News Apple Exploring RISC-V, Hiring RISC-V 'High Performance' Programmers

[Admin]

Apple says it is implementing 'innovative RISC-V solutions' in a job listing for a RISC-V 'high performance' programmer.

Apple Exploring RISC-V, Hiring RISC-V 'High Performance' Programmers : Read more

 

[-Fran-]

Not only that. Apple sees nVidia acquiring ARM as a big problem, so I'm sure this decision aligns to mitigate a potential issue on their hands. Remember there's a reason Apple ditched nVidia completely some years ago: they (nVidia) tried to strong-arm them (Apple) into licensing GPU tech that, at the end of the day, Samsung and Qualcomm did not have to pay for thanks to the court ruling in their favour (or so is the last I remember of that), so Apple just flat out cut them off from their ecosystem, including CUDA.

The sooner Apple invests in RISC-V, they will have a better exit plan from ARM when/if nVidia manages to buy them.

Regards.

 

[renz496]

Not only that. Apple sees nVidia acquiring ARM as a big problem, so I'm sure this decision aligns to mitigate a potential issue on their hands. Remember there's a reason Apple ditched nVidia completely some years ago: they (nVidia) tried to strong-arm them (Apple) into licensing GPU tech that, at the end of the day, Samsung and Qualcomm did not have to pay for thanks to the court ruling in their favour (or so is the last I remember of that), so Apple just flat out cut them off from their ecosystem, including CUDA.

The sooner Apple invests in RISC-V, they will have a better exit plan from ARM when/if nVidia manages to buy them.

Regards.

AFAIK apple and nvidia have issues among them long before the GPU licensing thing. mostly it is about software/driver on the GPU. also apple has been working more than a decade with ARM. they have spend billions developing their custom core. ditch ARM and apple will need another 10 to 15 years to develop new RISC-V CPU that can be used on their all product stack. so rather than ditching ARM they most likely will try to work it out with nvidia. and nvidia is not a simple idiot to ruin things with apple and make apple looking for an alternatives. apple is one of the best chipmaker that use ARM IP. rather than looking troubles with apple nvidia should know company like apple can work as a big marketing for ARM itself.

 

[ezst036]

Nvidia purchasing ARM is a huge problem, must be that Apple recognizes this also. Apple avoids Nvidia GPUs also I think. I think overall the prospects of an ARM future have been high, but that purchase changes everything. If ARM is Nvidia's I refuse it. They are too bad in their practices for open source.

Leave me on x86 as-is or give me RISC-V.

 

[-Fran-]

AFAIK apple and nvidia have issues among them long before the GPU licensing thing. mostly it is about software/driver on the GPU. also apple has been working more than a decade with ARM. they have spend billions developing their custom core. ditch ARM and apple will need another 10 to 15 years to develop new RISC-V CPU that can be used on their all product stack. so rather than ditching ARM they most likely will try to work it out with nvidia. and nvidia is not a simple idiot to ruin things with apple and make apple looking for an alternatives. apple is one of the best chipmaker that use ARM IP. rather than looking troubles with apple nvidia should know company like apple can work as a big marketing for ARM itself.

Hence why I implied "the earlier, the better" they get into RISC-V. ~10 years in corporate time is not that much. That is about 3 CPU architecture cycles, maybe 2. Given how much expertise Apple now has thanks to ARM and RISC, I would dare a guess by saying it won't be that much extra effort to migrate. Specially considering they have absurdly good vertical integration.

Regards.

 

[3arn0wl]

There are a number of possible reasons for this job ad:

Firstly - it's a low-key geopolitical (anti-neoliberal) message implying that Apple isn't keen on Nvidia's acquisition of Arm. Given Nvidia's track record, none of the big tech companies who are reliant on ARM, trust Nvidia to be in control of what looks to be the more dominant ISA in the years ahead. So it's prudent to have a contingency plan for if the acquisition is allowed to go ahead. Also, Apple have enjoyed the freedom to be creative with ARM: perhaps they fear that things will change, going forward.

Secondly, Apple like control. Using RISC-V gives them the ultimate freedom to develop as they might wish, without having to submit their plans to Arm's board, and await an adjudication. The RISC-V license allows companies to retain their intellectual property - so Apple could design proprietary extensions.

Thirdly, RISC-V is a new ISA, and has some well-considered solutions to potential computing issues ahead... Nor is it encumbered (and because of its modularity, it is unlikely so to be) with the scars of changes and work-arounds due to developments in computing needs, as both X86 and ARM have been. Perhaps Apple can see potential to do things more easily with RISC-V than with ARM.

Fourthly, RISC-V is gaining maturity. RISC-V is established in the embedded and microcontroller space (MPUs) and is now beginning to produce application processors (APUs). There would have to be a very good reason for Apple (or anyone else) to continue to pay license fees and royalties if there is a credible alternative.

It might well be that, at least initially, Apple are considering (or are already using) microcontrollers or co-processors that are RISC-V. This advertisement doesn't necessarily mean that Apple are looking to ditch ARM completely. But it's more evidence that tech companies are not going to be beholden to Nvidia-Arm.

Apple has a good record of changing ISAs smoothly - from PowerPC to Intel to ARM... An Open Source ISA might be a safer, better place to transition to.