Apple Says iPad Air Performance Details Are Accurate Despite 9-Core GPU Mistake

[PaperMag]

Yep. That is why they do not put the core count anywhere on their website. Ooops, but they do. Right at the top of the ordering page. If it is an insignificant spec, why do they put it in the specs? Would you be okay if they tell you tomorrow that they made a mistake and CPU had only 7 cores, RAM was only 4 GB, and the NPU had only 8 cores? When will stop mattering to you?

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What you’re saying is a strawman. Their argument was that most people don’t know what “cores” means. You’re making a separate argument.

A proper disagreement would be you claiming that in fact most people do know what a core is.

Are you claiming that?

I wouldn’t claim that. I know a lot of people including people with expensive iPad Pros and they don’t even know what cores means.

 

[citysnaps]

It is literally one of the four specs that Apple mentions in comparisons. And they got one wrong "by mistake?" Do you even comprehend how big a mistake it is?

If TSMC delivered a million M2 chips telling Apple that they are 10 core GPU chips and then later told Apple that it was a mistake, would Apple accept it?

It's simply a mistake. No matter how much outrage you want to throw at it. If you bought one, simply return it and find happiness. Life goes on. It seems core count is more important to you than advertised performance.

For me it will always be performance.

 

[Abazigal]

On one hand, people complain that the iPad has more horsepower than they know what to do with, and now, they complain about a missing graphic core that they will never notice in everyday usage.

The only thing consistent about Apple criticism is that the haters flit from one talking point to the next like a butterfly with ADHD. Nobody cares, and this attempt to turn it into the next saga that it is not will just fizzle out like all the other "controversies" before it.

 

[citysnaps]

On one hand, people complain that the iPad has more horsepower than they know what to do with, and now, they complain about a missing graphic core that they will never notice in everyday usage.

The only thing consistent about Apple criticism is that the haters flit from one talking point to the next like a butterfly with ADHD. Nobody cares, and this attempt to turn it into the next saga that it is not will just fizzle out like all the other "controversies" before it.

Spot on. It's all about finding something to complain about. A tradition here.

 

[Beautyspin]

It's simply a mistake. No matter how much outrage you want to throw at it. If you bought one, simply return it and find happiness. Life goes on. It seems core count is more important to you than advertise performance.

1. It cannot be returned after 14-period in my country.
2. If TSMS delivered a million M2 chips with 9 core GPUs instead of 10 core GPUs, will Apple say, "it is okay. It is an honest mistake, keep the money?" What is right for Apple should be right for you too, don't you think so?

 

[citysnaps]

1. It cannot be returned after 14-period in my country.
2. If TSMS delivered a million M2 chips with 9 core GPUs instead of 10 core GPUs, will Apple say, "it is okay. It is an honest mistake, keep the money?" What is right for Apple should be right for you too, don't you think so?

Got it. Absolute performance isn't important to you. And that's OK.

 

[PaperMag]

So, you will be paying for all those returned iPads? Internationally? Because, there is no returns for iPads (or any Apple product) after the initial 14-day period in my country. Just wanted to ask. No offense meant.

I will gladly pay $1 for every iPad Air with M2 chip in new condition returned to me. Yes.

 

[Beautyspin]

What you’re saying is a strawman. Their argument was that most people don’t know what “cores” means. You’re making a separate argument.

A proper disagreement would be you claiming that in fact most people do know what a core is.

Are you claiming that?

I wouldn’t claim that. I know a lot of people including people with expensive iPad Pros and they don’t even know what cores means.

Okay, let us flip it. If TSMS delivered a million M2 chips with 9 core GPUs instead of 10 core GPUs, would Apple
1) consider it an honest mistake and buy them at the same cost,
2) reject them,
3) buy them but at a reduced cost while indicating their unhappiness at the yields

I would like me to have the same options, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[syklee26]

Absolutely *nobody* is returning this Air strictly because it has a 9-core GPU.

That is irrelevant. Apple should enable customers to return them if they want to. Right now, customers cannot return them even if they want to.

