Apple’s philosophy seems to be that if they can be self-reliant, they should be. This is why there are many aspects of Apple’s products that are developed in-house, and it is why Apple prefers to control all aspects of their products, ranging from hardware to software. For example Apple uses their own mobile chipset for its iPhone and iPads, and now it looks GPUs could be next.For many years now, Apple has relied on Imagination Technologies to supply them with mobile GPUs that they would use inside the iPhone and iPad. However that will be changing in the next couple of years. In a statement released by the British company (via The Verge), it seems that Apple will not be continuing to licensing its technology in the next couple of years.
They also revealed that Apple will instead be developing its own GPU. According to the company, “Apple has used Imagination’s technology and intellectual property for many years. It has formed the basis of Graphics Processor Units (“GPUs”) in Apple’s phones, tablets, iPods, TVs and watches. Apple has asserted that it has been working on a separate, independent graphics design in order to control its products and will be reducing its future reliance on Imagination’s technology.”
We’re not sure why the licensing deal has ended, but if you might recall back in 2016, there were rumors that Apple had apparently expressed an interest in acquiring Imagination Technologies, but clearly that did not pan out (or the rumors were just flat out false).