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

[Dented]

I personally wouldn't. The chip is roughly 2 years old. A12>A10x

Not as simple as that though, the A10X is beefed up compared to the vanilla A12 and the benchmarks between the two are actually pretty close - the A12 has an edge but not by much. When you factor in the extra ram on the Pro, it’s really not so clear that the newer iPad is going to perform any better or last any longer.
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Too bad iOS 12 actually runs decent on devices with 1GB and great on devices with 2GB. 3GB will still be good for several years.

What good is 6-12GB of RAM running an inefficient OS? And what good is all that RAM when those devices won’t get a new Android version after they’re 2 years old?

I had an original iPad Air up until late last year and while iOS 12 ran (and slightly better than a few previous versions) the lack of RAM on that 1GB device was still apparent, just as it had been for a couple of years before that. There were certain apps, like Photos, which remained very crashy and were clearly limited by the memory available.

Based on that experience, RAM is clearly more important to the longevity of a device than processor, these days. The A7 in that Air was still perfectly capable and doing a good job; it was the lack of RAM that was slowing things down while apps and tabs had to reload, crashing larger apps, and being cited by some apps (Fortnite for example) as to why they were not compatible at all.

I made sure I updated to a future-proofed 4GB Pro and have no regrets at all.

 

[chatin]

I don't get why they are differentiating products with ram. It's stupid iMHO

Because that is where Apple makes the most profit. The increase in price for extra storage is 90% profit for them.

 

[MandiMac]

That's one of the reasons why I am dumping my iPhone soon. I can't deal with Apple's laziness when it comes towards maximizing larger iPhone displays.

What would you personally see maximized? Where is Apple lazy? Do you mean developers? I'm confused.

 

[ColdShadow]

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.

Absolutely.
the 10.5” iPad Pro is still a better product and better buy vs new iPad Air.
But the new iPad Air is a MAJOR upgrade compared to current low cost iPad.the screen and speakers on that thing absolutely suck.

 

[himanshumodi]

Am I the only one that’s disappointed that 7.9 uses the Apple Pencil first generation rather than the second. It looks like Apple is saving the second generation Pencil for pro devices only.

It's disappointing, but I suspect the reason is the charging mechanism more than any other thing. The whole magnetic charging thing would require more components that isn't going to fit in the "Air" form factor. It would also make the Air that much more expensive. Sucks for the customer to have to remember to buy the right pencil.

 

[MandiMac]

It's disappointing, but I suspect the reason is the charging mechanism more than any other thing. The whole magnetic charging thing would require more components that isn't going to fit in the "Air" form factor. It would also make the Air that much more expensive. Sucks for the customer to have to remember to buy the right pencil.

Then again, the original Pencil would have been compatible with what? Three different iPads? It's good the way it is, because existing original Pencil buyers don't feel screwed up that way. The Pencil 1 is less expensive than Apple Pencil 2, too.

 

[Dented]

It's disappointing, but I suspect the reason is the charging mechanism more than any other thing. The whole magnetic charging thing would require more components that isn't going to fit in the "Air" form factor. It would also make the Air that much more expensive. Sucks for the customer to have to remember to buy the right pencil.

I think the more disappointing decision was not to allow the new iPad Pros to be backwards compatible with the first gen pencil. Absolutely I see the point about the 2nd gen needing the charging mechanism built in and that’s a reason why that pencil only works with the newer pros, but if you already owned the first gen pencil and want to upgrade to a newer pro I can see no good reason why it shouldn’t still work, other than Apple’s preference that you buy a new one.

Especially now the first gen pencil has been given this new lease of life and once again made a current product for use with a brand new iPad, restricting its compatibility with the full iPad range seems all the more arbitrary and unnecessary.

 

[SBlue1]

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.

Ah ok, thanx. Next secret thing you gonna tell us is that the earth is flat? LOL

 

[recoil80]

I personally wouldn't. The chip is roughly 2 years old. A12>A10x

I think the A12 will receive iOS updates longer than the A10x, maybe one more year. So if you want longevity going for the new Air is maybe the better choice. But If you keep the iPad for 2-3 years then sell it or give it to a family member the old Pro is still a better product. The 120Hz display is far superior, the extra GB or RAM can help in some scenario and you have better speakers.
If I was in the market for an iPad today I'd go for the old 10.5 to get a "regular" size. Not attracted by the Pro, and I love the Mini but I find it quite expensive so I may wait for a good deal in the future.

 

[Dented]

I think the A12 will receive iOS updates longer than the A10x, maybe one more year. So if you want longevity going for the new Air is maybe the better choice. But If you keep the iPad for 2-3 years then sell it or give it to a family member the old Pro is still a better product. The 120Hz display is far superior, the extra GB or RAM can help in some scenario and you have better speakers.
If I was in the market for an iPad today I'd go for the old 10.5 to get a "regular" size. Not attracted by the Pro, and I love the Mini but I find it quite expensive so I may wait for a good deal in the future.

Bear in mind the current iOS 12 still supports devices with the A7 processor, which is more than 5 years old now, and massively underpowered (in benchmark terms) compared to the A10 let alone the A12. What’s more, what holds those A7 devices back more than anything now is their 1GB of RAM, not the processor tbh.

