All New 2020 iPad Pro Models Feature 6GB RAM and Ultra Wideband Chip

[smulji]

Now, I bet that with 6GB of RAM now coming to all iPad Pro models, instead of just the sub-1TB ones, this means that iPhone will be getting 6GB of RAM this year. And the 5G iPad Pro(2021?) will get 8GB of RAM.

We won't know exactly what changes Apple has made to the A12X to get the A12Z until later when someone does a benchmark and/or a teardown. Personally, I bet Apple has increased the max clock rate(A12X was 2.49GHz on the big cores. A12Z could be 2.7 or 2.8GHz), likely also added more cache. It's also possible that Apple is using a tri-cluster, so they'd have 4 big cores, 2 medium cores, then 2 little cores. The A12Z medium cores would have performance somewhere between the A12X big cores and small cores.

Apple iPad Pro 2020 AnTuTu Test Suggests A12Z SoC isn't Much Different from the A12X SoC - MySmartPrice

Apple unveiled the new generation iPad Pro (2020) yesterday. This new iPad Pro comes with an all-new chipset, the A12Z Bionic, which, according to Apple, provides the iPad Pro with more power and faster performance than most Windows PC laptops. The brand, however, hasn't provided any performance...

www.mysmartprice.com

 

[M3gatron]

much more powerful OS?

Samsung Dex went from a way to connect to external KB, Mouse and mOnitor to hosting a fulldesktop OS (Ubuntu Linux) in 3yrs then just went backwards to basically being ChromeOS. Going backwards in features doesn’t really help the rebuttal this is a better OS.

notice on all the press release of the Galazy S20 that Dex is barely mentioned as a primary feature? That says a lot about their confidence that many of their buyers are using it.

You don't seem really familiar with Dex.
Actually Dex has evolved in a positive way in the last couple of years. From needing a doc station to only needing a cable. It also gained support in Windows and MacOS. With the launch of the S20 series Dex is more usable than ever before. And you can still connect keyboards and other peripherals with Dex.

And yes, Dex did indeed have a Linux mode in development as an experiment feature but it was never out of Beta(so not actually available for everybody) and for some reason Samsung decide the stop developing this mode. So it didn't actually go backwards.

I see no lack of confidence in promoting Dex. It's not necessary an S20 feature anyway and it's easy to deduce that it performs better on Samsung's latest hardware. There are quite a few youtube videos showing that it works great on S20 series. For example: 1 and 2.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Apple iPad Pro 2020 AnTuTu Test Suggests A12Z SoC isn't Much Different from the A12X SoC - MySmartPrice

Apple unveiled the new generation iPad Pro (2020) yesterday. This new iPad Pro comes with an all-new chipset, the A12Z Bionic, which, according to Apple, provides the iPad Pro with more power and faster performance than most Windows PC laptops. The brand, however, hasn't provided any performance...

www.mysmartprice.com

So, this is really just a platform for the updated camera, then. (BTW was there a 2019 iPad Pro?)

 

[smulji]

So, this is really just a platform for the updated camera, then. (BTW was there a 2019 iPad Pro?)

I would say so, yes. The real star of yesterday's iPP announcement was the new KB / trackpad accessory and the fact that it's backward compatible with 2018 iPP models.

 

[M3gatron]

Why would anyone want to use Android for desktops? If I wanted a cheap desktop option there are plenty of inexpensive Windows options than a far more useful, Android and chrome are the last things I would impose on anybody working on a desktop.

Yeah but a desktop computer is an additional entirely different device that doesn't fit into a pocket.
Dex is a way to turn the phone(which already holds most of the users data, accounts and used applications) in a more productive device without needing to buy an entirely new computer. In a way it also simplifies things. It's an option and I don't understand why anybody would be against it.
A Windows option would be more useful depending on what work are we are talking about. I don't think anybody claimed that Dex is full on replacing a desktop computer.
And objectively Dex does add to Android a level of complexity that doesn't exist on iOS.

 

[smulji]

Dex is a way to turn the phone(which already holds most of the users data, accounts and used applications) in a more productive device without needing to buy an entirely new computer.

