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A12 Bionic in New iPad Paired With 3GB RAM, Clocks in at Same Speed as Latest iPhones

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Apple's new fifth-generation iPad mini and resurrected iPad Air were announced this morning, and both of the new tablets are equipped with Apple's latest A12 Bionic processors, initially introduced in the 2018 iPhones.

The first Geekbench benchmark of one of the new iPad models (11,2) surfaced shortly after Apple's announcement, confirming a 2.49GHz clock speed, identical to the iPhone's clock speed. The benchmarked iPad also features 3GB RAM, 1GB less than the iPad Pro and 1GB more than the 9.7-inch iPad. 3GB RAM is also the amount of RAM in the iPhone XR, while the XS and XS Max feature 4GB.

newipadgeekbenchscore-800x738.jpg

At this point in time, we don't know if iPad 11,2 is an iPad mini 5 or a 10.5-inch iPad Air, but given the similarity in specs between the two tablets, we suspect that both models are using the same clock speed and RAM.

The iPad 11,2 earned a single-core Geekbench score of 4806 and a multi-core score of 11607, which, unsurprisingly, is right on par with iPhone Geekbench results, though a bit faster, perhaps due to improvements in iOS 12.2.

While the iPad Air and the iPad mini 5 appear to feature similar specs and may include the same amount of RAM, we'll need to wait for further Geekbench scores to confirm. We'll update this post when more information is available.

The new iPad Air and the iPad mini 5 are both available for purchase from Apple today and will arrive to customers at the end of March. The iPad Air, which features a 10.5-inch Retina display, Touch ID, a headphone jack, and Apple Pencil support, is priced starting at $499 for 64GB storage.

The fifth-generation iPad mini with a 7.9-inch Retina display, Apple Pencil support, Touch ID, 8-megapixel rear camera, and a headphone jack is priced starting at $399 for 64GB storage.

Article Link: A12 Bionic in New iPad Paired With 3GB RAM, Clocks in at Same Speed as Latest iPhones
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/03/18/new-ipad-benchmark-3gb-ram-12-bionic/
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3GB is fine. iOS isn’t a memory pig like Android so the inevitable comparisons about how much RAM they have are moot.

Edited: Although they are clocked the same, the A12 in the iPad likely has a better thermal solution than an iPhone and would have better sustained performance.
 
Last edited:
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I only wish it had support for the second generation pencil, not the first gen. But I bought one anyway. Have been waiting for a new one to arrive to use as a small notepad and book reader. This is funny. I now carry an iPad Pro which I use 90% of the time, and I'm augmenting it with a mini. Two iPads in the same bag. I already sort of do this with my old 10.5". Using it has a big book reader, but I really want something smaller, like the mini. I didn't expect it to have pencil support. That's welcomed.
 
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MacRumors said:



Apple's new fifth-generation iPad mini and resurrected iPad Air were announced this morning, and both of the new tablets are equipped with Apple's latest A12 Bionic processors, initially introduced in the 2018 iPhones.

The first Geekbench benchmark of one of the new iPad models (11,2) surfaced shortly after Apple's announcement, confirming a 2.49GHz clock speed, identical to the iPhone's clock speed. The benchmarked iPad also features 3GB RAM, 1GB less than the iPad Pro and 1GB more than the 9.7-inch iPad. 3GB RAM is also the amount of RAM in the iPhone XR, while the XS and XS Max feature 4GB.

newipadgeekbenchscore-800x738.jpg

At this point in time, we don't know if iPad 11,2 is an iPad mini 5 or a 10.5-inch iPad Air, but given the similarity in specs between the two tablets, we suspect that both models are using the same clock speed and RAM.

The iPad 11,2 earned a single-core Geekbench score of 4806 and a multi-core score of 11607, which, unsurprisingly, is right on par with iPhone Geekbench results, though a bit faster, perhaps due to improvements in iOS 12.2.

