Apple Introduces Next-Generation iPad Pro With M1 Chip, Thunderbolt, 5G, XDR Display, and More

[DNichter]

I’m waiting on wwdc to decide whether this replaces my 2018 iPad Pro. If there isn’t a big OS change that leverages the new processor, I’ll hold off.

Interesting timing, though - Adobe is recruiting for a new round of Photoshop and LightRoom testers. I wonder...

I think that is the right move, no reason to upgrade from the 2018 model for just a speed bump. We'll see what WWDC brings and go from there, but the fact that these new Pro's come with 8GB and 16GB of ram definitely make me thinking they are gearing up for big changes.

 

[HarryWild]

That I did not know.\This was the chart I was working from. Thx
View attachment 1761580

Apple never goes state of art in DRAMs. They alway use previous generation to keep cost down.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Just another update to an iPad line that was already more than powerful enough and is still held back by software.

 

[Wando64]

...the fact that these new Pro's come with 8GB and 16GB of ram definitely make me thinking they are gearing up for big changes.

It makes me think that they are just using what they are already producing, but... for sure this will enable big changes to be implemented.

 

[DNichter]

It makes me think that they are just using what they are already producing, but... for sure this will enable big changes to be implemented.

Could be right, but that just feels way too lazy and wasteful coming from Apple, which they typically are not.

 

[0lf]

So,

• A12z is 4+4 CPU. Same as M1
• A12z has 8 cores GPU, same as M1
• 2020 iPad pro has 6GB of ram. 2021 has 8GB on most of configurations.

Does not seams like this update is special or a giant leap forward. I mean, that is pretty much what one would have expected for an A14x. As a reminder, A14 and M1 seam very close in perf per core from benchmark.

May be the people who think this is a breakthrough can explain what they expected for the new iPad pro, and where the actual device hardware depart from this.

 

[Abazigal]

I think that is the right move, no reason to upgrade from the 2018 model for just a speed bump. We'll see what WWDC brings and go from there, but the fact that these new Pro's come with 8GB and 16GB of ram definitely make me thinking they are gearing up for big changes.

Still 50/50 on this. On one hand, Apple could have simply used the M1 chips to save the hassle of developing a custom A14X chip just for the iPad Pro. This actually makes sense from a cost-saving measure.

On the other hand, they may really have something in store for the iPad which needs that much ram, which doesn’t bode well for my 2018 iPad Pro with its 4 gb ram.

We will know in two month’s time.

 

[bill-p]

So,

• A12z is 4+4 CPU. Same as M1
• A12z has 8 cores GPU, same as M1
• 2020 iPad pro has 6GB of ram. 2021 has 8GB on most of configurations.

Does not seams like this update is special or a giant leap forward. I mean, that is pretty much what one would have expected for an A14x. As a reminder, A14 and M1 seam very close in perf per core from benchmark.

May be the people who think this is a breakthrough can explain what they expected for the new iPad pro, and where the actual device hardware depart from this.

A12Z has 8MB L2 cache. M1 has 12MB (performance cores) + 4MB (efficient cores).
A12Z runs around 1.6GHz, boosts to 2.5GHz. M1 boosts to 3.2GHz.

Also in comparison, A14 vs M1:
A14 has 4+2 CPU cores. M1 has 2 more performance cores.
A14 runs at around 1.8GHz, boosts to 3.0GHz. M1 boosts to 3.2GHz.
A14 has only 4 GPU cores. M1 has 7 (only in MacBook Air?) or 8.
2021 iPad Pro with 1TB or 2TB has 16GB RAM. iPad 2020 or iPhone 12 Pro have like... 6GB.

It's not a "giant leap forward" at all. But it should be a good 30-50% more CPU performance, 100% more GPU performance, and 167% more RAM over A14.

What is expected? Maybe 30% for everything from the last generation. Note that we are still talking about... "just an iPad" here. No matter how fast the hardware is, it's still only running iPad OS. This performance boost is honestly massively overkill since we can hardly say iPadOS is "slow" on the last generation chip.

 

[0lf]

A12Z has 8MB L2 cache. M1 has 12MB (performance cores) + 4MB (efficient cores).
A12Z runs around 1.6GHz, boosts to 2.5GHz. M1 boosts to 3.2GHz.

