AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su sat down with reporters in a question and answer session after a keynote address at CES 2021 on Tuesday, asking a variety of questions, including a request to comment on Apple’s first foray in the desktop processor space.
Speaking to the press at the conference, Su addressed a number of questions about AMD’s future plans, the x86 platform and new developments in a highly competitive semiconductor market.
Dr. Ian Cutress from AnandTech focused on the emergence of ARM processor projects. According to Cutress, ARM models are expected to significantly increase computer performance in the coming years and could begin to invade long-held territory by x86 manufacturers such as AMD and Intel. ARM silicon is typically used in specialized implementations, such as servers, but chip designs are now beginning to appear in consumer products.
Apple, for example, has introduced the M1 chip in its 13-inch MacBook Pro models from the end of 2020, the MacBook Air and the Mac mini. The tech giant is planning its entire range of Mac computers to run on custom ARM chips within two years. This presents an immediate loss of revenue for Intel’s current processor partner, but it also creates headwinds for the wider x86 market.
Su was asked how M1 will affect AMD’s relationship with Apple.
“The M1 is more about how much processing and innovation there is on the market. This is an opportunity to innovate more, both in hardware and software, and goes beyond ISA,” Su said. “From our point of view, there is another innovation in the computer space – we have a lot of choices and people can use the same processors in many different environments. We expect to see more specialization as we go into the next few years, and it allows for greater differentiation. But Apple continues to work with us as a graphics partner and we work with them. ”
Apple is relying on AMD’s Radeon graphics cards to power next-generation devices such as the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Pro, but that could change with internal solutions. M1 Macs integrate Tender Based Deferred Rendering (TBDR) graphics on a system-on-chip design similar to the A-Series processors used in the iPhone and iPad.
While Apple is content to remain integrated graphics for the initial wave of M1 Macs, it is possible that the company will work towards a dedicated GPU to better serve high-performance machines.
Apple’s move to ARM seems to put pressure on industry operators. On Monday, Intel detailed its upcoming series of Alder Lake chips, which appear to pull a page out of Apple’s Silicon strategy book by stretching mobile-to-desktop use cases.