Are AMD Macs on the horizon? References to upcoming AMD processors, graphics cards and APUs (chips that combine CPUs and GPUs) have been spotted in code for macOS 10.15.4 beta 1 by Twitter user @_rogame. The code alludes to AMD’s Navi 21, Renoir, and Van Gogh, as well as other chips rumored to be in AMD’s pipeline.
MacOS 10.15.4 Beta 1
NAVI12_A0
NAVI21_A0
PICASSO_A0
RAVEN2_A0
RAVEN_A0
RENOIR_A0
VANGOGH_A0 😳 pic.twitter.com/qFBHg5L0q0— _rogame 🇵🇸 (@_rogame) February 6, 2020
Given that MacOS is currently on version 10.15.3, the code could suggest Apple is working on support for a broad array of AMD processors sooner rather than later. It also adds to previous leaks surrounding support for upcoming AMD products in the MacOS operating system.
The references to Navi 21 are particularly interesting. According to rumors, this top-secret graphics card could be twice as fast — and twice as large — as the Navi 10 chip currently inside AMD’s 5700 XT GPU…
The Ryzen 4000 generation of chips is known under the code name “Renoir,” making the reference to this particular painter in the MacOS 10.15.4 beta code especially intriguing.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote back in February 2017, “It’s almost as if AMD designed RYZEN with Apple in mind.” Do you think AMD Macs are on the horizon (WWDC 2020)?
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “chefpastry” for the heads up.]
That would be a huge boost for AMD.
And another shot to the nuts for Intel
How many processors does AMD already sell? Would an additional 7 million be a big win or a drop in the bucket?
Mac Pros with Threadrippers?
Budget laptops?
I hope it comes true…
Budget laptops? I don’t think so.
Mac Pro and iMac Pro would make sense making them significantly less expansive then their Intel counterparts.
It makes total sense that they do.
Does it make any sense for Apple to buy AMD? AMD’s market cap at ~$58 billion is inflated. Naaa, I don’t see it. Too expensive. I still think that if they are serious about building a car they might as well buy Ford. That company is being hit with bad press – replacing a few execs – and a market cap of only $32B. The car idea still seems too out-there.
It sounds too good to be true. I’ve wanted an AMD Ryzen APU-powered MacBook Air since Ryzen was in development.
Apple needs to move on to their own in house A-series cpu’s and stop wasting time with Microsoft cpu’s.
I dare them!
Apple just lost it’s chip fab plant to the coronavirus! Hopefully this will only last a couple of days/weeks, but it does have an all-your-eggs-in-one-basket feel. Could Apple get AMD to make A series chips? Or is that the same TSMC plant?
I don’t see why Apple would buy AMD if they are already using the same chip-fab facility.