While the iPad Air and the iPad mini 5 appear to feature similar specs and may include the same amount of RAM, we'll need to wait for further Geekbench scores to confirm. We'll update this post when more information is available.

The new iPad Air and the iPad mini 5 are both available for purchase from Apple today and will arrive to customers at the end of March. The iPad Air, which features a 10.5-inch Retina display, Touch ID, a headphone jack, and Apple Pencil support, is priced starting at $499 for 64GB storage.

The fifth-generation iPad mini with a 7.9-inch Retina display, Apple Pencil support, Touch ID, 8-megapixel rear camera, and a headphone jack is priced starting at $399 for 64GB storage.

Article Link: A12 Bionic in New iPad Paired With 3GB RAM, Clocks in at Same Speed as Latest iPhones
Click to expand...
3 GB is ok for Ipad air for me, 2GB would have been bad!
 
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If it's the same A12 + (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup as in the XR, then it's NOT a true 3 GB DRAM device !

Specifically, the XR does NOT act like a true 3 GB DRAM device ! ... that has been proven !

However, many won't notice the issue since neither the new 10.5" Air or 7.9" mini include a 12 Mpx image sensor ... specifically here, for those who don't know, a sufficient amount of DRAM is required when capturing Full-Res 12 Mpx photos ... this is where most will notice the Diff between 2 GB vs 3 GB vs 4 GB.

Both of the new iPads include the same set of cameras, 8 Mpx on the Back, & 7 Mpx on the Front ... so, 3 GB is ok with both.

I believe AAPL learned from their XR mistake.

The XR would have been fine with 4 GB of DRAM, but is a Dog / Performance Lemon with it's current (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup.

Few in the General Public know this.
 
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Cosmosent said:
If it's the same A12 + (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup as in the XR, then it's NOT a true 3 GB DRAM device !

Specifically, the XR does NOT act like a true 3 GB DRAM device ! ... that has been proven !

However, many won't notice the issue since neither the new 10.5" Air or 7.9" mini include a 12 Mpx image sensor ... specifically here, for those who don't know, a sufficient amount of DRAM is required when capturing Full-Res 12 Mpx photos ... this is where most will notice the Diff between 2 GB vs 3 GB vs 4 GB.

Both of the new iPads include the same set of cameras, 8 Mpx on the Back, & 7 Mpx on the Front ... so, 3 GB is ok with both.

I believe AAPL learned from their XR mistake.

The XR would have been fine with 4 GB of DRAM, but is a Dog / Performance Lemon with it's current (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup.

Few in the General Public know this.
Click to expand...
How bad is it?

It's moot for me though, as I ordered the Pro.
 
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smartbot said:
I would still go with a 10.5 iPad Pro (you can probably find one for a similar price to the new iPad Air). More RAM (4GB vs 3GB), Quad Speakers, 120Hz screen, etc.
Click to expand...
With a much higher power consumption, more heat, and eventually more battery wear.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still wondering if losing the Pro-motion feature and the quad speakers is worth the much newer A12. Someone said to me on a Discord server that CPU wise A12 is 20% faster, but GPU wise the A10X has a 27% advantage. An advantage that is compensated by the more demanding Pro-Motion screen.

So I'm pretty torn appart between the old and the new model.
Actually I wanted the newer 11" Pro, but honestly it's way too expensive.
Hopefully they will soon release the 10,2" Pro.
 
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Cosmosent said:
If it's the same A12 + (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup as in the XR, then it's NOT a true 3 GB DRAM device !

Specifically, the XR does NOT act like a true 3 GB DRAM device ! ... that has been proven !

However, many won't notice the issue since neither the new 10.5" Air or 7.9" mini include a 12 Mpx image sensor ... specifically here, for those who don't know, a sufficient amount of DRAM is required when capturing Full-Res 12 Mpx photos ... this is where most will notice the Diff between 2 GB vs 3 GB vs 4 GB.

Both of the new iPads include the same set of cameras, 8 Mpx on the Back, & 7 Mpx on the Front ... so, 3 GB is ok with both.

