It hasn’t been long since AMD launched Zen 5, but whispers about its next-generation Zen 6 Medusa Point APU are already making the rounds. This processor, aimed at the mobile market, is set to succeed the current Strix Point, Strix Halo, and Krackan Point lineup, becoming the centerpiece of AMD’s upcoming APU family. According to the latest rumors, the integrated GPU (iGPU) in Medusa Point won’t adopt the speculated RDNA 4 or RDNA 5 architectures. Instead, it will feature an enhanced version of the RDNA 3.X family—a surprising twist.
Details about Zen 6 processors remain scarce. Three months ago, leaks pointed to a desktop SKU codenamed “Medusa Ridge,” while this latest reveal of “Medusa Point” zeroes in on laptops. Well-known Weibo leaker @金猪升级包 (Golden Pig Upgrade Pack) claims that Medusa Point will pack Zen 6 CPU cores alongside an RDNA 3.X-based iGPU. Though it’s unclear whether this will be an optimized iteration of the existing RDNA 3.5 or a fresh upgrade, the decision signals AMD’s reluctance to leap to RDNA 4 for now.
RDNA 3.5 has already proven its chops in AMD’s mobile lineup. Introduced in 2024 with Strix Point, it later rolled out to Krackan Point and Strix Halo. The latter, with up to 40 compute units, delivers gaming performance on par with NVIDIA’s RTX 4060 and 4070 laptop GPUs while excelling in power efficiency and thermals. This success may explain AMD’s choice to stick with the RDNA 3.X framework. By contrast, while RDNA 4 promises technical advancements, its complexity and cost might not suit the low-power demands of laptop APUs.
The Zen 6 Medusa Point has a clear mission: to continue AMD’s strategy of blending CPU, GPU, and AI performance for mobile platforms. The current Strix series fuses Zen 5 cores, RDNA 3.5 graphics, and an XDNA 2 neural processing unit (NPU), powering ultrathin laptops and gaming devices alike. Medusa Point is expected to build on this, potentially boosting compute efficiency with Zen 6 while refining the iGPU to handle 1080p gaming and even encroach on low-end discrete GPU territory.
Competition is also steering AMD’s moves. Intel is slated to launch its Panther Lake processors with Xe3 graphics in late 2025, posing a direct challenge to AMD’s mobile offerings. To stay ahead, AMD must deliver a performance leap with Zen 6 and its iGPU, though questions linger about whether Medusa Point’s graphics will meaningfully surpass RDNA 3.5.
On the timeline front, Medusa Point’s development is on track. Industry sources suggest the Zen 6 architecture could finalize its design (tape out) by Q2 2025, with mass production kicking off by year-end or slipping into early 2026. This aligns with AMD’s brisk iteration pace. Since introducing the AM5 platform with Zen 4, AMD has pledged support through 2027, and Zen 6 is poised to be a key milestone. The mobile-focused Medusa Point may debut first, later expanding to desktops and servers.
The manufacturing process for Zen 6 is another hot topic. Strix Point uses TSMC’s 4nm node, while Strix Halo is rumored to shift to 3nm. Medusa Point will likely follow suit with 3nm—or possibly even test 2nm—to boost power efficiency and core density. Leaks hint that Zen 6 could scale single-chip core counts from Zen 5’s 8 cores to 16 or 32, a jump that would supercharge multithreaded performance for heavy workloads and professional applications.
Meanwhile, AMD’s GPU strategy is evolving. Earlier rumors suggested the Medusa Ridge desktop processor might leap to RDNA 5, skipping RDNA 4 entirely. Medusa Point’s RDNA 3.X choice may reflect a split approach: prioritizing power efficiency for mobile, while chasing peak performance for desktops. RDNA 4 is said to target the mid-range market, with RDNA 5 potentially emerging as AMD’s next flagship graphics tech in 2026 alongside Zen 6’s broader rollout.
For tech enthusiasts, Medusa Point’s significance goes beyond hardware specs—it hints at the future of computing ecosystems. Paired with an upgraded XDNA NPU, its AI performance could climb past Strix Point’s 50 TOPS, enabling more complex local AI tasks like real-time voice processing or image generation. This could solidify AMD’s edge in the AI PC race.
More details on Medusa Point are expected in late 2025. Whether AMD unveils this APU at CES or Computex remains to be seen. What’s certain is that Zen 6 will set a new performance bar for mobile devices while reinforcing AMD’s competitive stance in the processor market.