Also in comparison, A14 vs M1:
A14 has 4+2 CPU cores. M1 has 2 more performance cores.
A14 runs at around 1.8GHz, boosts to 3.0GHz. M1 boosts to 3.2GHz.
A14 has only 4 GPU cores. M1 has 7 (only in MacBook Air?) or 8.
2021 iPad Pro with 1TB or 2TB has 16GB RAM. iPad 2020 or iPhone 12 Pro have like... 6GB.

It's not a "giant leap forward" at all. But it should be a good 30-50% more CPU performance, 100% more GPU performance, and 167% more RAM over A14.

What is expected? Maybe 30% for everything from the last generation. Note that we are still talking about... "just an iPad" here. No matter how fast the hardware is, it's still only running iPad OS. This performance boost is honestly massively overkill since we can hardly say iPadOS is "slow" on the last generation chip.

These gains are about the same as what we saw in iPhone from A12 to A14, and were expected even with an A14x, except for 16GB ram and thunderbolt, which will likely be as marginal in use as they are on the mac...

Basically, the hardware improvements will expand the use of iPad for edge cases, not transform the way it work. I expect the same for iPadOS : expand, not transform.

 

[DNichter]

Still 50/50 on this. On one hand, Apple could have simply used the M1 chips to save the hassle of developing a custom A14X chip just for the iPad Pro. This actually makes sense from a cost-saving measure.

On the other hand, they may really have something in store for the iPad which needs that much ram, which doesn’t bode well for my 2018 iPad Pro with its 4 gb ram.

We will know in two month’s time.

You’re probably right, maybe it is just that simple. That said, you don’t have all that power and do nothing with it. I’m hoping for further differentiation from iOS.

 

[Val-kyrie]

They mentioned Thunderbolt "with USB 4 support"... so that would make it TB3, if I'm not mistaken.

That was my thought. I will be waiting until TB4/USB4 is fully implemented.

 

[bill-p]

These gains are about the same as what we saw in iPhone from A12 to A14, and were expected even with an A14x, except for 16GB ram and thunderbolt, which will likely be as marginal in use as they are on the mac...

Basically, the hardware improvements will expand the use of iPad for edge cases, not transform the way it work. I expect the same for iPadOS : expand, not transform.

Uh... except they are not. From A12 to A14 in the iPhone, even disregarding the fact that that's 2 generations apart, we're seeing:

A12 boosts to 2.5GHz, A14 boosts to 3GHz. 20% more performance here.
A12 has 4 GPU cores. A14 has 4 GPU cores. The "boost" is about 50% here.
A12 has 4GB RAM. A14 has 6GB RAM. We are seeing 50% RAM capacity improvement.

And again, that's over two generations of iPhones.

The jump from iPad Pro with A12Z to M1 is massive no matter how you want to play it. Even A14 has only 50% the GPU performance of M1 and less RAM overall.

Or let me put it in numbers for perspective:
A12Z to M1: (iPad Pro 2020 to iPad Pro 2021)
50% higher CPU performance
150% higher GPU performance
167% higher RAM capacity

A14 to M1: (iPad Air 2020 to iPad Pro 2021)
50% higher CPU performance (note that A14 only has 6 cores vs 8 in M1 and it's running at lower clocks, too)
100% higher GPU performance
167% higher RAM capacity

It's just grossly overkill even if we don't take into account 16GB RAM or Thunderbolt. What in iPadOS even needs that much GPU performance right now?

And 16GB RAM is not marginal in MacOS. Please look up SSD wear for M1 computers and see how having less RAM thrashes the SSD in the new M1 machines.

 

[cmaier]

I think that is the right move, no reason to upgrade from the 2018 model for just a speed bump. We'll see what WWDC brings and go from there, but the fact that these new Pro's come with 8GB and 16GB of ram definitely make me thinking they are gearing up for big changes.

Personally, I watch a lot of movies and TV on my ipad, and getting nearly-true black is reason enough to upgrade from my 2018 12.9”.

 

[DNichter]

Personally, I watch a lot of movies and TV on my ipad, and getting nearly-true black is reason enough to upgrade from my 2018 12.9”.