Both the A10X and A12 are way overpowered for what iOS actually demands now. They also benchmark pretty similarly. This is the Geekbench score for my 10.5 Pro, hardly far behind the new Air.

 

[Abazigal]

Funny how the new iPads are being benchmarked against iPhones and not Macs these days.

 

[Skyblve]

What a innovation!

 

[Smeaton1724]

So we are at the stage where a £399 iPad Mini 5 benchmarks around 11000 and can easily run Affinity, iMovie, play Rome Total War, Grid, Football Manager and Civ 6 in comparison to a £1199 Macbook Air at 7500. Take the £769 iPad Pro 12.9 2018, it benchmarks 18000. So compare computing power as well as the range of apps and games, iOS is phenomenal.

All Apple need to do is bring 2 features - 1. Localised mouse support (it could be implemented like Gamepad support - in app) 2. Enable external drives via Lightning/USB-C. Software wise, XCode, Logic and iBooks Author then iOS would complete Apple's software offering on its own platform.

For me Mac harware is absolutely crying out to be ''modernized'' with (unreliable) keyboards replaced by touch pads and Intel replaced completely by A Series chips. Also Face ID and Apple Pencil integration. ''Legacy'' software could be run in a Rosetta style emulation environment. Although for those running Virtual Machines I'm not so sure.

 

[harriska2]

Overall I think the new iPads are a solid update. Nothing special. What is beyond me is that they still support the old pencil.

I actually like the old pencil. I got a cheap stand/charger for mine and when I need to use it pop,it into the poetic case for transport. Works surprisingly well. Since some of the recent ios upgrades I no longer have to plug the pencil in for it to be repaired each time I use it. Took a couple years for them to fix that :/

 

[EugW]

Would I appreciate more RAM? Sure. That said, this is Apple. Skimping on memory is kinda their SOP. By the time they make 4GB+ RAM standard on their entry level and mid-range iPads, people would already be lamenting that they should have 8GB.

Yeah but the similarly priced iPad Pro 10.5” has 4 GB RAM. You can buy that today.

 

[rembert]

[...]

2) What is an iPhone Pro?

[...]

I'd call the SE-2 the iPhone Pro. To me the current iPhones are nothing more than Fashion iPhones.

Right now I'm wondering if I should get the iPad Air or the Mini to replace my old iPad-4 (still going strong). I use my iPad primarily for reading, taking notes and mind mapping. I'll just check them out at the Apple Store.

 

[MhaelK]

I don't think so after ios 13. IOS 13 on ipad is going to big change and RAM is required.

Agree, as iOS and OSx merge closer together the ram requirements are gonna shoot to the roof. Especially for a tablet which will be expected to complete tasks closer in Line with what is expected of a PC than of a phone. Soon, gone are the days of 2-3GB ram.

 

[JXulo]

Seems fair, and if it isnt, find me a better tablet for 499

The old ipad pro 10.5' in promotions .

 

[MrUNIMOG]

The old ipad pro 10.5' in promotions .

And it comes with ProMotion

 

[cibonak]

how many rams the iPad pro 12.9 1st gen?

 

[Enclavean]

The old ipad pro 10.5' in promotions .

Agreed tbh, you'll notice the pro-motion way more than you would notice the speed increase.

 

[Innuendo84]

So basically ipad air is a repackaged ipad pro 10.5, but cheaper. They dropped the price by $150 and removed some features.

From my perspective, I would probably buy this one. It's not as expensive as the last year's pro, more powerful than ipad and has a bigger screen than ipad mini.

PS. Luckily I bought my ipad pro 10.5 last year slightly cheaper than this new ipad air

 

[nviz22]

What would you personally see maximized? Where is Apple lazy? Do you mean developers? I'm confused.

You have these nice 5.5-6.5” screens without split view or picture in picture mode. It’s besn like that since iOS 9 released for iPad. Apple doesn’t give their iPhones enough multitasking.

 

[HermanMunster]

I think the more disappointing decision was not to allow the new iPad Pros to be backwards compatible with the first gen pencil. Absolutely I see the point about the 2nd gen needing the charging mechanism built in and that’s a reason why that pencil only works with the newer pros, but if you already owned the first gen pencil and want to upgrade to a newer pro I can see no good reason why it shouldn’t still work, other than Apple’s preference that you buy a new one.

Especially now the first gen pencil has been given this new lease of life and once again made a current product for use with a brand new iPad, restricting its compatibility with the full iPad range seems all the more arbitrary and unnecessary.

You would need an adaptor to charge the pencil 1 if you have the newer IPad Pros. Male usb c to female lightning

 

[CmdrLaForge]

I actually like the old pencil. I got a cheap stand/charger for mine and when I need to use it pop,it into the poetic case for transport. Works surprisingly well. Since some of the recent ios upgrades I no longer have to plug the pencil in for it to be repaired each time I use it. Took a couple years for them to fix that :/

I have also the old pencil and there is nothing wrong with it. My hiccup is that once I want to upgrade my current iPad I have to buy again the pencil and Smart Keyboard which really adds up to the cost and the same goes for everyone jumping on the new Air and Mini