in from Apple. Who would have guessed?

[Yoyoyo69]

This is sounding more and more proprietary lock in and anti consumer by the moment. I get that in a small system like a macbook air you really will have to use an on die GPU but to make no indication that any other manufacturers would be included highlights that Apple wants to fully close the ecosystem.

It excites me because there is a strong chance that Apple might really be starting to find out how dangerous doing something like that is. But their phones and tablet markets will keep them afloat, they won't collapse.

This is the moment Apple committed suicide, it was to be a slow painful death, but they've came close to death before, they now foolishly believe they are immortal, poor saps.

[watercooled]

They attempted to bankrupt Imagination Technologies in Cambridge,by not licensing their GPU technology,opening up an office nearby and poaching their engineers. All this lead was to them getting bought up by the Chinese,and Apple this year started licensing Imagination patents again. So I would imagine these GPUs might be PowerVR based,and Imagination Technologies did show off RT a few years ago too.

It really was quite awful what happened to Imagination - getting their value destroyed overnight be Apple's press release, only for Apple to end up licensing from them again anyway. And with Apple being as big as they are, it would be very risky trying to chase them through the courts as a smaller company would likely just burn through their money before making any progress.

Also yeah that's a good point, IIRC Imagination were talking about (and producing IP for) hardware ray tracing long before the hype around it happening on PCs.

[DavidC1]

PowerVR is a Tile-based Deferred Renderer.

AMD/Intel/Nvidia uses Tile rendering but is an immediate mode renderer.

[QuorTek]

It is steps towards monopoly... and people do not get that just because it seem all fool proof does not mean it is perfect far from, if all you do is using the net and mails and office stuff and such it would be sufficient or as a solid work platform as well... but it is an expensive console you can't really do anything with other than buy a new one when it is out of date.

[[GSV]Trig]

I can see why they are doing this, however, I think it will backfire on them..

[3dcandy]

Trig;304]I can see why they are doing this, however, I think it will backfire on them..

It will either backfire or change the landscape totally

[LSG501]

Trig;304]I can see why they are doing this, however, I think it will backfire on them..

I can see apple cpu's eventually being lots of little co processors dedicated to particular tasks a bit like how they have that add in card for the mac pro to help speed up decoding etc.

Issue there is you'll eventually get to a point where your device will be 'out of date' because it doesn't have the right co processor.... could even go as far as to say planned obsolescence at the base hardware level.

From a 'professional' perspective I can't see how an arm processor, even with add in cards, is going to give me enough grunt for my 3D work any time soon. While they made this big song and dance over maya (iirc) it only showed it being moved around, not actually doing any 'work', and if they bake in lighting and texture that's actually not that heavy.

Mind you it makes no difference to me seeing as mac aren't exactly popular with the companies that make 3D software.

[3dcandy]

I can see apple cpu's eventually being lots of little co processors dedicated to particular tasks a bit like how they have that add in card for the mac pro to help speed up decoding etc.

Issue there is you'll eventually get to a point where your device will be 'out of date' because it doesn't have the right co processor.... could even go as far as to say planned obsolescence at the base hardware level.

From a 'professional' perspective I can't see how an arm processor, even with add in cards, is going to give me enough grunt for my 3D work any time soon. While they made this big song and dance over maya (iirc) it only showed it being moved around, not actually doing any 'work', and if they bake in lighting and texture that's actually not that heavy.

Mind you it makes no difference to me seeing as mac aren't exactly popular with the companies that make 3D software.

I don't think Apple really care about pros any more....
This will kill their use for 3d modelling and real heavy photoshop work and make them more an ipad/thin laptop company