 

[PaperMag]

Okay, let us flip it. If TSMS delivered a million M2 chips with 9 core GPUs instead of 10 core GPUs, would Apple
1) consider it an honest mistake and buy them at the same cost,
2) reject them,
3) buy them but at a reduced cost while indicating their unhappiness at the yields

I would like me to have the same options, nothing more, nothing less.

You didn’t flip it. You changed the argument. Again.

Your analogy doesn’t work because in your example Apple ordered a chip to spec that doesn’t meet performance targets they paid for.

Where as iPad Air buyers are getting the performance targets they paid for.

For you to win this argument, you would have to prove Apple’s performance figures are complete lies.

I think in all their advertisements they said it was 50% faster than last iPad Air. Prove that was false and you win a lawsuit.

 

[PaperMag]

That is irrelevant. Apple should enable customers to return them if they want to. Right now, customers cannot return them even if they want to.

Of course they should. I didn’t say they shouldn’t.

But also, nobody is returning their Air because a super fast M2 chip has a 9c GPU. That’s a bad reason for a return. That’s like returning a car because it does 0-60 in 2.4 seconds and saying “I’d rather walk to work.”

If anything they should return it because iPadOS sucks. That’s a much better reason to be outraged.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Lies! Give us the 10 cores we paid for!

 

[Aoligei]

You didn’t flip it. You changed the argument. Again.

Your analogy doesn’t work because in your example Apple ordered a chip to spec that doesn’t meet performance targets they paid for.

Where as iPad Air buyers are getting the performance targets they paid for.

For you to win this argument, you would have to prove Apple’s performance figures are complete lies.

I think in all their advertisements they said it was 50% faster than last iPad Air. Prove that was false and you win a lawsuit.

Problem is why do you trust Apple says that the performance is accurate despite have one less core?

If Apple wants people to believe them, where is the actual test? Where is the actual data?

 

[Aoligei]

On one hand, people complain that the iPad has more horsepower than they know what to do with, and now, they complain about a missing graphic core that they will never notice in everyday usage.

The only thing consistent about Apple criticism is that the haters flit from one talking point to the next like a butterfly with ADHD. Nobody cares, and this attempt to turn it into the next saga that it is not will just fizzle out like all the other "controversies" before it.

Why do you think missing one graphic core will not make difference? If the core is use for video rendering, AI computations, then missing one core is big deal. It is all depends on what you gonna do with the devices isn’t it? Making a blanket statement like “no one is going to notice the difference” is nothing but gaslighting the problem.

 

[Sami13496]

Doesn’t matter. No one will notice the difference browsing web or watching Netflix.

 

[Aoligei]

It's simply a mistake. No matter how much outrage you want to throw at it. If you bought one, simply return it and find happiness. Life goes on. It seems core count is more important to you than advertised performance.

For me it will always be performance.

How can you say this is 100% mistake? Why do you trust Apple that their advertised performance is based on 9 core not 10 core and there is no differences in performance?

 

[Aoligei]

Doesn’t matter. No one will notice the difference browsing web or watching Netflix.

So iPad Air is only for browsing the web or watching Netflix? Then why spending money on new iPad when $100 Amazon Kindle tablet can do the same?

 

[Abazigal]

Why do you think missing one graphic core will not make difference? If the core is use for video rendering, AI computations, then missing one core is big deal. It is all depends on what you gonna do with the devices isn’t it? Making a blanket statement like “no one is going to notice the difference” is nothing but gaslighting the problem.

The problem is that people are trying to hype this up as the next big controversy, when in reality, it's a nothingburger which will probably die down by the end of the week.

 

[steve09090]

It is literally one of the four specs that Apple mentions in comparisons. And they got one wrong "by mistake?" Do you even comprehend how big a mistake it is?

If TSMC delivered a million M2 chips telling Apple that they are 10 core GPU chips and then later told Apple that it was a mistake, would Apple accept it?

Totally comprehend it. It means nothing.

Do you seriously think any company would buy a million of anything based on an advertisement? Making a typo in advertising does not affect performance.

 

[Aoligei]

The problem is that people are trying to hype this up as the next big controversy, when in reality, it's a nothingburger which will probably die down by the end of the week.

