Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

First M4 iPad Air Benchmarks Surface

I suppose these data are…fine. But every iPad since the first one has been supremely overpowered, particularly when compared to any other tablet in the world. I honestly don’t see the value add for a single digit percentage improvement in some benchmarks.
 
JMalone said:
I don’t care much for benchmarks on tablets because they don’t tell the whole story. If you load a many layer animation or video editing project on an iPad Pro with M2/3 processor the performance in fps isn’t the same as on the desktop with an M2/3 processor. I’ve also seen this in my own apps. We have to do coding tricks like caching, low res proxies or flattened playback to get it to work the same as desktop performance.
Click to expand...
Did anyone promise that an iPad would deliver a desktop level experience? Seems like a poor assumption from the start.
 
  • Like
Reactions: justanotherdave
Good to see these numbers. The new chip brings in the expected gains. However, users are not going to notice this while performing normal tasks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mganu
matty-o said:
Did anyone promise that an iPad would deliver a desktop level experience? Seems like a poor assumption from the start.
Click to expand...

Apple doesn’t make any promise but back when some people insisted macOS and macOS apps could run on an iPad Pro M2 exactly like an MacBook Air M2 they wouldn’t listen when they were told the performance would not be identical. They really don’t understand the difference between a low power version with smaller thermal envelope and a desktop version of the CPU. It’s like they never lived through the era of desktop Pentium vs mobile Pentium or the difference between desktop PowerPC and mobile PowerPC variants.
 
ronno said:
You gonna notice 2% faster raw conversion. Ok.
I use such apps on my laptops because the interface is so much faster than the primitive iPad OS for real photo editing IMO.
Click to expand...

Sure. Like drawing with a pen on your Mac. Oh wait…

Where did you get that ridiculous 2% figure from?
 
matty-o said:
I suppose these data are…fine. But every iPad since the first one has been supremely overpowered, particularly when compared to any other tablet in the world. I honestly don’t see the value add for a single digit percentage improvement in some benchmarks.
Click to expand...

Overpowered compared to those useless Android tablets with phone processors.

You know why there are numerous high-end Apps for the iPad that simply aren’t available for Android? Because Apple decided long ago to give users the option of an iPad with a much more powerful processor than the iPhone. Developers followed with Apps that could utilize that power.

You might not see a reason, but plenty of people do. Enough that companies are pouring millions into developing for the iPad while Android stagnates with blown-up phone Apps. Which is ironic considering all the haters said the iPad was nothing more than a big iPhone. Funny how that worked out.
 
I mean we gotta stop with the under 10% refreshes if you can’t release a new version that that leads 20 to 30% faster than the previous model, there’s no reason to release it at that rate imho
 
snipr125 said:
Still the vast majority of people will not notice any differences in performance, it’s got the M4 and its underlying architecture thats the most important thing. Should have 256GB and some form of faster refresh rate, but apart from this its a great value desktop grade ipad.
Click to expand...
12gb ram
 
The M series processors are a gimmick. They are not even optimized for the iPad line unlike the Mac line where battery improvements are real.

We need A processors that have better processing power and battery life but sadly we won’t get it as Apple has become a gimmicky company after Steve Jobs. My A series 10.9 inch iPad has better battery life than the iPad 11 inch. In fact, I don’t even see a reason for an iPad 11 Air. Apple could have added Face ID and better speakers with an A-series iPad and called it a day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: M4irmidnight
vegetassj4 said:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Apple Introduces the All-New iPad Air: Now With More Air Than Ever Before

Cupertino, California — Apple today unveiled the newest iPad Air, the most Air iPad the company has ever created, packing more air into a single device than any previous iPad Air, Air-adjacent iPad, or iPad that merely aspired to be airy.

“At Apple, we asked ourselves a simple question,” said Tim Cook. “What if we put even more air into iPad Air?”

After years of research, Apple engineers developed a revolutionary internal architecture that allows the new iPad Air to contain an unprecedented amount of premium, Apple-designed air, carefully curated to deliver the airy experience customers expect.

Breakthrough Air Technologies​

The new iPad Air introduces several industry-leading air innovations:

  • Air³ Architecture – a triple-layer system that distributes air more evenly throughout the device.
  • Adaptive AirFlow™ – dynamically adjusts the amount of air depending on how airy you want your iPad to feel.
  • Pro-Grade Air – the same professional-level air previously reserved for devices that cost significantly more.
Together, these technologies make the new iPad Air the most air iPad Apple has ever shipped, and possibly the most air any company has ever shipped in any tablet category.