True, I’m sure the screen will be amazing. The hardware overall is impressive, I’m just stuck on iPadOS and how it doesn’t make much use of it, yet. I’m hoping for big things at WWDC. Maybe I’ll invest then.

 

[Johnny London]

Could the M1 chip be a hint at a more macOS like iPadOS in the future?

 

[0lf]

Uh... except they are not. From A12 to A14 in the iPhone, even disregarding the fact that that's 2 generations apart, we're seeing:

A12 boosts to 2.5GHz, A14 boosts to 3GHz. 20% more performance here.
A12 has 4 GPU cores. A14 has 4 GPU cores. The "boost" is about 50% here.
A12 has 4GB RAM. A14 has 6GB RAM. We are seeing 50% RAM capacity improvement.

And again, that's over two generations of iPhones.

The jump from iPad Pro with A12Z to M1 is massive no matter how you want to play it. Even A14 has only 50% the GPU performance of M1 and less RAM overall.

Or let me put it in numbers for perspective:
A12Z to M1: (iPad Pro 2020 to iPad Pro 2021)
50% higher CPU performance
150% higher GPU performance
167% higher RAM capacity

A14 to M1: (iPad Air 2020 to iPad Pro 2021)
50% higher CPU performance (note that A14 only has 6 cores vs 8 in M1 and it's running at lower clocks, too)
100% higher GPU performance
167% higher RAM capacity

It's just grossly overkill even if we don't take into account 16GB RAM or Thunderbolt. What in iPadOS even needs that much GPU performance right now?

And 16GB RAM is not marginal in MacOS. Please look up SSD wear for M1 computers and see how having less RAM thrashes the SSD in the new M1 machines.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying it is a small leap. I am saying the new iPad pro is right where it was expected to be, it follows the same progress curve as the iPhone, and the M1 is very close too to what would have been an A14x. If you disagree, please explain where the iPad would have been following the iPhone progress curve.

And about iPad not needing such components because of iPadOS, what prevent you for editing 8k video on an iPad ?

 

[bill-p]

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying it is a small leap. I am saying the new iPad pro is right where it was expected to be, it follows the same progress curve as the iPhone, and the M1 is very close too to what would have been an A14x. If you disagree, please explain where the iPad would have been following the iPhone progress curve.

And about iPad not needing such components because of iPadOS, what prevent you for editing 8k video on an iPad ?

Again, it's not the same progress curve as the iPhone. I also did the same comparison against the iPhone to see. 2 generations later, the iPhone still did not experience the same increase as the iPad Pro from 2020 to 2021.

M1 is not what an A14X would have been. A12 to A12X/A12Z was not that crazy when you'd consider it:

A12 -> A12X: 6 core CPU to 8 core CPU, same 2.49GHz clock speed. 30% performance improvement.
A12 -> A12X: 4 core GPU to 7 core GPU: 75% performance improvement.
A12 -> A12X: 3GB RAM -> 4GB/6GB RAM: 100% RAM capacity increase at the highest config

Note that A12Z just added 1 extra GPU core.

Here's how M1 stacks against A14:
A14 -> M1: 6 core CPU to 8 core CPU, 3GHz -> 3.2GHz. 50% performance improvement.
A14 -> M1: 4 core GPU to 8 core GPU at higher clock: 100% performance improvement. If accounting for clock speed as well, this should be 114%.
A14 -> M1: 6GB RAM -> 8GB/16GB RAM: 167% RAM capacity increase at the highest config.

M1 is technically more powerful than a theoretical A14X. An A14X chip would have been much less capable than M1 in graphics and RAM.

And what prevents me from editing 8K video on an iPad? I guess the fact that it doesn't have an app that supports that, plus the file system is atrocious so there's no easy way for me to manage a library of 8K clips. Also the fact that 8K doesn't work well with M1 even when it's on MacOS? Being limited to 24p instead of 30p or 60p means this is not the intended use case for M1.

 

[Sabelonada]

This new model makes me wish that iPadOS weren't so hindered by the file system, lack of external monitor support, and a crippled browser.

