Apple’s Custom Mobile Chip Designs Gradually Expanding to Include Graphics Hardware
After years of recruiting graphics architects, Apple has gradually shifted from licensing PowerVR graphics to designing its own custom GPUs for iPhones, according to David Kanter at Real World Technologies.
The new graphics processor is said to have first shipped with the A8 chip in the iPhone 6, with successive versions built into in the A9 and A10 Fusion chips powering the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 lineups respectively.
For context, Kanter said a modern GPU has three major components that work together in harmony to render graphics:
The first is the fixed-function graphics hardware, which is responsible for tasks like processing API commands, triangle rasterization, and raster output. The second is the shader core, which is the heart of the GPU and executes programmable shaders (e.g., vertex, geometry, pixel, and compute shaders). Last, the graphics driver is the software that runs on the CPU and ties everything together, coordinating the activities of the GPU. The driver transforms graphics applications written in the Metal or OpenGL ES APIs into a series of commands for the fixed-function hardware and programmable shaders that execute on the shader cores.
Apple previously relied on PowerVR chipmaker Imagination Technologies to supply fixed-function graphics hardware, shader cores, and drivers for older-generation iPhones, but Kanter said Apple has since replaced the programmable shader cores with its own more efficient and higher performance design, and developed its own driver and compiler to emit code for its architecture.
While Apple’s GPU architecture has never been publicly documented, Kanter contrasted information from WWDC 2016 sessions and frameworks against basic PowerVR compiler and optimization manuals, concluding that it is clear that the shader core in Apple’s GPU is architecturally very different from the PowerVR line.
Apple’s custom GPUs still appear to use some of the PowerVR fixed-function graphics hardware, but it is clear the company’s dependance on Imagination Technologies has decreased significantly in recent years. Kanter speculates that if Imagination Technologies were acquired, or fell behind from a technical standpoint, Apple could simply design its own fixed-function hardware.
Apple was actually rumored to acquire Imagination Technologies earlier this year, but later said it did not plan to make an offer on the England-based company at the time. Nevertheless, in recent months, Apple has recruited at least two dozen employees from the chipmaker, including former COO John Metcalfe, and those graphics engineers may have played a role in developing Apple’s custom GPUs.
Kanter said Apple has in fact assembled a GPU design team and a graphics driver team that together implemented a large portion of the custom GPUs in the A8, A9, and A10 Fusion chips. In addition to former PowerVR engineers, this team likely includes recent hires from AMD, Google, Intel, and Nvidia.
The transition towards custom GPUs has is said to have resulted in several strategic advantages for Apple beyond increased performance and efficiency, including tighter ecosystem control, better time-to-market and scheduling, reducing its reliance on its suppliers, and reducing bugs without its competitors benefiting.
Full-Length Article: Look Inside Apple’s Custom GPU for the iPhone
Tags: Imagination Technologies, PowerVR
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Apple’s October 2016 Media Event: Spoiler-Free Video Stream
Apple’s “Hello Again” media event kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific tomorrow, and as usual some MacRumors readers who can’t follow the event live are interested in avoiding all of the announcements and waiting until Apple posts the recorded video of the event so as to experience it without already knowing the outcome.
For those individuals, we’ve posted this news story, which will be updated with a direct link to the presentation once it becomes available from Apple. No other news stories or announcements will be displayed alongside this story.
Apple has become quicker about making event videos available for replay over the past several years, and videos are now frequently available within an hour of an event’s conclusion.
Users waiting for the video to be posted are welcome to gather in the thread associated with this news story, and we ask that those who follow the events refrain from making any posts in the thread about Apple’s announcements.
Tags: spoiler-free, October 2016 event
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Put some love on your home screen with these My Little Pony wallpapers
Another season has come and gone…
…and it was awesome. It still boggles the mind that we continue to see development and depth brought to a cutesy little show designed to sell toy equines. This season brought even more redemption stories into the mix as we had the continued redemption of previous villains. While the fact that almost every villain the show has ever faced has eventually been turned into a friend is a bit naive, the message that we can reconcile with almost anyone is one we need to hear again.
