14 DAY TRIAL // In a move akin to that of optimizing the A4 ARM SoC used by the iPad, Apple may be planning to develop customized x64 CPUs for its Macs that AMD could be interested in building specifically for use by Apple, people familiar with the matter say.
However, alleged talks with AMD could be part of a competitive leveraging strategy to have Intel eager in retaining a relationship with Apple. The Mac maker is believed to have applied the same strategy to keep Google as the default search engine on the iPhone, after being rumored to be discussing plans to use Microsoft's Bing search engine.
Citing people familiar with the matter, AppleInsider reports that, “Representatives for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD have recently been seen on Apple's Commuter Coach buses, and executives for the chipmaker have been spotted on their way out of meetings with members of Apple's top brass.”
According to these people, “The meetings have reportedly included briefings by AMD that have since enabled Apple to begin working with AMD processors in its labs as part of an initiative to position the chips inside some of the company's forthcoming products.” AMD is known to be offering a flurry of embedded processors, yet Apple is thought to be interested in the chipmaker's workstation and notebook-class CPUs.
Other reasons for these alleged talks between the two companies include expanding the Mac maker’s potential sources for CPUs in order to increase its flexibility and broaden its competitive options, AppleInsider continues to inform. But it may also be a response to limited availability of new Intel processors. The report claims Apple was actually forced to use Intel's limited integrated graphics chips inside the recently introduced MacBook Pros, instead of adopting Nvidia’s higher performance solutions. Still, it is believed that Apple’s main reason to take AMD aboard is offering a wider range of competitive CPU options, in order to target a broader range of price points, and demand for various performance levels.