I don't think MacOS will come to the iPad. Though selling a keyboard device with storage which connects through the proprietary connector and hosts MacOS would probably be simple enough for Apple with their resources. I think MacOS will become more iPad like. Apple loves the cut they get from the App Store. They won't open the iPad up to non-App store programs. If anything, they will steer more effort to the App Store as a steady revenue generator.

 

[Wando64]

And what prevents me from editing 8K video on an iPad? I guess the fact that it doesn't have an app that supports that, plus the file system is atrocious so there's no easy way for me to manage a library of 8K clips.

I believe Lumafusion supports 8k. I have not tried personally as, frankly, I don't need it, I don't have an 8k camera and I don't have an 8k screen, so...

As for the File System what exactly do you need to make it "easy" for you to Manage a library of clips?
Did you try the Files app lately? Have you noticed that you can create nested folders to your heart's content?
Additionally, Lumafusion integrates beautifully with the Files App to access locally stored files, server stored files and external SDD or HDD.
Likewise, all professional iPad apps integrate equally well.
Frankly I really don't understand people complaining about iOS file system anymore. Yes, it used to be useless, but they have come a long way.

 

[bill-p]

I believe Lumafusion supports 8k. I have not tried personally as, frankly, I don't need it, I don't have an 8k camera and I don't have an 8k screen, so...

As for the File System what exactly do you need to make it "easy" for you to Manage a library of clips?
Did you try the Files app lately? Have you noticed that you can create nested folders to your heart's content?
Additionally, Lumafusion integrates beautifully with the Files App to access locally stored files, server stored files and external SDD or HDD.
Likewise, all professional iPad apps integrate equally well.
Frankly I really don't understand people complaining about iOS file system anymore. Yes, it used to be useless, but they have come a long way.

Well, the more proper way to look at it is... LumaFusion "supports" opening 8K files. Once the file is in LumaFusion, it's "rendered" as 4K in the timeline and also in output (LumaFusion does not support 8K output).

When I mentioned "support 8K", I meant rendering 8K and outputting 8K as well. This is not something M1 is able to do without hiccups, unless the 8K clip is 24p and you're using Final Cut Pro.

This discussion is moot anyways, the point stands: there is nothing in iOS that actually "needs" or even "makes use of" the power of the M1 chip. Apple is doing it to reduce supply chain logistics (same chip used in multiple products).

And yes, I have tried the Files app. It has come a long way but it is still useless. Why? Let's list the reasons:

1. Many apps still maintain their own folder structures. Files app does not interface with all apps. When I send a PDF via Airdrop, it gets dropped into iBooks and then I have to export from iBooks to the Files app if I want to manage it that way, for instance. Likewise with many other apps, so... in the end, if I end up having to export from individual apps to the Files app, that creates a lot of duplicates for no reason at all. Imagine having to manage huge 4K or 8K video projects. That's a nightmare.

2. Apple still does not support Dropbox, OneDrive, etc... or anything else that's not plain FTP or iCloud. I still have to use the Dropbox and OneDrive apps to access files, so then... what's even the point of Files? Note: Finder on Mac integrates with everything.

3. Apple still does not support and likely will never allow open-source 3rd-party apps downloaded from the internet to be launched. App Store is the only distribution method. Note that on MacOS, Finder can launch 3rd-party apps downloaded from the internet just fine.

A file system is more than just what we get with the Files app. The Files app is for managing and manipulating files. It's not a "file system".

 

[Wando64]

Well, the more proper way to look at it is... LumaFusion "supports" opening 8K files. Once the file is in LumaFusion, it's "rendered" as 4K in the timeline and also in output (LumaFusion does not support 8K output).

When I mentioned "support 8K", I meant rendering 8K and outputting 8K as well. This is not something M1 is able to do without hiccups, unless the 8K clip is 24p and you're using Final Cut Pro.

This discussion is moot anyways, the point stands: there is nothing in iOS that actually "needs" or even "makes use of" the power of the M1 chip. Apple is doing it to reduce supply chain logistics (same chip used in multiple products).