With that, let’s get to some pony wallpapers!
While not all welcomed Starlight Glimmer’s redemption and her ‘replacing’ Twilight Sparkle as the studious pupil in the ‘mane’ cast, I’ve actually quite liked her. Her past misdeeds and her fears concerning acceptance and relapse help bring a depth to that role that we never saw with Twilight. We even got a small reprise of the ‘evil’ Starlight during the show’s take on ‘A Christmas Carol’ to sate those in the fandom that preferred the vindictive, controlling villain we saw last season.
Starlight Studying by Lumic4
Are you still geeking out about that finale? Because I’m still geeking out about that finale. I’ve actually been rather impressed with Thorax’s arc over the entire season, going from a meek, self-exiled outcast to the new leader of an entire race. And while the color scheme for the new Changelings may be… loud, it doesn’t mean we can’t find beauty in it, especially in wallpapers like these that make excellent use of shadows, something Changelings are very familiar with.
All hail the deer-bug king!
King Thorax
Trixie might have technically reformed a few years ago when she had her Alicorn Amulet removed, but this year we saw Trixie actually change for the better, thanks to her newfound friendship with Starlight. Nevertheless, Trixie will never stop showboating, which is great, because the Great and Powerful Trixie is still a delight, especially when she’s putting on one of her shows.
And let’s face it: if you could make fireworks appear anytime, wouldn’t you give your life some flair?
Trixie by dstears
Big Mac has worn a lot of hats (and costumes) the last few seasons, especially with this year’s Dungeons & Discords, but none have topped his dream-powered from the Tantabus battle: Princess Big Mac. This was a great laugh and cheer from the fandom when we saw that episode, but the form was also an important symbol for a great many young boys watching the show: you can be a strong, confident man and still want to be a princess.
Eeyup.
Princess Mac by JoelletheNose
Soarin may not have gotten much screen time this season, but he’s still one of my favorite pegasi. Even as a Wonderbolt, he’s not as haughty or cutthroat as Spitfire, and he’s not as much of an attention-seeker or daredevil as Rainbow Dash. Mostly, though, Soarin is a pony I can get behind because he’s a pony with a one-track mind for his sweet of choice: PIE. And this election season, I posit that a good ol’ apple pie could beat any of the candidates we’re voting for next week.
PIE FOR PRESIDENT. (Seriously, though, folks, please go vote. PLEASE.)
Vote Soarin by Equestia-Election
GM will use Watson AI to recommend services on the road
Artificial intelligence isn’t just being used to automate cars… it’s finding a home in conventional cars, too. GM has unveiled a partnership with IBM that will see the Watson cognitive computing platform power OnStar Go, its latest in-car service offering. The AI technology will suggest stores and services based on your location, your decisions and your habits. If you’re driving home from work, for example, OnStar can remind you to pick up shopping on the way back. It can also recommend restaurants when you arrive in a new city, or tell you that a store order is ready for pickup.
There are already a few companies signing up to use OnStar Go. Mastercard will enable on-the-move payments through cards stored in your Masterpass wallet. ExxonMobil will help you find gas stations, suggest the best fuel and oil and authorize payments while you’re still in the car. Glympse will help you share where you are. iHeartRadio will create personalized radio streams based on your calendars, location and tastes, while Parkopedia will offer both parking info and the opportunity to book a spot while you’re on your way.
Yes, this will frequently amount to in-car advertising — GM isn’t shy about acknowledging that this is an expansion of OnStar’s existing offers and deals feature. All the same, Watson promises to be helpful. It can be cumbersome and even dangerous to search for services while you’re in the car — this lets you focus on the road. This also lays groundwork for self-driving cars, where finding destinations will be more important than figuring out how to reach those destinations.
Source: GM, Mastercard
Microsoft introduces Dolby Atmos support for Xbox One
While Microsoft’s Windows event put a lot of focus of 3D image capturing and designing, the company also made some announcements for the Xbox. Updates for the Microsoft’s games console include being able to host your own tournaments within games, that can be played with friends across Xbox and Windows 10 PCs.
