What are you talking about? A12X came out in October 2018, literally just one month after A12.
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Benchmarks Suggest New iPad Pro's A12Z Chip is Nearly Identical to A12X in 2018 iPad Pro
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Sounds like maybe a die shrink - they can drop the extra core in and keep the price down.
the 12.9 is certainly not really a portrait device. They need to move the camera to the portrait side. Especially with Face ID
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One of the new 2020 iPad Pro models equipped with an A12Z chip arrived early to a Reddit user, who did some benchmarking tests to see how it performs.
In a Geekbench 5 test, the 11-inch 2020 iPad Pro earned a single-core score of 1114 and a multi-core score of 4654, which is close to the Geekbench scores of the 11-inch iPad Pro from 2018.
The 11-inch iPad Pro has an aggregate single-core Geekbench 5 score of 1113 and a multi-core score of 4608. Like the A12X, the A12Z is an 8-core chip running at 2.48GHz.
The new 2020 iPad Pro pulled ahead a little in Metal scores, earning a 9894 Metal score, up from the 9020 score in the 11-inch iPad Pro from 2018. That's no surprise, though, because the A12Z features an 8-core GPU instead of the 7-core GPU that was in the A12X.
Antutu tests were also conducted, showing lower scores than prior models in the memory category, though the test may not be optimized for the new models and the iOS 13.4 update. CPU was 187648, GPU was 348519, and Memory was 71476 vs. CPU 184553, GPU 357335, and Memory 90598 for the 11-inch 2018 model.
More testing will need to be done to confirm whether there are notable differences in CPU speed between the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pro models, but for now, it looks like any gains are modest.
The new iPad Pro models ship with iOS 13.4, which is set to be released by Apple tomorrow, so new iPad Pro owners will not need to upgrade. Most people who ordered a new iPad Pro on the day they were introduced will receive their shipments on Wednesday, March 25.
Article Link: Benchmarks Suggest New iPad Pro's A12Z Chip is Nearly Identical to A12X in 2018 iPad Pro
I’d been wondering if it might be the same chip. Perhaps the original had one graphics core disabled due to yield issues. Now they’ve got the process down they can activate them all. Seems weird they’d make an entirely new chip just to add one graphics core.
I actually never thought about that, probably because I own the 11" model. Maybe that's why Apple was working on digitally adjusting the eyes of people using the front facing camera to make them look like they are looking at it.
I think that's the point they're making. The iPhone gets the new number first then the iPad can come in and use the X variant.
Disappointing. This makes me wish I had gotten a 2018 Pro when it was new, as that model will probably rival the Air 2 in terms of longevity.
It’s odd that Apple pushed out a model with so little in the way of tangible improvements. AR is still a pipe dream at this point. If a micro-LED iPad Pro does come out later this year, that would’ve been the model I would’ve pegged to have barely any internal improvements, as the screen by itself would entice upgrades.
Apple should be thanking the coronavirus for cancelling their press conference, as it otherwise would’ve been a real snoozer.
It’s odd that Apple pushed out a model with so little in the way of tangible improvements. AR is still a pipe dream at this point. If a micro-LED iPad Pro does come out later this year, that would’ve been the model I would’ve pegged to have barely any internal improvements, as the screen by itself would entice upgrades.
Apple should be thanking the coronavirus for cancelling their press conference, as it otherwise would’ve been a real snoozer.
6 GB RAM is pretty tangible. That's a 50% increase in RAM (not counting the 1 TB 2018 model). Also, the entry level model gets a doubling of storage space to 128 GB.
That's not what he said. He said A13Z in March 2021, and A14X in fall 2021. At this point, just about nobody thinks that will be the case.
All well and good, but it’s going to be a while before I’m off my iPP 10.5” that is checkra1n-able 
The trackpad support in 13.4 has made this a whole new machine again for me.
Sold off my MacBook Pro 13” this weekend actually and am now back to just a hackintosh + iPad (and iPhone SE)
The trackpad support in 13.4 has made this a whole new machine again for me.
Sold off my MacBook Pro 13” this weekend actually and am now back to just a hackintosh + iPad (and iPhone SE)
The last iPad I had before the 2018 Pro was the Air 2 and man did that thing perform well for a long time. I gave it to a family member when I upgraded and it’s still going strong in 2020. I’m sure the 11” Pro will last for quite a few years as well, and I’m totally happy with that.
The keyboard and trackpad is what sold me. I purchased this baby, and it should be delivered on 3/27, but now I'm second guessing the purchase. Might be worth it to wait. My next iPad is going to be a Pro 12.9" that replaces my Early 2009 17" MacBook Pro and 2015 iPad Air 2. I've already waited long enough. Whats another 7 months? Decisions decisions.
Or next year with the A12Z+
No, my guess is that this fall will get a different beast with that mini LED screen and a bigger price tag. The iPad Pro Max
Yup. That definitely applies to me. Last iPad I had was the iPad 2. I’ve been holding off, waiting for it to be enough of a replacement. This one is close enough. I’m sure the one that is rumored to come later this year will be obviously more advanced. I just have a feeling it will have a 10-20% higher price. That, and I don’t plan on anything 5G.
Or you can save money by buying a refurbished previous iPad Pro from Apple. I got mine (11" 64GB) for $550.
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Like the 16” MBP was supposedly going to be $4,000? (But when it was released, it actually had a price cut.)
Has anyone considered that CPU choice might be to keep the BOM, and therefore margin, the same between the old and new models. These new models have a lot more focus and hardware expense on cameras.
Save money on the CPU and put the savings in better camera tech.
The CPU gains since the iPhoneX haven't been that significant and Apple seems to be focusing more on camera tech with the iPhone 11 series and now these iPad Pros.
Save money on the CPU and put the savings in better camera tech.
The CPU gains since the iPhoneX haven't been that significant and Apple seems to be focusing more on camera tech with the iPhone 11 series and now these iPad Pros.
I wasn’t planning on upgrading my 2018 11” iPad Pro anyway. But now, definitely not. 😉 Very happy.