9.7-inch iPad Pro and iPhone SE Both Have 2GB RAM

[MacRumors]

Apple never announces the RAM in its iOS devices, so that metric often remains a mystery until a device teardown or benchmarking tests. TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino has an iPhone SE and a new iPad Pro on hand, and was able to use a memory checking app to determine the RAM in both devices.

Based on his testing, it appears that both the iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro include 2GB of RAM.

2GB RAM puts the iPhone SE on par with the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus, both of which also include 2GB of RAM. As for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, 2GB RAM means its performance isn't going to measure up to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which is equipped with 4GB RAM.

As was recently discovered, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro also features a slightly underclocked A9X processor, another factor that will impact its performance compared to the larger tablet.

Geekbench testing by Panzarino suggests the iPhone SE is not underlocked compared to the iPhone 6s, with the A9 in the device running at 1.85GHz. On the test, the iPhone SE received a single-core score of 2538 and a multi-core score of 4421, on par with or slightly better than tests conducted on the iPhone 6s.

Given that it includes the same processor and the same RAM, the iPhone SE is as powerful as the iPhone 6s despite its much smaller form factor and lower price. The new iPad Pro, while less powerful than its larger sibling, has its own unique features, including a 12 megapixel camera with rear flash and a unique True Tone display.

Article Link: 9.7-inch iPad Pro and iPhone SE Both Have 2GB RAM

 

[Oblivious.Robot]

So it's really just an iPad Air 3?
Edit - Okay, SE is sounding like a really good deal now. Better battery, better performance and didn't cheap out on RAM.

 

[chrismail627]

That's good for the iPhone, makes the iPad Pro 9.7 a little less attractive though....

 

[Alphazoid]

More incentive to hold on to my IPA2

 

[Radon87000]

This is a shameful moneygrab by Apple.The device is nothing more than a Air 3.TC just gave it a "Pro" label and jacked up the price.2 GB of ram and an underclocked A9X prove this is NO pro device in the slightest.Even Surface 3 provides 4 gigs of RAM for sub 500 bucks

 

[Xavier]

iPhone SE keeps looking more and more like my next iPhone!

 

[Sasparilla]

2GB RAM on the SE. Wow, I've been waiting for the shoe to drop on that phone somehow, but it didn't - its going to get OS updates for as long as a 6s (if it was 1GB it could potentially get cut off in the future, but not at 2GB).

Apple is going to sell a ton of these. Great job Cook and Co..

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

What is the RAM on the iPad Air 2 (I find it odd that isn't included in the article.)

Edit: As three people have said, it's 2 GB.

 

[Fzang]

Funny how specs are, Apple-historically speaking, "skyrocketing" as sales seem to be cooling. I guess magic only goes so far.

 

[Radon87000]

What is the RAM on the iPad Air 2 (I find it odd that isn't included in the article.)

Its 2GB

 

[SMIDG3T]

Good news about the iPhone SE. I was thinking it would only come with 1GB of RAM. This'll mean it might well outperform the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus as it has much less pixels to push through to the screen. Battery life might also be better because of the same reason. I am so tempted to sell my iPhone 6s and get one of these.

 

[Michael Goff]

What is the RAM on the iPad Air 2 (I find it odd that isn't included in the article.)

2gb

 

[vertsix]

Thanks Apple.

Seriously, thanks for not cheaping out on something as important as RAM.

Should've increased RAM to 3GB on the iPad Pro 9.7", though. Tablets naturally need more RAM than phones.

 

[Oblivious.Robot]

What is the RAM on the iPad Air 2 (I find it odd that isn't included in the article.)

It's 2GB.

 

[agsystems]

More incentive to hold on to my IPA2

Agreed... with 4GB RAM - this would have been a fantastic upgrade to hold you over for 4-6 years easily.

 

[nickpro]

As a 12.9 owner I feel a lot better now about missing out on the better camera/screen of the 9.7.

 

[JackieInCo]

I just read a report on Cult of Mac that says the 9.7 iPad Pro is slower then the 12.9 inch even though they have the same processor. They think it could be under clocked to control the heat in a smaller enclosure orcould be to help with the battery life.

 

[cdmoore74]

Underclocked and only 2GB of Ram. Apple; what are you doing to the iPads? Bumping features in one area and downgrading in others. I wish there was only one ultimate model like in the old days.

 

[lordofthereef]

Great news. Guess I'm putting an order in.

 

[DTphonehome]

Starting to be more apparent that the iPad Pro is just an Air 3, between the ram and USB 2 lightning port.

 

[Darrensk8]

Oh Apple looks like I'll be keeping my air 2.... At least for the time being.

 

[Bokito]

So it's really just an iPad Air 3?

Yep, with a Pro price point.

 

[teerexx52]

As a 12.9 owner I feel a lot better now about missing out on the better camera/screen of the 9.7.

As am I

 

[cdmoore74]

As a 12.9 owner I feel a lot better now about missing out on the better camera/screen of the 9.7.

If anything this is bad in the long run.

 

[chrisherbert]

That's great news for the SE and makes it a really compelling option for the price.

2GB of RAM, however, just doesn't feel like enough for an iPad. My old iPad 3 has 1GB of RAM and virtually any website will crash it within a few minutes after running out of RAM. Just having double the RAM isn't going to do it. Actually, even 4GB might not be enough, though I'll admit I haven't used the big iPad Pro for more than a few minutes.

Sadly, modern webpages are incredibly RAM heavy. On my desktop I commonly see "infinite scrolling" style sites consume multiple gigabytes of ram for a single tab. The move to more and more JS framework-driven sites means this is only going to be become more common.