Apple posts GPU-related job openings in UK following Imagination breakup
Apple is ramping up its efforts to create its own GPU designs, following the iPhone producer's decision to stop working with the U.K.-based Imagination Technologies, by advertising a number of job postings within the graphics field in London.
Appearing on the United Kingdom version of Apple's jobs board over the last month, the company has listed 12 "Hardware Engineering" job postings in London, located within Hanover Street. Spotted by The Telegraph, the listings are for Apple's "UK Design Centre," with 11 out of the 12 openings having some connection to GPU design.
In the listing for the Engineering Program Manager posted on March 29, the posting mentions a "newly formed graphics design team" that would work on the "definition of the architecture, spec, design, and verification of graphics IP from concept through to silicon." Another posting for a Design Verification Lead involves "RTL verification of blocks in graphics cores, requiring a "deep understanding of the micro-architectural details of designs, and how they work within the broader GPU."
Other roles advertised in the last month include a Design Verification Engineer, a Graphics Content Engineer, and an Emulation Engineer who needs to have an understanding of "CPU and/or GPU architecture and micro architecture."
The advertising for new graphics-related roles follow after it was revealed Apple was working on its own graphics technology to use in iOS devices in the future. The project was confirmed as part of a statement from Imagination Technologies, the UK firm that has provided Apple's mobile graphics processing architecture used in iPhones, iPads, and other devices for a number of years.
Apple has not revealed why it is moving away from its partnership with Imagination in favor of its own designs, but it is likely to be an attempt by Apple to exert more control over the hardware it produces. By designing its own GPU cores, like it does for its A-series processors, Apple could fine tune the technology to what it believes is required, eliminating potential limitations from work created by third-party companies.
It is unknown exactly when Apple will be bringing out products using its own GPU designs, but according to Imagination's statement, Apple will stop using its intellectual property in its new products within 15 months to two years.
In the same statement, Imagination advised it believed it would be extremely challenging for Apple to design a brand new GPU architecture from scratch without infringing its intellectual property rights, in what seemed to be a threat of potential legal action. Imagination requested evidence from Apple for its work, but was declined.
Appearing on the United Kingdom version of Apple's jobs board over the last month, the company has listed 12 "Hardware Engineering" job postings in London, located within Hanover Street. Spotted by The Telegraph, the listings are for Apple's "UK Design Centre," with 11 out of the 12 openings having some connection to GPU design.
In the listing for the Engineering Program Manager posted on March 29, the posting mentions a "newly formed graphics design team" that would work on the "definition of the architecture, spec, design, and verification of graphics IP from concept through to silicon." Another posting for a Design Verification Lead involves "RTL verification of blocks in graphics cores, requiring a "deep understanding of the micro-architectural details of designs, and how they work within the broader GPU."
Other roles advertised in the last month include a Design Verification Engineer, a Graphics Content Engineer, and an Emulation Engineer who needs to have an understanding of "CPU and/or GPU architecture and micro architecture."
The advertising for new graphics-related roles follow after it was revealed Apple was working on its own graphics technology to use in iOS devices in the future. The project was confirmed as part of a statement from Imagination Technologies, the UK firm that has provided Apple's mobile graphics processing architecture used in iPhones, iPads, and other devices for a number of years.
Apple has not revealed why it is moving away from its partnership with Imagination in favor of its own designs, but it is likely to be an attempt by Apple to exert more control over the hardware it produces. By designing its own GPU cores, like it does for its A-series processors, Apple could fine tune the technology to what it believes is required, eliminating potential limitations from work created by third-party companies.
It is unknown exactly when Apple will be bringing out products using its own GPU designs, but according to Imagination's statement, Apple will stop using its intellectual property in its new products within 15 months to two years.
In the same statement, Imagination advised it believed it would be extremely challenging for Apple to design a brand new GPU architecture from scratch without infringing its intellectual property rights, in what seemed to be a threat of potential legal action. Imagination requested evidence from Apple for its work, but was declined.
Comments
with Apple having its own GPU IP, it can more easily move the power usage on the SoC around between the CPUs and the GPUs, depending on where they're going at any given time. I imagine that Apple also has specialized needs that it wants to deal with itself (AR, VR), as using a vendor normally means giving up these advances to competitors at some point, as well as making at least some of it public.
http://www.realworldtech.com/apple-custom-gpu/
Is RISC-V a possibility?
This guy comes to Cambridge MUG occasionally...
http://freebsdfoundation.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/initial-freebsd-risc-v-architecture.html?m=1
im of the opinion though that the long term goal here isnt the GPU per say but rather a GPU that does AI well. While we have seen very good performance increases in the short term i have to believe the long term play is suppirt of AI type technologies.
The GPU is one place to do AI type calculations and with a bit of work the GPU can be exteneded to better suppirt processing on the GPU. In otherwords Apple can take the GPU much farther into the workd of Heterogeneous computing than is possible buying IP from vendors.
and when Samsung had Apple as a SoC customer, Apple wasn't a competitor in that space, because Apple doesn't sell those chips.
That's one place google can't follow it to. Apple's partnership with IBM here could produce even bigger innovations.
any improvements from building Apple's chips came from Samsung, not Apple. Apple is forced to design their chips to a process, not the other way around. So when Samsung makes improvements, it benefits their customers. The sales and profits Samsung gets from that spurs them on to make more improvements, as it should. Now, they're offering some discounts to get customers. How does that benefit them? It doesn't.
apple left, partly, if what we read is true, and remember that it might not be, because Apple wanted to move away because of the other issues they were having. But, more rumors have it that Apple will be moving back, at least partly, with the A12. True? Who knows?
Apple currently ships ~250M iOS devices per year. In terms of unit that is already the entire size of PC market shipment.
And 20M Mac sold per year, the current Discreet Graphics market is roughly 45M Unit, with 72% Nvidia and 28% to AMD. If Apple were to equip all Mac with its own GPU it will be bigger then AMD in total PC GPU market unit.