A9X in 9.7-Inch iPad Pro is Underclocked Compared to 12.9-inch iPad Pro

[wizard]

I think it's more likely I meant the existing Pro product should have a silent update with the tech introduced in the newer Pro product, so that the line stays consistent

Again though why? People expect yearly updates to iOS devices so devices debuting 6 months apart will never have feature parity if those features involve hardware. Trying to keep products consistent from one release to another, when the products are dramatically different to begin with, is just asinine. How far should one go here, should Apple not update the iPads untill they can implement all the tech found in the iPhones?

The same logic applies to the laptops. We would have never seen the Mac Book if Apple had waited to deliver USB-C across all products. The argument is the same just that the laptops are a different product range.

This discussion in my mind is nonsense, soon we will have people arguing that the Mini should be consistent with the 12" iPad Pro. Then we will have people demanding that iPod Touch be consistent. There is no rational thought in these arguments. I used the word Luddites before and frankly it fits people here whining about feature sets on products that are constantly updated. People are irrationally resisting change even if the changes are positive improvements to a device. It makes no sense.

 

[Michael Goff]

Perhaps the lower clock is proportionate to lower workload expected with a smaller display, and perhaps with a smaller battery too; to preserve battery life.

Are you sure Apple isn't just doing this to screw people over? I read somewhere that Apple does things to screw users.

 

[wizard]

You know the CPU is slightly underclocked but nobody has yet reported GPU clock rates. Since we are driving considerably fewer pixels Apple could have shifted clock rate even more here. Are people going to flip out if they find considerably slower GPU cores in this machine?

Just speculation because I haven't seen in depth benchmarking here yet. The COU frequency shift is so small it has me believing that they came as close as they could and other factors are at play. Could be timing closures or maybe they are using a different base clock to get to a better multiplier at the GPU.

In the end for most users it will be the lack of RAM that has the longest long term impact. People are ignoring this critical element in favor of stressing out over trivial things.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Isn't that an insult to geeks? Most geeks I know have dozens of machines and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each. Most of the responses seen here are more of the type that is best described as people ignorant of industry and the development process.

Geeks are easily insulted, it's one of the ways you know they're geeks. Anyway, no. If it's an insult to anyone it's those who get worked up over technical specifications that matter only to them.

 

[dannyyankou]

Everyone's complaining about 2gb of ram, but it's uncommon for an iPad to use 2gb of memory at a given time.

 

[Armandodj]

I am so happy with my iPad Pro 12.9 that I will keep my iPad Air 2 for other little things.....

 

[Bubba Satori]

Angry people that don't understand the intricate balance of size vs cooling vs weight vs clock speed vs battery life.

Not angry, :rolfing cuz it's a PRO underclocking, lighter, thinner and less useful.
Greatly insane.

"Hey Tim, we're sticking USB2 and a drag chute on this over priced turkey."
"You da man, Jony, you da man."

 

[Max(IT)]

This actually is a good news.
As usual Apple care about their products to works within thermal limits virtually without throttling (ask Samsung and Qualcomm about that ... ).
Tha A9X in a smaller case running at a slightly lower frequency is hardly unexpected.

 

[Norbs12]

Not angry, :rolfing cuz it's a PRO underclocking, lighter, thinner and less useful.
Greatly insane.

"Hey Tim, we're sticking USB2 and a drag chute on this over priced turkey."
"You da man, Jony, you da man."

Most mobile devices are "underclocked", so you could probably make the same "underclocked" comment about the large ipad pro because I highly doubt that chip can't go faster with more cooling and power. Clock speeds have a significant effect on heat and battery consumption. It's a conscious decision to get the right balance of speed, battery life and size and not as simple and "underclocking".

 

[blackcrayon]

Are you sure Apple isn't just doing this to screw people over? I read somewhere that Apple does things to screw users.

It's true. They have a Sr. VP of UserScrewing™ But I hear he's about to be replaced for letting 2 GB of RAM get in the 5SE. It's bad enough he let the A9X be sustainably fast without throttling.

 

[Phillyfinest89]

With the two iPads released in this order, some might get the impression that Apple is 'crippling' the 9.7" iPad Pro. But if the two iPads were released in an inverse order, the reports would be that the 12.9" iPad Pro has a slightly faster clocked A9X processor and nobody would think the 9.7" iPad Pro were intentionally 'crippled'. And really, the difference is 4%, hardly something Apple could or would use to make the 12.9" iPad Pro more attractive.

True

 

[TrueBlou]

I love how the 12.9" owners justify their purchase lol

There's only one thing I need to justify my purchase and that's wanting it, specifically for the 12.9" screen. I don't see that feature on any of the other iPads, so the choice was simple.

 

[Delbin]

Everyone's complaining about 2gb of ram, but it's uncommon for an iPad to use 2gb of memory at a given time.