- Dolby Atmos explained: What is it and how do I get it?
But the last announcement of the Xbox section was perhaps the biggest and that’s that Dolby Atmos support will be coming to the Xbox One and Xbox One S with the Creators Update.
The Xbox One can play Blu-rays while the Xbox One S is the first games console with a built-in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player. Both formats can have a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, but until now, neither console has been able to output to a Dolby Atmos AV receiver.
Dolby Atmos expands upon a regular 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system by adding height channels to create a more enveloping sound field. You’ll need an Atmos speaker setup in your room to reap the full benefits, either by installing cinema speakers or by adding height channel speakers to your existing surround sound speakers.
The update will mean both the Xbox One and Xbox One S can become more powerful home media devices, combining Blu-ray, 4K and Atmos into one package. Dolby Atmos support will arrive with the Windows 10 Creators Update in early 2017.
Microsoft Surface Book 2016 goes super-powerful, increases battery life, amps graphics
Microsoft is revamping the Surface Book for 2016 – and this time it’s all about increased power and longevity.
Externally the new Surface Book looks no different to the original model. It’s the same 13.5-inch laptop design, with detachable screen and electronic “muscle wire” release mechanism.
- Surface Book review: One for the books
But the 2016 Surface Book has been redesigned “from the outside in”, with an additional cooling fan and a pair of hyperbolic cooling fans at back of product to keep the temperature down. That means the latest Intel Core i7 processor on board can work harder without overheating.
Graphics have seen a boost too, doubling the power compared to the original model by using an Nvidia GTX 965M with 2GB RAM. That’s some serious power. Microsoft claims it’ll mean more than three times the power of the current MacBook Pro 13-inch.
Also inside is a new battery. So when Microsoft claims that the 2016 Surface Book offers a 30 per cent increase in longevity per charge, it’s not basing that on software enhancements – it’s down to increased capacity. The claim is 16-hours of life per charge.
Now the original Surface Book was said to last for 12-hours, but we were achieving around 8-hours from it during our testing. If that stands true for the new Surface Book then, well, it could last for a genuine 12-hours – which sounds great to us.
The 2016 Microsoft Surface Book will go on sale in November. It’s available for pre-order right now, priced at $2,399. International pricing and release dates aren’t confirmed just yet.
Microsoft announces Surface Studio, an all-in-one PC
Microsoft is live in New York City, where it is unveiling new Surface goods.
After introducing an updated Surface Book laptop, Microsoft announced an all-in-one Surface-branded PC called Surface Studio. This is a new product. It features a 28-inch PixelSense touchscreen with a 3:2 aspect ratio and 192 PPI. Microsoft described the LCD monitor as the thinnest ever built, at 12.5mm, and said it has 13.5 million pixels, which is 63 percent more than a 4K TV.
The display is TrueColor, Microsoft explained, because it wanted to “render the deepest reds possible”. Microsoft also built true scale into this thing, meaning 1 inch on the screen is 1 inch in real life, meaning there’s no more need to print-preview your documents. The Surface Studio has a forged aluminium enclosure and chrome arms, which Microsoft said “completely fade into the background”.
Surface Studio’s unprecedented versatility adjusts to every step of your creative process. #MicrosoftEvent pic.twitter.com/gaPUzofTNH
— Surface (@surface) October 26, 2016
You can push the top of the display and it folds down, almost flat, making the PC essentially a giant-sized Surface tablet. Other specs include 32GB of memory, a 2TB hybrid drive, and GeForce 980M. There’s also a built-in mic array, so you can talk to Cortana from across the room, and a HD camera at the top that supports Windows Hello. And only one cable comes out the back to power it all.
Because the Surface Studio has a zero-gravity hinge, with 80 parts and custom-tuned spring, there’s a 20-degree drafting angle. It’s 13-pound display, and it works with Surface Pen as well as a new Surface Dial accessory, which helps with blending and inking. It’s an all-new input tool that you can use to rewind what you just did in the Windows Ink workspace, just by spinning the dial.
