The discrete graphics card market is starting to feel a little stale, with no new releases in months. However, GPU shipments are doing better than anyone could have ever expected. According to a new report from analyst firm Jon Peddie Research (JPR), add-in board (AIB) GPU shipments increased by a massive 47.9% year-to-year. Where are these gains coming from? Let’s find out.
First, let’s talk about the numbers, and they’re truly encouraging. Total GPU shipments rose from 8.7 million in the first quarter of 2024 up to 9.5 million units in the second quarter, marking a 9.4% increase. This defies the usual trend by a solid margin, as the 10-year average stands at -7.1%.
Such an increase goes against seasonality. Typically, the first two quarters of the year see a drop in GPU shipments, but this year is different. It’s hard not to attribute at least some of this to the release of Nvidia’s RTX 40 Super at the beginning of 2024. However, the first half of 2023 also saw the launch of new GPUs, such as the RTX 4070. Let’s also not forget the fact that both AMD and Nvidia dropped new GPUs in late 2022, so those shipments and sales likely showed up in data for the first and second quarters of 2023. Still, we’re seeing impressive gains this year.
Breaking this down by manufacturer is less surprising than that nearly 50% year-to-year increase in overall shipments. Nvidia remains king at 88% market share, with a 61.9% increase in shipments from last year and a 9.7% improvement compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, AMD sports much more modest gains of 3% year-to-year and a comparable 9% quarter-to-quarter.
Things look bleak for Intel, and that’s no surprise. While the data for the second quarter of 2023 gives Intel a measly 2% market share in the discrete GPU market thanks to Arc Alchemist, this year’s data puts Intel at 0%. We’re unlikely to see any changes there until Intel launches Battlemage, which might happen late this year or early next year — but nothing’s been confirmed so far, so this is just speculation.
The GPU market continues to surprise. With the rise in laptop gaming and integrated graphics getting better by the year, a dip in shipments at the beginning of the year wouldn’t have been a shock. Nvidia’s RTX 40 Super definitely contributed to these great stats, but can it really account for a 48% increase? We want to be hopeful and say that this could be indicative of a larger upward trend, as Dr. Jon Peddie said: “With one little dip in the first quarter (seasonally normal), we’ve seen four quarters of growth.” On the other hand, overall shipments are down compared to two years ago; it’s also important to remember that shipments don’t equal sales.
We’re still waiting for news about GPUs from AMD, Intel, and Nvidia, so once all of those are finally here, we can expect the GPU market to do well over the next couple of quarters.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.