Maybe or maybe not. People had same attitude with Bendgate, battery gate etc. I can be nothingburger or it can be something.

The impact will be felt differently with different people. People who brought iPad Air thinking they have 10 core GPU maybe upset.

 

[Aoligei]

Totally comprehend it. It means nothing.

Do you seriously think any company would buy a million of anything based on an advertisement? Making a typo in advertising does not affect performance.

How do you know it is true though?

 

[Sami13496]

So iPad Air is only for browsing the web or watching Netflix? Then why spending money on new iPad when $100 Amazon Kindle tablet can do the same?

Don’t play stupid. I meant in general iPads are intended for light usage. Obviously it’s more than “browsing the web or watching Netflix” but it’s that sort of usage. 9 vs 10 cores won’t matter for 99% Air buyers. Even M1 vs M2 won’t matter for 99% of Air buyers.

 

[Analog Kid]

The entire tech sector is conspiring to ruin civilization with AI. Anyone with intellectual authority in the space is saying, "This is a mistake. We're heading toward doom." The AI that is being built will build new systems that will build new systems that will scale faster than intended because you can't firewall something that has 8 trillion times more intelligence than the firewall system built to contain it. And unlike a fire, we won't see it coming. It will play the role and only switch when it knows it has the advantage. So one day you will wake up and your money won't be in your bank account, and the electrical grid will be off, and normal order will grind to a halt.

Where will you even get water when supplies run out? How will you defend your home from the people who want the water you have left?

I saw that movie!

 

[PaperMag]

Problem is why do you trust Apple says that the performance is accurate despite have one less core?

If Apple wants people to believe them, where is the actual test? Where is the actual data?

So here are Apple's specific claims on the iPad Air (2024) landing page:

• The Apple-designed M2 has a 15 percent faster CPU, 25 percent faster graphics, and 50 percent more memory bandwidth than the previous generation.

Allow me to introduce you to Geekbench benchmarking software:

	Single score	Multi score	Metal score
iPad Air 11-inch (M1)	2361	8704	32628
iPad Air 11-inch (M2)	2619	10084	41860

CONCLUSION:

✅ The GPU is 28.3% faster than last year's model which is even more than Apple claimed

✅ The CPU is 15.8% faster in multi core, matching Apple’s claims

✅ Not to mention it now comes with 128 GB storage instead of 64 GB storage, for the exact same price

And keep these two things in mind:

• We’re getting a faster and better iPad Air than last year's model…
• Most people aren't upgrading from last year's model, but a multiple-year old model anyway…

So I can’t make sense of the whiny outrage. If Apple hurt their customer, I get it, but they didn't; they instead delivered a worthy upgrade and a new 13-inch size.

EDIT: Corrected CPU figures so both used Geekbench 6

 

[Delgibbons]

Though Apple mistakenly listed the M2 chip in the iPad Air as having a 10-core GPU instead of a 9-core GPU, the performance claims that it shared during the iPad Air launch and in marketing materials are accurate.

In a statement provided to 9to5Mac, Apple said that the details it shared on the iPad Air's performance were always based on a 9-core GPU.

Apple's website says that the M2 chip is "nearly 50 percent faster than the previous generation," and that it specifically has "25 percent faster graphics."

Apple recently updated its technical specifications website for the M2 iPad Air to state that the device has a 9-core GPU. Prior to the update, it listed a 10-core GPU. The prior-generation iPad Pro had a 10-core GPU, so it is a surprise that the iPad Air version is limited to a 9-core GPU.

Other M2 chip specifications have not changed. The iPad Air has an 8-core CPU with four performance cores and four efficiency cores, along with 8GB RAM and a 16-core Neural Engine.

Because it took Apple several days to correct the chip error on its website, some users may have purchased the iPad Air believing it had a 10-core GPU. The two week return period has expired for those who bought on launch day, but customers would have a good argument for a return exception.

Article Link: Apple Says iPad Air Performance Details Are Accurate Despite 9-Core GPU Mistake

Mmm-Kay….