Apple's supplier of PowerVR graphics processors, Imagination Technologies, is apparently facing big losses to its business as the Cupertino-based giant has now declared that it will soon be halting its GPU orders. The British multimedia, communications technology, and processor manufacturing company reportedly received a notice from Apple, informing them that orders for their products may be halted in 15 months to two years time.
Apple is making their own GPU chips in-house
In the notice received by the company, Apple revealed that they are apparently working on their own proprietary GPU design that will be built specifically for their different products.
This means that the company will soon be stopping their dependence on Imagination Technologies for PowerVR GPUs.
Impact on Imagination Technologies
Apple is currently the tech firm's largest customer and apparently relies on them for close to 50 percent of its annual revenue. Apple also stated in its notice that they would stop giving royalties to the company for the GPUs they currently have on Apple's different devices when its own processors are ready.
Shortly after reports had spread that Apple was soon going to be pulling out their orders, Share Prices of Imagination Technologies immediately plummeted. This week, share prices for the British firm dropped by nearly 70 percent caused due to panicked Wall Street investors.
#UK: Imagination announced that Apple,its biggest customer, will no longer be using its tech.#STOCKS CRASHED..https://t.co/RZwHa1tuEq
— SHLOMO MOUELLER (@moueller1961) April 3, 2017
Official statement regarding the pullout
Apple's GPU supplier, who has been providing GPUs for Apple's iPhones, iPads, iPods, TVs and smartwatches for quite a while, has responded with a statement on their official website.
The company apparently is not convinced that Apple can release their own GPU without violating any of their patents and intellectual property. The company asserts that Apple has not released any evidence of their new chip that would warrant the concern of their investors.
A future legal showdown
Based on the recently released statement, Imagination Technologies is apparently seeking for Apple to provide them with substantial evidence that would prove that they have indeed developed a new GPU design that is not similar to the ones the company is currently supplying. The company stresses that it would be highly unlikely for Apple to have designed a GPU without copying their own designs and patents.
