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In a recent podcast episode, tech experts at Digital Foundry discussed the recently leaked details about the Magnus APU for the next Xbox. This unique design features separate CPU and GPU dies, which differs from past and current console APUs in both size and structure. The modular design is more powerful than anything seen before and supports iterative upgrades, allowing Microsoft to mix dies for frequent updates beyond traditional console cycles. It could also span multiple generations, aligning with a “phases” approach rather than the current “generations” model.
Despite its high cost, the Magnus APU’s flexibility might impact the gaming PC market. From AMD’s perspective, shipping an entire Xbox PC with this design could be highly profitable, providing a cheaper alternative to pre-built PCs and allowing them to gain a larger share of the market. This could fundamentally change the “console war” between Sony and Microsoft, as the next Xbox systems may compete directly with pre-built gaming PCs instead of the PlayStation 6.
Microsoft’s strategy of transforming everything into an Xbox aligns well with this design. Given that the next Xbox is reportedly launching sooner than the PlayStation 6, it won’t be long before we see how the APU’s flexibility changes the future of gaming systems.
