A series of new
available positions advertised by Nvidia seek software engineers for the company's Mac graphics drivers team. Qualified applicants should have experience with Apple's Metal cross-platform application programming interface, featured on new Macs as well as iOS devices.
The job listings, which were first
discovered by Bloomberg, boast that hires will "help produce the next revolutionary Apple products," working in partnership with the company.
Apple is expected to unveil new Mac hardware this fall, most notably a long-awaited update for its flagship MacBook Pro featuring a thinner design, USB-C ports, and an OLED touch bar to replace the row of function keys. Rumors have suggested Apple will
stick with AMD for discrete graphics options in the larger 15-inch model.
Given the fact that Nvidia is hiring for positions now, and new Macs are likely only a matter of weeks away, it's likely that any potential switch to Nvidia would be months if not years down the road. Still, the listings strongly suggest that Nvidia and Apple are working together behind the scenes, potentially to bring Nvidia hardware back to new Macs at some point in the future.
[...]
Nvidia could also muscle in on Apple's Mac Pro business, where the cylindrical desktop machine is also due for a hardware update. And there are also rumors that Apple is working on a next-generation external Retina display with
integrated graphics, allowing underpowered devices like the 12-inch MacBook Pro to utilize an external GPU to help push pixels.
