Apple silicon iMac with custom GPU to launch in 2021

San Francisco: Apple is reportedly planning to launch a powerful custom-designed graphics processing unit in its first Arm-based iMac which is set to launch in the second half of next year.

Codenamed ‘Lifuka,’ the self-developed GPU to feature in the Apple Silicon powered iMac will be produced using TSMC’s 5-nanometer manufacturing process, and will offer better performance and be more energy-efficient than the Intel processor it replaces, reports The China Times.

According to the report, the 12-inch MacBook will have a battery life of between 15 and 20 hours with Retina Display.

The ARM-based device is likely to support a USB Type-C interface.

The A14X processor is being built by TSMC and has been given the development codename ‘Tonga’. It is going to feature in the upcoming new generation Apple iPad Pro tablet as well.

The Cupertino-based tech giant, at its WWDC 2020 developer conference in June, announced that its Macs will transition from Intel x86-based CPUs to its self-designed Arm-based Apple Silicon processors over the next two years.

A recent research note from famed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has claimed that Apple could launch their first ARM-based MacBook in 2021.

Like x86 processors from Intel or AMD, ARM designs are usually associated with mobile devices because of their greater power efficiency, giving products like the iPad long battery life without the need for active cooling.