It currently doesn't, but inevitable feature creep will start using more RAM. I was hoping it would have 4GB to last another year before Apple decides that 2GB isn't enough for ios 11 or whatever.

 

[Barry Bishop]

Yeah, battery life and design are also issues. In a way, those are physics issues as well.

Some of the people here would complain if it was thicker and heavier because of more battery and/or if the tablet got hotter. Some people here just don't want to be happy.
[doublepost=1458671881][/doublepost]

iWould love to see you run a multi billion dollar company.

iCould.

 

[Michael Goff]

iCould.

So why don't you start one?

 

[voltaire2030]

Lenovo Yoga x1 with OLED for me !

 

[BeanieMan]

That seems like a small amount slower to me, so not a big deal

 

[DCIFRTHS]

Isn't that an insult to geeks? Most geeks I know have dozens of machines and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each. Most of the responses seen here are more of the type that is best described as people ignorant of industry and the development process.

I think it was meant as a joke.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I think it was meant as a joke.

I think it was all meant as a joke.

 

[Ru1Sous4]

Pro 12.9 superior to Pro 9.7
CPU: 4%
GPU: 16%
Nota: Pro 12.9 have 33% more resolution than the Pro 9.7

Pro 9.7 superior to Air 2
CPU: 71%
GPU: 72%

Conclusion: I think we can say it was a good update from the Air 2 to the Pro, even if we have to deal with a small downgrade if compared to the Pro 12.9. Since the Pro 12.9 only have a 16% better GPU but more 33% of resolution, wondering if that will not make the Pro 9.7 end up in front of the race.

About the RAM, well Pro 12.9 destroy the Pro 9.7 and Air 2 with the double and faster RAM, no questions ask.

 

[racingbull]

Overall, I agree: the iPad Pro 9.7 that is a good update, except the 2GB RAM.

What really irks me though is the 200 Euro premium price that came with the upgrade
If you wonder: from 819 Euro to 1,019 Euro for a 128GB WiFi+LTE), Italian VAT (22%) included in both prices; compares iPad Pro 9.7 to iPad Air 2 before introduction of iPad Air Pro.

So, just in case you would decide to get an iPad Air 2 instead, then surprise, you can buy the 16GB one (laughable even with iCloud drive maxed out) or the 64 GB one which is no feasible to me...

Oh Apple, never mind, keep your iPads.

 

[Guyferd]

Why am I not surprised anymore?! It doesn't even have USB 3 output speed like the other iPad Pro. Another Score! This past event was solely for greed. I'm sorry to say that but Steve would have shrugged to the 30 million customers that are too cheap or can't afford the products.

I think he would have spun it differently or like the presenters never mentioned it because it doesn't make any real difference in performance. Jobs was not that hung up on specs unless they could be used for marketing and even then didn't care
[doublepost=1458727786][/doublepost]

Are you sure Apple isn't just doing this to screw people over? I read somewhere that Apple does things to screw users.

Yes I'm sure you read that somewhere
[doublepost=1458727995][/doublepost]

I love how the 12.9" owners justify their purchase lol

I waited for years with my iPad 3rd gen because I wanted a bigger screen. Since I got that when the 1st iPad Pro came out why would I feel any need to justify it to you?
[doublepost=1458728465][/doublepost]

iCould.

No...you really couldn't except into the ground. But it's sweet that you think you could. Here's a participation trophy so your feelings don't get hurt

 

[nexusrule]

And I'm not even an engineer.

And it shows. Undercloking a bit the processor actually cool the device, because it won't never reach the temperature it would have with an higher speed, important given the fact that the 9'' ipad pro case is smaller than the 12'' case so components are more cramped and there is less aluminium area to dissipate the heat.

 

[dBeats]

Repeat after me: "I will ignore benchmarks and specs and instead measure the actual end user experience." I bet the 9.7 and 12.9 will have nearly identical user experiences in terms of speed. Apple has always focused on that and not the specs....always.

 

[6836838]

Pro 12.9 superior to Pro 9.7
CPU: 4%
GPU: 16%
Nota: Pro 12.9 have 33% more resolution than the Pro 9.7

Pro 9.7 superior to Air 2
CPU: 71%
GPU: 72%

Conclusion: I think we can say it was a good update from the Air 2 to the Pro, even if we have to deal with a small downgrade if compared to the Pro 12.9. Since the Pro 12.9 only have a 16% better GPU but more 33% of resolution, wondering if that will not make the Pro 9.7 end up in front of the race.

About the RAM, well Pro 12.9 destroy the Pro 9.7 and Air 2 with the double and faster RAM, no questions ask.

You can't compare CPU speed based on the clock speed. As for GPU, we need to know the FLOPS.