Apple's been using GPU parts from Imagination Technologies since switching to its own in-house designed iOS device processors, starting with the iPhone 3Gs in 2009. This UK-based firm does not churn out actual chips. Instead, it licenses out its GPU designs and intellectual property to vendors like Apple, Intel, Qualcomm and many others - that's why "they" call it a fabless semiconductor maker.
Now, Apple's engine that powers iOS devices typically combines Imagination's GPU and ARM's CPU blueprints with some memory, I/O logic and other supporting functions on a single die, a solution known in the semiconductor industry as a system-on-a-chip (SoC).
Moreover, both Apple and Intel own a stake in Imagination, another indication of its importance to Apple's mobile future. See, Imagination's PowerVR graphics processors coupled with Apple's efficient mobile operating system have been largely responsible for the smooth graphics, transitions and animations seen throughout iOS. It's the reason iOS is the smoothest mobile OS out there.
At CES earlier this year, Imagination unveiled a new GPU that we suspect should make its way into upcoming iOS devices. Today, the company is detailing some of its more intricate aspects and boy does it make our hearts sing: it supports 4K resolutions and outperforms even Nvidia's upcoming Tegra K1, apparently enabling the most powerful graphics yet in mobile phones and tablets...
