After years of using GPUs from Imagination Technologies, this partnership has come to an end, with the Cupertino company assuming the design and production of GPUs. The announcement of the end of this long-standing partnership was made by Imagination Technologies itself, which is no longer the exclusive manufacturer of GPUs for Apple products. The brand, as it already does with the processors, will design and deliver the production of these new components to its partners, so that they are integrated into the SoCs that equip the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. For Apple, this is a step that is considered natural and even expected, since in recent years bought several companies that were dedicated to the design and creation of the various components associated with the SoCs that integrated into their devices. However, there is a parallel history, which can give a clearer picture of this process. As reported by analysts at The Linley Group, the iPhone 7 is equipped with the PowerVR GT7600 GPU, which is the same as the previous model, the iPhone 6s. This is still a GPU with the necessary capabilities, but that in the short term will no longer be at the top of the capabilities offered by the market. Apple is reputed to discard manufacturers when they lose the ability to produce products that do not meet their exacting standards. On the Imagination Technologies side, this could be a very hard blow, since the company depends almost exclusively on the deals it had with Apple. After the announcement of the end of the partnership, its position in the stock market immediately suffered a break.
— Francisco Jeronimo (@fjeronimo) April 3, 2017 This seems to be the right change for Apple since this was one of the only components that the company had no control in manufacturing for the construction of its mobile devices. Therefore, we are expecting news soon about the graphics capabilities of Apple’s mobile devices, now opening doors to much of what has been speculated.
