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is the iphone4 a more powerful device than the ipad?

C

Che Castro

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 21, 2009
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is the iphone 4 a more powerful device than the ipad?

at this moment overall
 
no its not. iPad is still more powerful, but doesn't have the same resolution as the iP4.

same chip but with some variations overall.

check glbenchmarks if you don't believe.
 
Yes it is.

Same A4 Chip (I think the iPhone 4 *may* be slightly underclocked)

iPad 256mb ram
iPhone 4 512mb ram


It's pathetic when you think about it, a standard "netbook" comes with 1024mb of ram compared to the iPad, I think apple made a serious mistake with only 256mb of RAM.)
 
For the end user, the iPhone 4 should be a faster experience. As the owner of both, I can say that my iPhone 4 is much faster than my iPad, and doesn't suffer from the same problems related to low amount of RAM.
 
-Ryan- said:
For the end user, the iPhone 4 should be a faster experience. As the owner of both, I can say that my iPhone 4 is much faster than my iPad, and doesn't suffer from the same problems related to low amount of RAM.
Click to expand...
My ipad is noticably faster than my iphone 4
 
It's the same CPU, it's just not underclocked on the iPad and is running at a full 1GHZ
 
Apple A4 is based on the ARM processor architecture. The first version released runs at 1 GHz and contains a Cortex-A8 CPU.



I know that cache/FSB etc make a difference, but the max that the A4 runs at is 1GHZ
 
iPhone 4 is more powerful, it has 2x the RAM and runs a more advanced operating system at the moment, people here saying the iPad is faster or equal is because the iPad is running an older iOS that needs less to run. If you could put the same exact iOS on both, the iPhone 4 would be more powerful...
 
Saberon said:
It's pathetic when you think about it, a standard "netbook" comes with 1024mb of ram compared to the iPad, I think apple made a serious mistake with only 256mb of RAM.)
Click to expand...

A full desktop OS requires more RAM. It would be abusrd to give the iPad 1 gig of RAM.

Che Castro said:
iPad 256mb ram
iPhone 4 512mb ram

:confused:
Click to expand...

The iPhone4 is newer than the iPad. I hope this clears up your confusion.
 
My iPad feels much faster than my iPhone4 (both are jailbroken using star). the latter only has 512mb of ram because of HD video recording/editing. Otherwise, the iPad seems to do everything faster. Don't buy in to the crap argument that somehow the new iPhone makes the iPad obsolete because it has more ram. Simply not true.
 
Multi-task on your stock iPad. Oh yeah, you can't. So it's apples and oranges. Come back and ask the question when iOS 4.2 is out on both.
 
A full desktop OS requires more RAM. It would be abusrd to give the iPad 1 gig of RAM.
Click to expand...

It's also absurd to give a $500+ product only 256mb of RAM, at least 512 would have been a good call. Especially with 4.2 around the corner. For 2010 I really expected better.
 
Saberon said:
It's also absurd to give a $500+ product only 256mb of RAM, at least 512 would have been a good call. Especially with 4.2 around the corner. For 2010 I really expected better.
Click to expand...

When the iPad came out, 4.2 wasn't right around the corner and 256 was sufficient. Considering how well 4.0 runs on a 3GS, is debatable whether 512MB is needed. Next year, with the iPad 2, it will have more RAM.

HitchHykr said:
Who would ever need more than 640k of RAM, right?
Click to expand...

Staying within a relevant timeframe, you didn't need more than 640k even a year after that was said.
 
Saberon said:
It's also absurd to give a $500+ product only 256mb of RAM, at least 512 would have been a good call. Especially with 4.2 around the corner. For 2010 I really expected better.
Click to expand...

mac's in general need less hardware speed compared to windows based machines. ipad vs netbook means ios vs windows. less ram needed. why overkill it and make it more expensive when the device probably won't need all of it to run smoothly all the time.

apple engineer's decision on ram on ipad > your decision.
 
I cannot load a Facebook full website from my iPhone 4, iPad can load it smoothly. iPad is a bit powerful.
 
Does it really matter which one is faster? The iPad isn't used for speed. It is used for the larger screen that makes it a bit more user friendly to use as a computer.
 
Come on this is Apple at it's best! Underpowered on purpose to wow us with the iPad two. I want an iPad quite a bit but I'll wait for the next one as the original is too anemic and it feels too intentional.
 
apple engineer's decision on ram on ipad > your decision.
Click to expand...

Is that why pages reload every time I open more than 1 safari tab? That's a *great* design choice. Also, less ram needed on Mac/iOS vs Windows is pure BS. I don't know why I bother posting here, everyone is already brainwashed that Apple is perfect
 
gtscode said:
Come on this is Apple at it's best! Underpowered on purpose to wow us with the iPad two. I want an iPad quite a bit but I'll wait for the next one as the original is too anemic and it feels too intentional.
Click to expand...

I don't think that's the case at all - Apple was using 256MB RAM in most iOS devices up to and include the iPad launch. The 512MB RAM was added to the iPhone 4 and the newest iPod touch. It always takes time for things to trickle across the product lineup.

The other thing you have to remember is that iOS really doesn't have such a high memory overhead, especially when compared to Windows or Mac OS X. Personally, I'd rather Apple shave a bit off the cost if they can provide a more efficient device.

I'm sure the next iPad will have 512MB RAM, but I know plenty of 3GS users who are happy with 4.0 (and probably will be moreso with the 4.1 speed improvements), so I suspect the current iPad users will be in the same boat.
 
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