AMD has no plan to offer frequent updates for Ryzen Mobile APUs

Even though AMD often talks about how much growth they see in the laptop market for their Ryzen Mobile solutions, the software support for these APUs is definitely subpar. Since the introduction of the Ryzen Mobile APUs, some systems haven't received a single software update, which is definitely unusual.

In a post on Reddit, AMD claims the problem is that drivers are tailored for specific OEM platforms, and that it's hard to get OEMs to push out updates. For the next year, AMD claims it will do what it can to enable OEMs to deliver two software updates that year. This means users will only get updates if the OEM feels like it. Naturally, this post sparked a lot of outrage.

Here's the full statement from AMD:

Feedback is a critical part of how AMD delivers great products. You have made it clear we have room for improvement on graphics driver updates for AMD Ryzen Mobile processor-based notebooks, both for APU-only platforms and discrete GPU notebook designs. It is important to understand that our graphics drivers are typically tailored for specific OEM platforms, so releasing generic APU graphics drivers across all AMD Ryzen mobile processor-based mobile systems could result in less-than-ideal user experiences. So what can AMD do?

We are committing to work with our OEMs to increase the release frequency of AMD Ryzen Mobile processor graphics drivers. Starting in 2019, we will target enabling OEMs to deliver a twice-annual update of graphics drivers specifically for all AMD Ryzen Mobile processor-based systems. Because the release is ultimately up to the OEMs, this may vary from platform to platform, but we want to put out a clear goal for us and our OEM partners. Those updates should be available for download on the respective OEM websites.

In addition, AMD will continue to evaluate ways in which we can offer validated graphics drivers for AMD Ryzen Mobile processor-based notebooks aligned to the latest AMD software updates, and will provide updates as soon as we are able. Thank you to the community of AMD users who voice their opinions on this issue.