Since the iPhone 6, Apple mobile chips no longer rely on third-party graphics technology
Beijing time on October 27th news, according to foreign media reports, hardware evaluation site Real World Technologies executive David Kanter (David Kanter) said that after many years of recruitment of graphics technology engineers, Apple has gradually licensed PowerVR graphics for the iPhone Turn to design your own custom graphics processor.
It is said that Apple's custom graphics processor is first used in the A8 chip of the iPhone 6, and the A9 and A10 chips also use Apple's custom graphics processor.
Kanter said that modern graphics processors have three components that work together to render graphics. "The first is a graphics hardware with fixed functions, responsible for processing API (application programming interface) commands, triangle rasterization, raster output, etc. Is the shader kernel, which is the core of the graphics kernel, executes the programmable shader; and finally the graphics driver, which runs on the graphics kernel and coordinates the operation of the graphics kernel. The graphics driver is written using the Metal or OpenGL ES API. The graphics application translates into a series of commands that the graphics kernel can execute."
Previously, Apple relied on PowerVR chip maker ImaginaTIon Technologies to supply graphics processors for the early iPhone. Kanter said that Apple later replaced ImaginaTIon Technologies' programmable shader kernel with its more efficient and higher performance design and developed its own drivers and compilers.
Although Apple has never publicly disclosed its graphics processor design, Kanter compared the information obtained from the 2016 Apple Global Developers Conference with the PowerVR compiler and optimization manual and concluded that the Apple graphics processor is designed. It is very different from PowerVR.
Apple's custom graphics processor still seems to use some of the PowerVR fixed-function graphics hardware, but one thing is certain, and Apple's dependence on ImaginaTIon Technologies has fallen dramatically in recent years. Kanter speculates that if ImaginaTIon Technologies is acquired or technically behind, Apple can design fixed-function hardware by itself.
Earlier this year there were rumors that Apple would acquire Imagination Technologies, and Apple later denied the rumor. But in recent months, Apple has hired at least 20 employees from Imagination Technologies, and these former Imagination Technologies employees may already be developing graphics processors for Apple.
Kanter said that Apple is already building a graphics processor design team and graphics driver team. In addition to former PowerVR engineers, the Apple graphics processor team also includes employees who have recently moved from AMD, Google, Intel and NVIDIA.
In addition to performance and efficiency improvements, the move to custom graphics processors has given Apple several strategic advantages, such as tighter control over the ecosystem, better planning time to market in the market, and reduced reliance on suppliers. Reducing defects does not give the opponent an opportunity to take advantage of. (Compile / Frost Leaf)
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