Apple reportedly in talks to acquire the company that makes graphics chips for the iPhone and iPad

It's been a long time since Apple turned CPU design into an in-house operation, with tremendous results at that. It would come across as a logical expectation if the same were to happen with the graphics units responsible for iOS devices' visuals. According to a "knowledgeable source", the Cupertino gang is in advanced talks to acquire British company Imagination Technologies, maker of the PowerVR graphics accelerators inside Apple's chipsets. Although Imagination is denying takeover rumors, it is nevertheless prime for assimilation into the Apple machine.

Apple would like to move GPU design in-house.

Imagination built its renome on the back of its PowerVR graphics chips. In recent times, the company tried to diversify into other sectors, such as specialised ray tracing GPUs, MIPS processors, and embedded chips for IoT devices to little luck. In February, Imagination announced the resignation of its long-time CEO Hossein Yassaie and removed 350 jobs as part of a business restructuring that saw the company re-align its focus on the PowerVR line.

Apple has already incorporated a considerable part of the company, acquiring 3.6% percent of it in 2008 and increasing its stake to at least 9.5% later next year. It keeps working quite closely with Imagination Technology to optimize the PowerVR GPUs for its custom chipsets, but having the company at its full disposal could unlock previously untapped graphics processing potential. Apple will need plenty of the latter if it wants to venture into the developing VR market on time, and remain competitive on the increasingly intense mobile graphics front.

source: Ars Technica