Imagination Technologies up for sale [2017]

I was hopping Nintendo would go all in with IMG tech before the Switch reveal, like mips cpu with PowerVR gpu... Now, a big PowerVR GPU in a console, I would like it too, but I think Sony and MS will stick with AMD...
 
Magnum_Force said:
Part of me secretly hopes Sony will pony up the dough and buy IMG, as they have some interesting tech and I think Sony could use the majority of it; PS5, updated PS Vita, smartphones, SOCs for there TV's.

Basically I really want real time attracting hardware in a console .
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What does "real time attracting hardware" mean?
 
Magnum_Force said:
Part of me secretly hopes Sony will pony up the dough and buy IMG, as they have some interesting tech and I think Sony could use the majority of it; PS5, updated PS Vita, smartphones, SOCs for there TV's.

Basically I really want real time attracting hardware in a console .
Click to expand...

I will love it, but when i look at what have happend this las month, i really start tto think this was, this is a bad move from Apple for acquire the pantents they need without the need tio licence them ..
 
I wish for AMD to acquire if only to bring the tech to more end users than just Sony would.
 
http://www.investegate.co.uk/imagination-tech-plc--img-/rns/final-results/201707040700260301K/

Peter Hill said:
The management team have done a tremendous job over the last year, turning the business around, returning it to profitability and with a clear strategy for growth. It is therefore highly regrettable that this progress has been so severely impacted by the stance taken by Apple.
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Andrew Heath said:
We improved our financial performance across the business. We returned the business to profitability and saw good cash generation despite the outflow from the now discontinued businesses. However, Apple's unsubstantiated assertions and the resultant dispute have forced us to change our course, despite the clear progress we have been making.
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So IMG claims apple isn't doing their own GPUs.
 
Looks more like speculation to me:

Apple has asserted that it has been working on a separate, independent graphics design in order to control its products and will be reducing its future reliance on Imagination's technology. Apple has not presented any evidence to substantiate its assertion that it will no longer require our technology, without violating our patents, intellectual property and confidential information. This evidence has been requested of Apple, but they have declined to provide it.

We believe that it would be extremely challenging to design a brand new GPU architecture from basics without infringing our intellectual property rights, accordingly we have not accepted Apple's assertions. We initiated the dispute resolution procedure under the license agreement with a view to reaching an agreement through a more structured process.

To be clear Apple made an unsubstantiated claim, which obliged us to inform the markets, leading to a significant decrease in our share price. The claim has led us to invoke a contractual dispute resolution procedure and has created significant uncertainty with respect to our business, including our employees. We do not believe this to be acceptable business practice nor in line with Apple's own ethics statements regarding suppliers.

At the time of writing this report, we remain in dispute. Imagination has reserved all its rights in respect of Apple's unauthorised use of Imagination's confidential information and Imagination's intellectual property rights.
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Apple has ethics? Seems they have done exactly what they wanted to reduce IMG's financial situation and make litigation towards any possible IP claims very difficult against the virtually unlimited resources of Apple.
 
The Full year results today, if apple was status quo, would be brilliant. They've increased licensing significantly YoY. Income from Apple is about the same last year (when you factor in currency), on around 25M units less. flat income on reduced units suggests some old ios devices stopping production during the year, and hence lower end IP dropping off. Income from Apple was around £65M, which is roughly 45% of the groups entire revenue.

Talking up the multi-year graphics subscription deal with Spreadtrum.

The statement also says that TI are continuing to license PowerVr. Further in the statement it says a "large American multi-national semi" has signed licenses from the ensigma segment. This is the wifi/bluetooth etc IP division. I'm wondering if this is also TI. Ensigma licensing has went up from 2M last year to 6M this year.

I wonder if TI is one of the companies that has shown interest in buying ensigma, or indeed the whole group.
 
Pretty amazing reply by Apple on Bloomberg today, regarding IMG.

Apple first informed Imagination in late 2015 that it would no longer be buying the U.K. company’s latest technology, Apple said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. It would still use its older systems.

