▲ Analysis suggests that Apple’s application of the high-performance M4 processor to the new iPad Pro is a strategy to dominate the artificial intelligence PC market. Apple M4 processor promotional image.
[비즈니스포스트] Apple’s self-developed processor ‘M4’ applied to the new iPad Pro series was evaluated as the best among the currently released artificial intelligence (AI) PC processors.
It was also observed that this launch strategy shows Apple’s will to dominate the artificial intelligence PC market through high-performance iPad.
According to investment magazine Benzinga on the 9th, Goldman Sachs, a securities firm, published a report and analyzed that the new iPad Pro released by Apple leaves several implications for investors.
Apple’s new iPad Pro is the first to use an OLED panel and is equipped with the latest high-end processor M4 developed in-house.
The M4 processor’s computing and graphics processing capabilities, as well as the performance of the NPU (Neural Network Processing Unit), which is responsible for artificial intelligence calculations, have been greatly improved compared to previous products.
Goldman Sachs gave a positive evaluation, saying, “M4 has the most powerful performance among the NPUs currently applied to commercially available artificial intelligence PCs.”
In addition, it is predicted that Apple will be able to apply on-device artificial intelligence functions to all product lineups, including iPhone and Mac, in the future.
This shows Apple’s hardware strategy of ensuring that the device itself has sufficient computing power to process it, rather than implementing artificial intelligence-related functions through communication with an external server.
Major system semiconductor design companies, such as Intel and Qualcomm, are focusing on dominating the market by introducing processors equipped with NPUs one after another in line with the popularization of artificial intelligence PCs.
Apple showed its will to actively compete with its competitors by introducing the M4 processor, which uses NPU technology that is more advanced than its competitors, to the iPad Pro for the first time.
▲ Apple’s OLED iPad Pro promotional image. Taiwan’s DigiTimes reported that Apple’s strategy could be very effective considering the direction in which the artificial intelligence PC market will develop in the future.
Most PCs currently used use input devices such as keyboard and mouse to perform tasks.
However, DigiTimes predicted that in the artificial intelligence PC market, operations through interfaces such as touch screens and voice recognition will be more actively used, and the gap between PCs and tablets will decrease.
Therefore, tablets such as the Apple iPad can be fully recognized by consumers as artificial intelligence PCs.
Apple has long emphasized that the iPad has high usability as a business device and that it is a product that can fully replace existing PCs such as laptops.
DigiTimes said, “Apple has always been a company that has led market changes,” and added, “Apple’s strategy of equipping the iPad with the M4 processor could be the secret to gaining an advantage over competitors.”
Apple announced the launch of the new iPad Pro and explained the artificial intelligence computing capabilities of the M4 processor and the software functions that can utilize them.
At the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) held in June, it is expected that methods for external developers to use this to develop artificial intelligence-related apps will also be introduced in detail.
DigiTimes predicted that in the future, there will be fierce competition to improve NPU performance among major processor design companies such as Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Apple. Reporter Kim Yong-won
