[array api] streamline astype device implementation

jax/_src/numpy/lax_numpy.py

@@ -3479,15 +3479,44 @@ def _convert_to_array_if_dtype_fails(x: ArrayLike) -> ArrayLike:
 
 deprecations.register("jax-numpy-astype-complex-to-real")
 
-@util.implements(getattr(np, "astype", None), lax_description="""
-This is implemented via :func:`jax.lax.convert_element_type`, which may
-have slightly different behavior than :func:`numpy.astype` in some cases.
-In particular, the details of float-to-int and int-to-float casts are
-implementation dependent.
-""")
 def astype(x: ArrayLike, dtype: DTypeLike | None,
            /, *, copy: bool = False,
            device: xc.Device | Sharding | None = None) -> Array:
+  """Convert an array to a specified dtype.
+
+  JAX imlementation of :func:`numpy.astype`.
+
+  This is implemented via :func:`jax.lax.convert_element_type`, which may
+  have slightly different behavior than :func:`numpy.astype` in some cases.
+  In particular, the details of float-to-int and int-to-float casts are
+  implementation dependent.
+
+  Args:
+    x: input array to convert
+    dtype: output dtype
+    copy: if True, then always return a copy. If False (default) then only
+      return a copy if necessary.
+    device: optionally specify the device to which the output will be committed.
+
+  Returns:
+    An array with the same shape as ``x``, containing values of the specified
+    dtype.
+
+  See Also:
+    - :func:`jax.lax.convert_element_type`: lower-level function for XLA-style
+      dtype conversions.
+
+  Examples:
+    >>> x = jnp.array([0, 1, 2, 3])
+    >>> x
+    Array([0, 1, 2, 3], dtype=int32)
+    >>> x.astype('float32')
+    Array([0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0], dtype=float32)
+
+    >>> y = jnp.array([0.0, 0.5, 1.0])
+    >>> y.astype(int)  # truncates fractional values
+    Array([0, 0, 1], dtype=int32)
+  """
   util.check_arraylike("astype", x)
   x_arr = asarray(x)
 
@@ -3510,17 +3539,9 @@ def astype(x: ArrayLike, dtype: DTypeLike | None,
   # to issue our warning.
   with warnings.catch_warnings():
     warnings.simplefilter("ignore", ComplexWarning)
-    return _place_array(
-      lax.convert_element_type(x_arr, dtype),
-      device=device, copy=copy,
-    )
-
-def _place_array(x, device=None, copy=None):
-  # TODO(micky774): Implement in future PRs as we formalize device placement
-  # semantics
-  if copy:
-    return _array_copy(x)
-  return x
+    result = lax_internal._convert_element_type(
+      x_arr, dtype, sharding=_normalize_to_sharding(device))
+  return _array_copy(result) if copy else result
 
 
 @util.implements(np.asarray, lax_description=_ARRAY_DOC)