Introducing Surface Dial, a new tool for the creative process.#MicrosoftEvent pic.twitter.com/qYwD09XCDE
— Surface (@surface) October 26, 2016
Of course, the Surface Studio has palm rejection. You can also use the Dial to zoom in on a Word document, and then you can grab the Surface Pen to annotate on the same document. Dial appears to trigger the software radial menu underneath when you place it on top of the Surface Studio. We’re imagining Microsoft will need app support to get Dial working throughout Surface Studio.
Microsoft said you can use any Xbox controller with the Surface Studio, too. You can preorder Surface Studio starting 26 October for $2,999. It’s unclear if Dial is included, and if not, how much it’ll cost.
Dolby Atmos audio is coming to the Xbox One S
One of the gripes audiophiles have had with the Xbox One S is that despite the console’s Ultra HD Blu-ray drive, it doesn’t support next-gen audio standards. That changes sometime in the future with a free update adding Dolby Atmos playback (via bitstream). It’s not nearly as dramatic as Sony adding 3D Blu-ray playback to the PlayStation 3 via an update in 2010, but for audio geeks this is pretty big news. And this is why buying a game console is a better idea than a standalone Blu-ray player: constant updates adding new features, rather than something with a fixed feature set that may never be updated. Now it’s time to drop $1,500 on a soundbar that can help you make the most of that improved sound.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Microsoft’s big Surface event.
Microsoft built Twitch-like livestreaming into Windows 10
Broadcasting live gameplay to Twitch or Facebook isn’t easy. It means setting up special capture software and navigating a mire of complicated bandwidth settings. Microsoft is trying to fix that: The next version of Windows 10 is going to integrate game broadcasting directly into the Xbox App. The streaming experience promises not only to be easy, but also to almost eliminate the communication lag between viewers and broadcasters — but don’t expect to use it on Twitch. Microsoft’s game broadcasting tools seem to be designed specifically for Beam, the livestreaming service it acquired back in August.
If you’re not familiar, Beam was a start-up streaming service that let viewers more directly interact with a broadcaster’s game — allowing them to choose what weapon they might use next or select what weapon the player will have next. Microsoft bought the company earlier this year, and seems to be positioning it as the default streaming platform for Windows.
Starting with the Windows 10 creators update, gamers will be able to start a broadcast to Beam by pressing the Windows button and the ‘G’ key, giving them an instant streaming overlay with a preview of their stream and a community chat window. That’s great on its own, but the real selling point is Beam’s low-latency streams, which let players watch gameplay in near-realtime and gives broadcasters the ability to respond to chat messages almost instantly. Beam users are also be able to send audio commands that ask the broadcaster to pay attention to the chat window, or take a specific action in the game.
Microsoft hasn’t said if the Xbox App’s streaming tools will work with other streaming services, but it definitely seems like a simpler way to broadcast gameplay. Unfortunately, if you’re not a member of the Windows Insider program you’ll have to wait a while before trying it out — the streaming update doesn’t officially arrive until Windows 10’s Creators Update launches early next year.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Microsoft’s big Surface event.
Insult-em-up ‘Oh…Sir!’ arrives on PC, Mac and mobile
Few games are as difficult to categorise as Oh…Sir! Part beat-em-up, part smack talk generator, this weird indie title has you insulting your opponents into submission. Each match offers a central column with useful words and phrases — clothes, smells, relatives and more — which players take turns to pick from. String together a half-sensical slight and you’ll damage your opponent, whittling down their health and resetting the word repository. Each character has a weakness too — a trait or topic that they take particular offence to — which you can utilize for critical hits.
The game is now available on PC, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android for $1.99. I played an early build with my colleague Aaron Souppouris at Gamescom (see video below). It’s hilariously addictive, especially once you start eyeing your opponent’s argument-in-process. Instead of perfecting your own insult, it’s often better to “block” your rival by selecting the words they most badly need. If you’re a Twitch streamer, there’s also a mode that allows spectators to vote on their favorite put-downs and increase their damage. Sometimes, it would seem, the slur is mightier than the sword.
Source: Oh…Sir! (Steam)
AIVAnet 