The time is almost right for a Nvidia acquisition by Apple
This guy thinks so and I kind of agree with him
Yes and it adds worldclass graphics expertise which is complementary with the PA Semi purchase.
It's clear the mobile computing is going to likely usurp the desktop and notebook in units, revenue and profits likely within a decade. Offering highly integrated yet scalable processing is going to separate the men from the boys.
The darkhorse candidate here could be Imagination as well. They'd be cheaper than Nvidia and more versed on low power products.
Hear Hear
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRevu
Why should Apple want Nvidia? For the same reason it wanted P.A. Semi last year, for the talent. The acquisition of P.A. Semi gave Apple a complete team of engineers and designers who specialized in designing high performance, high efficiency processors. Such a group would be the very people you would need to build a new mobile CPU from scratch or design custom chips to add a unique blend of features not found elsewhere. Adding Nvidia to the mix would also add expertise with high-end graphics processors, mobile GPU?s and even system-on-a-chip designs like the Tegra. Together, these teams would form the collective expertise necessary to create a new generation of chips exclusively for Apple?s use. Such a move would give Apple a tactical advantage in the marketplace as would serve Apple?s well-known desire for secrecy.
Why should Apple want Nvidia? For the same reason it wanted P.A. Semi last year, for the talent. The acquisition of P.A. Semi gave Apple a complete team of engineers and designers who specialized in designing high performance, high efficiency processors. Such a group would be the very people you would need to build a new mobile CPU from scratch or design custom chips to add a unique blend of features not found elsewhere. Adding Nvidia to the mix would also add expertise with high-end graphics processors, mobile GPU?s and even system-on-a-chip designs like the Tegra. Together, these teams would form the collective expertise necessary to create a new generation of chips exclusively for Apple?s use. Such a move would give Apple a tactical advantage in the marketplace as would serve Apple?s well-known desire for secrecy.
Yes and it adds worldclass graphics expertise which is complementary with the PA Semi purchase.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRevu
In the last few years, we?ve seen the once clear-cut division of labor between the central processor and the graphics subsystem starting to blur. Tasks once reserved for the CPU like decoding video are now being offloaded onto the graphics subsystem. OpenCL, a new technology in Apple?s forthcoming OS, is a way for developers to tap into the processing power of the GPU within their own applications. Even Windows 7 uses the GPU to help drive its new GUI. Everywhere you look, the importance of graphics performance is growing
In the last few years, we?ve seen the once clear-cut division of labor between the central processor and the graphics subsystem starting to blur. Tasks once reserved for the CPU like decoding video are now being offloaded onto the graphics subsystem. OpenCL, a new technology in Apple?s forthcoming OS, is a way for developers to tap into the processing power of the GPU within their own applications. Even Windows 7 uses the GPU to help drive its new GUI. Everywhere you look, the importance of graphics performance is growing
It's clear the mobile computing is going to likely usurp the desktop and notebook in units, revenue and profits likely within a decade. Offering highly integrated yet scalable processing is going to separate the men from the boys.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRevu
Apple is well aware that any processors they can buy from intel or Samsung are chips their competition can buy as well. The only way to gain a measure of competitive advantage in the hardware arena is to have something inside that your competition does not. I can think of no more compelling arena for Apple to invest in than graphics technology.
Apple is well aware that any processors they can buy from intel or Samsung are chips their competition can buy as well. The only way to gain a measure of competitive advantage in the hardware arena is to have something inside that your competition does not. I can think of no more compelling arena for Apple to invest in than graphics technology.
The darkhorse candidate here could be Imagination as well. They'd be cheaper than Nvidia and more versed on low power products.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRevu
I say it?s time to go shopping for the future.
I say it?s time to go shopping for the future.
Hear Hear
Comments
But Apple won't.
For the same reasons they didn't buy Alias (makers of Maya) when they had a chance.
There are many assets inside Nvidia that Apple definitely will want.
But there are also a lot of assets Apple won't want. Their whole Tesla range for one thing.
Buying Nvidia and closing half its divisions will make a lot of users very angry and very vocal anti-Apple.
Bad PR is not what Apple wants.
Yet dragging those divisions along, is also a needless waste of money.
It's a lose-lose proposition.
And then there's the whole Open CL issue. Nvidia is one of the most prominent supporters. With Nvidia folding into Apple - it effectively becomes an 'Apple only' technology, or at least reducing the general allure quite a bit.
Open CL will end up like so many other publicly available but Apple invented and yet perceived 'proprietary' technologies - hardly anyone outside Apple will use it.
And PC users in general will worry about PC drivers for Nvidia graphics cards - and abandon Nvidia.
ATI will surely welcome them!
5 years later the GPU market will be split between Intel integrated graphics and ATI cards - and Apple proprietary cards (former Nvidia).
It's too much "fat" and not enough meat for Apple. Imagination would be the more likely acquisition.
It's also about what happens a few years down the line. Recent info about Larrabee is that it's on par with the current high end GTX 285:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/int...orce,7944.html
If they bought Nvidia and Intel do actually manage to offer full x86 processing as well as that level of GPU performance at a reasonable cost etc. it's a purchase that isn't worth much to them because Intel and AMD not Nvidia own the x86 IP.
I would like to see it happen and it would be great if they turned the Mac Pro into the Tesla as a configuration but I think it would be short-lived.
Apple is going to buy this, Apple is going to buy that. Yawn.
Well ...money is like manure if you let it pile up it stinks but if you spread it around it can do a whole lot of good
I think they are learning that partnering is working out well vs acquiring. If you get the same or better results while not having the burden of the financial support, it's better just to partner up.
Agreed. Without an acquisition, Apple can still use cash leverage to make exclusive deals with companies like Nvidia. They don't need to buy them. As with so many proposed acquisitions (Adobe being the most frequently suggested), Nvidia is a major participant in the Windows PC market. Buying a company such as this would mean that Apple would be forced to make some very tough choices about supplying products to their competitors. They'd be damned either way. Overall, not a good idea.
As to GPU's themselves Apple is far better off going the IP route which I imagine is what they are doing with Imagination. That is put the GPU IP onto a custom Apple SoC. This takes care of the low end devices, at the high end Apple needs to think hard about how they structure systems in the future. By this I mean do they go with Intel chips with built in GPU (SoC's) or do they continue to support external processors.
Not easy to say which way they will go. Part of it involves Intel actually producing a GPU that works well on these SoC. That is not a given.
Dave
Apple does not spend billions on mergers with Steven P. Jobs business models.
They buy technology from cutting edge markets yet to see their days explosive growth.
Nvidia is highly entangled with legal issues surrounding their partnership with Intel.
Apple is better off picking and choosing product parts from third parties that fit into their vision.