Next-gen AMD APU would compete in the handheld and mobile gaming market, leak says

A next-gen AMD APU has just been leaked and is seemingly designed for the handheld, laptop, and mobile gaming markets. A leak from Moore's Law is Dead suggests this next-gen Accelerated Processing Unit is the Sound Wave and that the company was developing this processor to bid against Nvidia for the Nintendo Switch 2, but it lost.

Since the Switch consoles are based on ARM CPU, the Sound Wave processor is also reportedly on the ARM architecture, as opposed to x86.

However, since AMD lost the bid according to the leaker, the brand might be planning to repurpose this new ARM APU for the handheld, laptop, and mobile gaming markets.

It could also be repurposed as a potential Apple M4 competitor. AMD is working hard to win a Microsoft Surface device contract to fight Qualcomm's X Elite CPUs. This article discusses the Sound Wave processor leak and its potential in the mobile market.

NOTE: This article is based on leaked information that is subject to change. The article solely reflects the writer's opinions on the leaked details.

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Next-gen AMD APU set to take over the mobile processor market

AMD Ryzen 7000 series Phoenix APUs (Image via AMD)

This is not the first time we have heard about this AMD Sound Wave processor. It was first leaked on Gamm0burst, a site dedicated to data mining. In its latest data mining effort, the site managed to uncover five upcoming AMD APU codenames, and "Sound Wave" was one of them.

The company usually names its APUs after birds and other types of animals, so this name stuck out. However, there was no information on this processor other than that it could be a next-gen Zen 6-based processor until recently. Leaker Moore's Law is Dead has leaked some details about the new AMD Sound Wave on a YouTube video.

Many of his RDNA 2 GPU leaks turned out to be true, but you should still take their latest leak with a grain of salt. According to the creator, the new AMD APU is based on ARM architecture as this company's original plan was to use it for the Nintendo Switch 2. But since that didn't pan out, this is likely to repurpose the processor for other markets, particularly handheld devices, Windows laptops, and mobile gaming devices.

Lenovo Legion Go with AMD Ryzen APU (Image via AMD/YouTube)

Handheld gaming devices are becoming increasingly popular, and many options in this category are available today, including the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, etc. All three of these devices are powered by AMD APUs, and the next-gen Sound Wave processors could further solidify this brand's lead in this market.

The Windows ARM laptops are getting a lot of attention, and Qualcomm is joining in on the fun with its Snapdragon X Elite CPUs. And it seems AMD wants a piece of that pie, too. An AMD partner source reportedly claimed to Moore's Law is Dead that Windows on ARM didn't work well earlier, but that has changed, so the YouTuber expects ARM Windows PCs to become a huge market.

Microsoft has been very busy working to bring Windows on ARM to a viable position. According to the leaked information, AMD is gunning hard to get its Sound Wave APU in an upcoming Microsoft Surface product.

The company could also be targeting mobile gaming devices. An Intel source informed Moore's Law is Dead that they think AMD could be trying to take over the mobile market. If you remember, the former brand also tried establishing itself in the mobile market with its Atom CPUs but ultimately failed and had to leave it. If AMD enters this market, it could bring some exciting innovations.

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The bottom line

AMD might be planning to bring some significant competition to the laptop, handheld, and mobile markets with its new AMD Sound Wave processor. The new leak explains a lot of things about this AMD APU. It is no longer as much a mystery as it was before. But there is still a ton of information about the processor that we don't know, so it's impossible to gauge just how powerful it could be.