By 2016, Apple said it told Imagination it was further diminishing the relationship by initiating a clause in its contact that allows Apple to pay a lower royalty rate for using a smaller amount of intellectual property. By February of this year, Apple said it told Imagination it was ending the relationship altogether and would no longer be making any royalty payments as early as 2018.

“We began working with Imagination in 2007 and stopped accepting new IP from them in 2015," Apple said
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On face value, this looks like from some time in 2015, Apple was entirely working on it's own, it wasn't using ANYTHING new from IMG. 2015 iphone soc (A9) was likely the last one that used anything new from IMG. so 2016 A10 and 2017 A10x, used no new IMG IP since A9. Any advances in the GPU (ignoring process) were soley down to Apple

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...k-at-supplier-imagination-in-contract-dispute

If true, that is pretty startling, and IMG knew well in advance of their public statement that they were not in Apple's plans going forward.

Interesting that IMG income from Apple for the FY just ended rose from $60 to $65M on somewhat reduced unit sales. Now there was a signficant currency favour for them in that period, but it doesn't indicate a major shift in average royalty rate from Apple.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...k-at-supplier-imagination-in-contract-dispute

It appears to me that the only way they can totally design out IMG, is by enforcing a rule that IOS 11 apps no longer use PVRTC. And then they need to change all the existing apps so as they don't use PVRTC, or have two versions of such apps, ones that work on up to ios 10 that use PVRTC and ones that work on IOS 11 that don't.

That's assuming that they have indeed managed to design an otherwise non-infringing GPU. I thought the following quote was interesting:-
Apple said it’s been using less and less of Imagination’s technology in recent years and that the supplier would have no way of knowing how its future products are designed. "We’re disappointed in their response, which has been inaccurate and misleading,” Apple said.
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Last edited:
tangey said:
Pretty amazing reply by Apple on Bloomberg today, regarding IMG.



On face value, this looks like from some time in 2015, Apple was entirely working on it's own, it wasn't using ANYTHING new from IMG. 2015 iphone soc (A9) was likely the last one that used anything new from IMG. so 2016 A10 and 2017 A10x, used no new IMG IP since A9. Any advances in the GPU (ignoring process) were soley down to Apple

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...k-at-supplier-imagination-in-contract-dispute

If true, that is pretty startling, and IMG knew well in advance of their public statement that they were not in Apple's plans going forward.

Interesting that IMG income from Apple for the FY just ended rose from $60 to $65M on somewhat reduced unit sales. Now there was a signficant currency favour for them in that period, but it doesn't indicate a major shift in average royalty rate from Apple.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...k-at-supplier-imagination-in-contract-dispute

It appears to me that the only way they can totally design out IMG, is by enforcing a rule that IOS 11 apps no longer use PVRTC. And then they need to change all the existing apps so as they don't use PVRTC, or have two versions of such apps, ones that work on up to ios 10 that use PVRTC and ones that work on IOS 11 that don't.

That's assuming that they have indeed managed to design an otherwise non-infringing GPU. I thought the following quote was interesting:-
Click to expand...
Apples response was quite reveailing, and gave some insight into their motivations for moving to their own solution.
Regarding PVRTC, you gave a couple of options already, but omitted the simplest - that Apple already have paid for an unlimited license for its use.
I find it gratifying that they pointed out the obvious bullshitting from Andrew Heath. It´s understandable that the man wants to give the impression that ImgTech somehow might have a hold on Apple because it would increase the value of the company to any buyer now that they are trying to sell it, and the hope of a strong buyer coming in helps keep the share prices up, (actually serving Apple as a major shareholder). However, they way he does it hurts Apples public image sufficiently that they need to respond. It´s just clumsy.
As an observer however, it was interesting to get a bit of a timeline and a sliver of insight into what has been going on.
 
tangey said:
On face value, this looks like from some time in 2015, Apple was entirely working on it's own, it wasn't using ANYTHING new from IMG.
Click to expand...

Apple seems to make an assertion that they no longer have to pay licenses, period. Not using anything new doesn't mean not using anything old.
 
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