And yes, I have tried the Files app. It has come a long way but it is still useless. Why? Let's list the reasons:

1. Many apps still maintain their own folder structures. Files app does not interface with all apps. When I send a PDF via Airdrop, it gets dropped into iBooks and then I have to export from iBooks to the Files app if I want to manage it that way, for instance. Likewise with many other apps, so... in the end, if I end up having to export from individual apps to the Files app, that creates a lot of duplicates for no reason at all. Imagine having to manage huge 4K or 8K video projects. That's a nightmare.

2. Apple still does not support Dropbox, OneDrive, etc... or anything else that's not plain FTP or iCloud. I still have to use the Dropbox and OneDrive apps to access files, so then... what's even the point of Files? Note: Finder on Mac integrates with everything.

3. Apple still does not support and likely will never allow open-source 3rd-party apps downloaded from the internet to be launched. App Store is the only distribution method. Note that on MacOS, Finder can launch 3rd-party apps downloaded from the internet just fine.

A file system is more than just what we get with the Files app. The Files app is for managing and manipulating files. It's not a "file system".

Re point 1: This is no longer true of professional Apps such as LumaFusion, ms office, etc... Also, last time I sent a file via Airdrop (granted it wasn’t a PDF) I was asked how I wanted to open it, and Files was one of the options. I will try with a PDF (it is 1am in the UK).

Re point 2: Dropbox and OneDrive are perfectly integrated with the Files App.

Whilst I agree with you that Apple most likely used the M1 to use what they have in multiple products, I still think that iPadOS files management through Files is now good enough to cater for the great majority of use cases if someone makes the effort to try it out.

 

[orthorim]

Hmm... iOS with pro apps? I just need xcode and a terminal then I am ok.

 

[dfelix]

My first/last iPad was an OG 64GB one. The first one which had 64GB.

I guess it's time to get a 1TB one. I don't know which size though.

Maybe it makes more sense to get the 1TB 12.9 one, and a base $300 iPad as well for day to day browsing/reading etc. The big one to impress clients I assume.

 

[cmaier]

True, I’m sure the screen will be amazing. The hardware overall is impressive, I’m just stuck on iPadOS and how it doesn’t make much use of it, yet. I’m hoping for big things at WWDC. Maybe I’ll invest then.

All true. I’m a developer, so I make good use of my personal iPad, but I get the point.

 

[Slartibart]

I still think that iPadOS files management through Files is now good enough to cater for the great majority of use cases if someone makes the effort to try it out.

As of iPadOS 14.4.2 there is e.g. no reliable way to edit RAWs/JPEGs in Pixelmator Photo ON an external medium. While technically possible, if you don’t want to loose or damage your data you should not. Copying data TO an external medium is hit and miss (or at least e.g. randomly damage videos, the file system etc.).

While these can be partly be avoided using a third party app, there is no way to integrate with e.g. FileBrowser Professional like you can theoretically with Apple’s Files app.

* That Apple hasn’t integrated all of its own apps with Files is... well, disappointing.

* The user interface for file transfers in Apple’s Files is, given Apple’s history, tragic.

* The stability of Apple’s Files when copying files TO an external medium is erratic.

The latter points can be fixed by Apple. Sadly since the introduction of Apple Files a few iOS revisions ago, it hasn’t.

Again, many of this is fixed when using FileBrowser Go or Professional. Additionally it adds a lot of functionality Apple’s Files app is missing: copying directly between different external media, access to SMB 1 shares, and much more.

And a last thought: IMHO Apple machines now challenge the idea that a computer’s price ought to principally reflect the CPU inside of it. You simply do not have to bother with the power of a device or wether you have lasting battery life etc.. Making the vast array of x86 products actually out there to appear neither helpful or necessary.

Most of the discussion here seems to be driven by the fact that people like the iPad, the M1, MacOS (or whatever else they prefer to use), but they do not like iPadOS. This is a personal thing. Yep, I too wish for XCode on the iPad. And I like iPadOS (besides the problems mentioned above - but, as written, there is a way around it).

I try to choose my devices after testing wether they indeed can manage the task I want to use them for. In a way it’s serendipity that there is something I can do and profoundly enjoy doing on my iPad Pro. Having the M1 in such a range of devices frees my mind. I can just concentrate on the task I want to accomplish and do not have to bother with wether the hardware can handle it or not.