Future Mac Pro models from tech giant Apple are expected to include Apple Silicon and PCI-E graphics processors (GPUs).
The ability to use GPUs in external enclosures via Thunderbolt or internally in a Mac Pro is one feature that Apple Silicon Macs lack in comparison to Intel Macs, according to AppleInsider.
Although the majority of Mac users might not be bothered by it, some people, especially those who purchase Mac Pros, find it to be a major issue.
Now, though, a set of four recently uncovered patent filings appear to show that Apple is at least considering a solution to this issue.
“Given their growing compute capabilities, graphics processing units (GPUs) are now being used extensively for large-scale workloads.” the tech giant mentioned in the patent application.
It went on to say that “application programming interfaces (APIs) such as Metal and OpenCI give software developers with an interface to access the GPU’s compute power for their applications.”
The iPhone maker also noted that “in recent times, software developers have been moving substantial portions of their applications to use the GPU.”
A discrete unit of graphics work that a GPU might carry out was referred to by the company as a “kick” in this context.
Additionally, it stated that there was a difficulty in getting these kicks to the appropriate GPUs.
A graphics card may use what Apple calls a “kickslot,” which appears to be little more than a PCI-E slot and can either be internal to the computer or external to it.
“There could be two or more of these, with macOS switching between them,” the report said.