Designed for Maximum Air​

The design team at Apple focused on creating a device that doesn’t just contain air — it celebrates air. The result is a stunningly thin enclosure that allows air to exist with remarkable clarity and intention.

Available in four finishes — Sky Air, Space Air, Slightly Darker Air, and Blue That Is Definitely Still Air — the new iPad Air looks as airy as it feels.

Even More Air With Apple Silicon​

Powered by Apple silicon, the new iPad Air delivers incredible performance while maintaining industry-leading levels of air per cubic inch. This means users can edit photos, watch movies, or scroll social media with more air surrounding every task.

Pricing and Availability​

The new iPad Air starts at $599, which Apple notes includes a tremendous amount of air at no additional cost.

Pre-orders begin Friday, with availability next week in stores and online.

Apple also confirmed that future updates will bring even more air, because at Apple, there’s always room for more air.
Click to expand...
Interestingly, the release makes no mention of the air temperature, but having read it, I think we can all assume it's HOT AIR! 😀
 
  • Haha
Reactions: vegetassj4
This is making me consider finally upgrading from my 256GB 2018 iPad Pro 13" to the 13" M4 Air. I need the larger size for the viewing area, so the 11" is out. The old Pro still gives a good showing, but the original battery is getting long in the tooth now. I know I sacrifice Pro Motion and Face ID, but can't see those features justifying the massive price difference. Any thoughts out there?
 
Matsamoto said:
Honestly. I would rather have a M1 with 8GB RAM and 120Hz screen than this overpowered tablet with 60Hz.

60Hz in 2026 is just shameful Apple!
Click to expand...
There has to be something to differentiate from the iPad Pro line, right? They could have done 90Hz like Samsung does for their middle tablet line, but to be honest, I doubt you'd notice the difference between 60Hz and 90Hz.

Also, 120Hz would use more power, decreasing battery life.
 
Since Apple Silicon was introduced, opened the largest "Only buy when you need" ever created.

Unless they do radical design changes, buying small performance bumps for the average user, especially the target market for the Air isn't necessary..
 
Still 60Hz, no FaceID, no Quad Speakers, not even a bloody Camera LED flash (that the Mini has).
Oh and it remains at 128GB, while all other devices, including the entry-level iPhone 7e, got doubled.
Bloody joke, and a big bummer for all iPad Pro M1 and M2 owners, who would like to upgrade to a new model eventually but don't want to deal with OLED burn-in and PWM issues.

The gap between the regular and the Air iPad became too small (for almost the double pricing), while the gap between the Air and the Pro became too big.
 
kaspurr said:
Since Apple Silicon was introduced, opened the largest "Only buy when you need" ever created.

Unless they do radical design changes, buying small performance bumps for the average user, especially the target market for the Air isn't necessary..
Click to expand...

I’ve seen several of this type of comment. It’s an idiotic assumption not based at all in reality.

Nobody upgrades their iPhone or iPad every single year (except YouTubers or reviewers). Studies have shown the average person keeps their iPhone 4+ years before upgrading and even longer for an iPad.

People coming from those older devices will see a huge difference in performance.
 
I’m an artist and will nab one of the 13” M4 iPad Airs. It will most likely be the last iPad Air with an LCD screen. Next year the M5 iPad Air will probably get the single panel OLED screen that the iPad mini 8 is rumored to be getting later this year. Why get the LCD over an OLED? Well, because of potential burn in issues long term & because of PWM screen flickering & eye strain. The LCD doesn’t have these issues and is better for long drawing sessions.
 
DEMinSoCAL said:
There has to be something to differentiate from the iPad Pro line, right? They could have done 90Hz like Samsung does for their middle tablet line, but to be honest, I doubt you'd notice the difference between 60Hz and 90Hz.

Also, 120Hz would use more power, decreasing battery life.
Click to expand...
It should definitely be something to differentiate them.

But for me i take a little less battery life compared to a 120hz screen without questioning.
A 60hz screen makes scrolling slow and laggy even on a M4 with 12 Gb Ram.
But that's me so i don't speak for everyone, just me🙂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back