I support this overall concept but I haven't seen a genuinely good implementation of it yet. Now with proper cursor and trackpad support, there's nothing stopping Apple from adding full support of 4K and 5K external displays to iPadOS

 

[M3gatron]

I support this overall concept but I haven't seen a genuinely good implementation of it yet.

What does "a genuinely good implementation" mean?
Dex is quite a decent implementation I don't know what would make other implementations "genuinely better".

Now with proper cursor and trackpad support, there's nothing stopping Apple from adding full support of 4K and 5K external displays to iPadOS

Well taking in consideration how long it took to get proper cursor and track-pad support it's not sure Apple will add that anytime soon, even if its a trivial thing.

Anyway it's nice to see they are moving in Microsoft's Surface direction with the ipad even if Cook said in the past that: “Our competition is different, they’re confused,”

Apple finally admits Microsoft was right about tablets

Mouse support for iPadOS is a game-changer.

www.theverge.com

 

[rp2011]

(BTW was there a 2019 iPad Pro?)

Nope.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Android devices have much more advanced OS

much more fragmented OS*

 

[0924487]

I don’t know why this myth keeps on getting perpetuated. It is simply not true.

1TB users will most likely do I/O intensive works. That means OS will need to handle large files, and having extra RAM can help it with caching linked files and hold more files before paging. It requires more RAM to hold the address allocation and translation table for the bigger storage. Google "B-tree".

 

[NPC Compliant]

All these different iPads & iPhones ....
This is precisely what Steve came back for to get rid of!!

He axed falling product lines, not dominating ones

 

[Rugbydman]

When will the reviews be out?

 

[NPC Compliant]

1TB users will most likely do I/O intensive works. That means OS will need to handle large files, and having extra RAM can help it with caching linked files and hold more files before paging. It requires more RAM to hold the address allocation and translation table for the bigger storage. Google "B-tree".

Then why not always provide the 1TB model with more? Why didn’t they supplement it with 8GB this time?

 

[mi7chy]

1TB users will most likely do I/O intensive works. That means OS will need to handle large files, and having extra RAM can help it with caching linked files and hold more files before paging. It requires more RAM to hold the address allocation and translation table for the bigger storage. Google "B-tree".

If that's true then does the 2020 1TB iPP come with 8GB instead of 6GB DRAM?

 

[Yojimbo007]

I wish they would have allowed the iPad to fold down flat on its back on the keyboard.. ( one would not have to detach the iPad to have it in pure tablet form.
From what i see .. the only options now are either open in keyboard mode.. or closed with screen covered.

(But maybe its possible and the animation just does not show that aspect.?)

 

[richard harris podolsky]

Yes, a 2018 12.9 is between $300 and $400 less than a 2020 fully tricked out. I opted for the 2020 because all the little increments seemed worth it. And because I’m planning on getting the Magic Keyboard and using it as I would a laptop - I went for the 12.9 over the 11 inch. Honestly, $2000, while a good chunk of change, doesn’t really bother me as I’m sure I’ll get 3 to 4 years of use. Also, I could be wrong, but I think iPadOS will see more interesting evolution over that timeframe than will MacOS.

 

[Chacocliff]

When will the reviews be out?

My guess is Monday or Tuesday of next week.

 

[name99]

Android devices have much more advanced OS that let the users run multiple apps comfortably just like on a desktop. Samsung's DeX is an example. That said, most of this RAM is used by the apps not by OS. What we have is that the apps on Samsung phones have more memory in their disposal than the apps on iPad Pros which are supposed to be used for productivity.

Seriously?
Even if you are utterly clueless about the difference between VISIBLE apps and RUNNING apps, the iPad allows you to have 4 apps VISIBLE at any one time - two in splitscreen, one in slideover, one in PiP.

The main reason Android requires 2..3x as much RAM as iOS is garbage collection. When the ram available to a GC system drops to below around 2..3x the working set, performance drops through the floor as ever more time is spent collecting and compacting, rather than in computation.
[automerge]1584658172[/automerge]

I wish they would have allowed the iPad to fold down flat on its back on the keyboard.. ( i would not have to detach the iPad to have it in pure tablet form.
From what i see .. the only options now are either open in keyboard mode.. or closed with screen covered.

But maybe its possible and the animation just does not show that aspect.?

