It’s hard not to sympathize with Intel at this moment. Apple has clearly outpaced its CPUs, and now AMD’s latest Ryzan AI Max chips are positioning themselves to do the same to Intel’s top-tier Core Ultra 9 288V.
The new processors adopt a similar strategy to Apple Silicon by merging CPU, GPU, and unified memory. While AMD doesn’t attribute the concept to Apple directly, they recognize that the existence of this chip is indeed indirectly linked to the innovations from Cupertino.
Engadget has reported that the Ryzan AI Max chips come equipped with up to 16 CPU cores, 50 graphics cores, and a substantial 128GB of unified memory. According to AMD, these chips have the capability to render 3D graphics over two and a half times faster than the Intel Core Ultra 9 288V.
AMD has pushed back against suggestions that it is simply emulating Apple’s design approach.
It might seem that AMD is drawing inspiration from Apple Silicon’s robust CPU cores, graphics, and unified memory. However, VP Joe Macri asserts that AMD was already working toward this for a long time before Apple. “We were developing APUs [chips that combine CPUs and Radeon graphics] while Apple was still utilizing discrete GPUs. They were leveraging our discrete GPUs. So I don’t attribute the idea to Apple,” he stated.
Nonetheless, Macri acknowledges that this new chip may not have come to fruition without Apple’s influence.
Macri credits Apple for demonstrating that impressive graphics capabilities can be achieved without relying on discrete graphics. “Many in the PC industry believed that if you wanted quality graphics, they had to be discrete; otherwise, consumers would perceive them as inferior,” he noted.
Apple has shown that consumer preferences are centered around performance, rather than the distinction between integrated and discrete graphics. This realization empowered Macri to navigate the corporate politics necessary to greenlight the Ryzan AI Max’s development.
Following the triumph of Apple Silicon, Macri was finally granted permission to invest a “mind-blowing” amount into the development of the Ryzen AI Max. “I always believed that we could create a system that was smaller, faster, and could deliver significantly higher performance at comparable power levels,” he said.
The first opportunity to purchase a laptop incorporating the new chip will arise in the first half of this year, with models like the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 and the ZBook Ultra G1a (seriously, what’s up with PC naming conventions this year?!) expected to feature it.
Image: AMD
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