[MBCook]

The GPU is built into the same physical die as the CPU.

So if you wanted to give it a second ram pool you would have to add an entire second memory interface just for the on-die GPU.

Now all you’ve done is make it more complicated, slower because now you have to move things between the two pools, and gained what exactly?

I think it was a very clear and obvious decision to make. It’s an outgrowth out of how the base chips were designed, and it turned out to be extremely handy for some things. Plus since all their modern devices now work this way that probably simplify the software.

I’m not saying it’s genius foresight, but it certainly worked out rather well. There’s nothing stopping them from supporting discreet GPUs too if they wanted to. They just clearly don’t.