Try the detaching/retaching. It's kinda amazing.
It's sufficiently easy, fast, and natural that it's not a big deal, when you don't want a keyboard just tear it off.

But yeah, it's something you have to try in real life. Tough in these coronavirus days, unless you want to put on all your protective gear and make a trek to Best Buy before they also shut down all their stores.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

From what i see .. the only options now are either open in keyboard mode.. or closed with screen covered.

But maybe its possible and the animation just does not show that aspect.?

The way the hinge appears to work, it seems like it only folds one way, so maybe there’s no option for folding flat in tablet mode while keyboard is attached.

I would say so, yes. The real star of yesterday's iPP announcement was the new KB / trackpad accessory and the fact that it's backward compatible with 2018 iPP models.

Yeah, the iPad Pro being updated seems almost unneeded. It’s essentially the same product with some updates and not a “new” iPad Pro. Will Apple introduce another iPad Pro in less than 18 months? Given that this isn’t even an update, really, I’d have to think they would.

 

[name99]

Then why not always provide the 1TB model with more? Why didn’t they supplement it with 8GB this time?

Do we know that they didn't? Apple never told us the A12X 1TB model came with 6GB DRAM, we only learned that once they started shipping and people could explore them in more detail.

 

[mi7chy]

The main reason Android requires 2..3x as much RAM as iOS is garbage collection.

Non-sense. I have a 2GB Android tablet that works just as well as my 3GB iPad 7th. In some ways the Android works better with less DRAM still since it supports things like background multitasking so when I SSH into my network devices, servers, SBCs, etc. it runs indefinitely in the background while it dies after about 30 secs on iPad.

 

[cfurlin]

I have a 2018 with 6G RAM already. This rest of the new stuff is not compelling enough to upgrade. Maybe the next revision. *shrug*

 

[SR 7]

Wait, so you ‘needed’ an iPad for four years and nothing they have manufactured over this time frame has appealed to you in terms of price? (I’m sure you realize Apple has entry-level iPads/mid tier iPads that are well under this price point?) And you can’t find something within four years?

Respectfully, My thinking might be, maybe you just can’t afford an iPad in general, but I think Apple has made their lineup expanded with more affordable price points across the board, but if you can’t find something within that timeframe of four years, then maybe you should consider something other than an Apple product.

I could afford it. I refuse to pay a premium price for less. When a company makes BILLIONS they shouldn’t raise prices on everything by coming out with a pro so someone like u falls for the trap. Man, entrepreneurs love consumers like you.

 

[falainber]

You must be from the Windows world where RAM and processor speed matter are the only measures. With Mac and iOS its not near as important as you cannot compare amount of RAM between two devices unless you know how efficiently they use it.

I happen to be a software developer and I know that on all of these devices OS does not use much RAM. RAM is needed for the applications. And if the application needs memory for data (video, image etc.) there is very little the OS can do to optimize the way application uses memory. So, on Android the apps have way more RAM to use (because Android devices have more RAM). Then there are these factors:

By design, Android gives apps more freedom, so they can stay in memory (and keep working) in situations where on iOS they would be killed or frozen. It's a tradeoff. iOS is not inherently more efficient here, it's just more limited (also by design).

Garbage collection (memory management technique). Many Android apps are developed using Java which uses garbage collection. This technique does have an overhead in terms of memory usage. So depending on the type of apps one uses it may be a factor. At the same time, apps written in C[++] do not have this issue. Microsoft Office would be one example of such apps. I believe many game developers use C++ too. But again, this is not some inherent flaw in Android design. Both OSes let the developers use different programming languages (including C++ and Java). Most developers prefer to develop apps for both platforms. Many will use special frameworks for that (like Kotlin) and those apps will have identical design on both platforms.

 

[smulji]

The way the hinge appears to work, it seems like it only folds one way, so maybe there’s no option for folding flat in tablet mode while keyboard is attached.

Yeah, the iPad Pro being updated seems almost unneeded. It’s essentially the same product with some updates and not a “new” iPad Pro. Will Apple introduce another iPad Pro in less than 18 months? Given that this isn’t even an update, really, I’d have to think they would.

Word on the street is another update is coming this Fall with A14X SoC & 5G. Everything else being the same. In the last few months, this guy’s sources have been scary accurate.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1240772366000697344