I believe AAPL learned from their XR mistake.

The XR would have been fine with 4 GB of DRAM, but is a Dog / Performance Lemon with it's current (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup.

Few in the General Public know this.
Click to expand...

What did I just read? What do you mean it doesn’t “act like a 3GB device”? That makes no sense at all.
 
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realtuner said:
What did I just read? What do you mean it doesn’t “act like a 3GB device”? That makes no sense at all.
Click to expand...
I wasn't sure either, but I was thinking he meant no dual channel or something. I'm not sure though as I've not seen the reviews discussing or benchmarking this.

Populus said:
With a much higher power consumption, more heat, and eventually more battery wear.
Click to expand...
That's what they said about the iPad Air 2 too (with its A8X), but it has turned out to be a non-issue.
 
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A ram cut hurts. We all know what 1 gig of ram costs, what 4 gigs of ram costs. It costs near nothing. This is more nonsense from Apple, a desperate attempt to drive sales to higher end models by limiting the useful life of the less expensive models.
 
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lol, that's awful. Who was complaining about the iPad 10.5" being slow anyways? To yank out all these quality of life features that are FAR more noticeable than the A12 upgrade is idiotic. You can get a 10.5 Pro on refurb or sale for cheaper than this new Air. Don't know why anyone would opt for the Air.
 
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Cosmosent said:
If it's the same A12 + (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup as in the XR, then it's NOT a true 3 GB DRAM device !

Specifically, the XR does NOT act like a true 3 GB DRAM device ! ... that has been proven !

However, many won't notice the issue since neither the new 10.5" Air or 7.9" mini include a 12 Mpx image sensor ... specifically here, for those who don't know, a sufficient amount of DRAM is required when capturing Full-Res 12 Mpx photos ... this is where most will notice the Diff between 2 GB vs 3 GB vs 4 GB.

Both of the new iPads include the same set of cameras, 8 Mpx on the Back, & 7 Mpx on the Front ... so, 3 GB is ok with both.

I believe AAPL learned from their XR mistake.

The XR would have been fine with 4 GB of DRAM, but is a Dog / Performance Lemon with it's current (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup.

Few in the General Public know this.
Click to expand...
source to learn more about this?
 
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chugg said:
lol, that's awful. Who was complaining about the iPad 10.5" being slow anyways? To yank out all these quality of life features that are FAR more noticeable than the A12 upgrade is idiotic. You can get a 10.5 Pro on refurb or sale for cheaper than this new Air. Don't know why anyone would opt for the Air.
Click to expand...
Blackstick said:
I like using the Smart Keyboard and a laminated display. I don’t need ProMotion or quad speakers. Thank you Apple for saving me a few hundred bucks!
Click to expand...
The refurb Pro 10.5" costs less than a new retail Air here in Canada. If you factor in education pricing for the Air, the pricing is identical, at least for the 64 GB WiFi model I was looking at.

I bought the Pro.
 
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Cosmosent said:
If it's the same A12 + (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup as in the XR, then it's NOT a true 3 GB DRAM device !

Specifically, the XR does NOT act like a true 3 GB DRAM device ! ... that has been proven !

However, many won't notice the issue since neither the new 10.5" Air or 7.9" mini include a 12 Mpx image sensor ... specifically here, for those who don't know, a sufficient amount of DRAM is required when capturing Full-Res 12 Mpx photos ... this is where most will notice the Diff between 2 GB vs 3 GB vs 4 GB.

Both of the new iPads include the same set of cameras, 8 Mpx on the Back, & 7 Mpx on the Front ... so, 3 GB is ok with both.

I believe AAPL learned from their XR mistake.

The XR would have been fine with 4 GB of DRAM, but is a Dog / Performance Lemon with it's current (pseudo) 3 GB DRAM setup.

Few in the General Public know this.
Click to expand...
True. I am a member of the general public and I notice nothing at all in using my XR that indicate it is RAM deficient.
 
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