M1 iPad Pro Over 50% Faster Than Previous Generation in Early Benchmarks

[CalMin]

There is nothing that I do on my iPad Pro that comes near it's potential. I want a 12.9" screen and a magnetic 2nd generation pencil which forces me to buy and use a pro.

Even if they put software on it to make use of the CPU potential, it will still mostly spend it's time as a digital notepad.

I do edit my Podcast and the occasional family video, but seriously, this raw horsepower seems wasted for the most part. It's kind of like having a Ferrari when I only do trips to the grocery store.

 

[Kazgarth]

All that power, yet it's still limited to run oversized iPhone apps.

 

[slplss]

I'm pretty sure these got leaked this early cause of the tech YouTubers who would have got the iPad Pro recently and run a benchmark to check the performance

Found @MKBHD, for real now.

 

[MBAir2010]

it's so fast ya'll need an air tag to find the thing in the next zipcode.

 

[slplss]

All that power, yet it's still limited to run oversized iPhone apps.

Wait for the A15 with the same performance as M1 will run downsized iPad apps, what a struggle!
Who would imagine people would complain their devices are hopelessly overpowered. Their use won't change, maybe we should just deal with it.

 

[gnomeisland]

That sounds impressive!!.... until you realize the last iPad Pro has a two year old chip in it. If this was 50% faster than an A14 that would be impressive.

Uh. . . The multi-core score is over 50% faster than the A14 (7,284 vs 4,214).

 

[hatchettjack]

Uh. . . The multi-core score is over 50% faster than the A14 (7,284 vs 4,214).

That has to do with cores! iPad Air a14 is 2x4 m1 iPad Pro is 4x4 if the air had 4 cores it would be pretty close!

 

[gaximus]

x86-based devices have a plethora of desktop class operating systems to choose from. So yes, they can run something better than Windows.

Entry-level x86-based Surfaces are slow like x86-based entry-level MacBook’s are slow.

I think that was the point being made, an entry level M1 is way faster than an entry level intel processor.

 

[mazz0]

The crazy thing is the last thing the iPad Pro lacked was performance. They’ve been way overpowered for years. RAM hasn’t always been great though.

This.

It’s all very well saying “developers need the power there before they’ll make apps to utilize it” (as Apple have, correctly, said), but the same goes for the OS as well as the hardware.

 

[falkon-engine]

All that power is cool, but iPadOS is severely handicapping M1, in terms of multi-tasking.

Until Apple updates iPadOS to have better multitasking, similar to samsung Dex (but obviously better and more 'Apple'-like) then to me, it's a waste. Getting an M1 iPad will be akin to me paying more money for an m1 that's handicapped by its software; so I'd rather get an m1 Macbook in that case for better multitasking, and a cheaper iPad. But the macbook would be my daily driver.

Case in point, Apple just added thunderbolt to the iPad, which as we know tunnels several different protocols together, including displayport data. But when it comes to outputting video to an external monitor, the iPad by default operates in "mirror"-only mode, whereas the m1 Macbook can output an independent video signal to an external monitor. As a "pro" I want an independent video signal sent to my monitor.

Apple has an opportunity to update iPadOS for a better multitasking experience, and I really hope they do so with iPadOS15. And if they do, then take my money!

 

[dahlblom]

Time for the OS to catch up with the hardware....

 

[nStyle]

For graphics I guess it works. As a developer I’d really love to do more work on my iPad. I tried it a few times actually, also recently. But it just doesn’t work so long as the OS doesn’t provide proper multi tasking, window management, etc.

I still use my iPads every day, to check up on the news, read a book, watch a movie and as 2nd external display to my M1 pro. But it could be so very much more. Especially now it really has the exact same processing unit.

You can laugh at Microsoft for their Surface commercials. But when I see developers from the windows ecosystem at work on one of those things while on the go (hello 4G / 5G without a hotspot) I am always reminded of the missed opportunity sitting back at home.

I’m really hoping that at WWDC they finally announce that iPads with an M series processor will get actual macOS capabilities. Without that I see no reason for replacing an iPad younger than 4 or 5 years, unless you break it or work in graphic design. More power just isn’t making a difference worth the investment.

I personally don’t even know if I want iPad to turn into a Mac…I mean what was the point of the past 11 years if only to reverse engineer the laptop by making it slightly more user friendly and adding a touchscreen? Could’ve done that 11 years ago. The keyboard and stuff is nice sometimes but an iPad is best used as a tablet and I hope they don’t try to make it into too much of a hybrid because a hybrid can never be the best tablet or PC…it can only hope to be the best hybrid which IMO is “meh”.

 

[Ghost31]

Gonna be able to browse Reddit super fast.

 

[MICHAELSD]

every year???

If need-be. People do it for iPhones, why not?!

 

[nylon]

Looks like WWDC is going to be pretty interesting this year.

 

[RealSkyDiver]

Last month, Apple introduced a new iPad Pro with the same M1 chip found in the latest Macs, and early benchmark results indicate that the M1 iPad Pro is over 50% faster than the previous-generation iPad Pro.

Based on five legitimate Geekbench 5 results (here's the fifth) for the fifth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the M1 chip, the device has average single-core and multi-core scores of 1,718 and 7,284, respectively. By comparison, the fourth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the A12Z chip has average single-core and multi-core scores of 1,121 and 4,656, respectively, meaning that the M1 iPad Pro is around 56% faster.

Geekbench 5: Average Multi-Core Results

• M1 MacBook Air: 7,378
• M1 iPad Pro: 7,284
• Core i9 16" MacBook Pro: 6,845
• A12Z iPad Pro: 4,656

It's worth noting that the third-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the A12X chip has a higher average multi-core score of 4,809, likely due to statistical variation, but this still results in the M1 iPad Pro being 51% faster, which lines up with Apple's marketing claim that the M1 iPad Pro is up to 50% faster than the previous generation.

The benchmark results reveal that the M1 iPad Pro has virtually identical performance as the M1 Macs released last fall. The M1 MacBook Air, for example, has average single-core and multi-core scores of 1,701 and 7,378, respectively. Impressively, this means the M1 iPad Pro is faster than a maxed-out 16-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i9 processor, which has average single-core and multi-core scores of 1,091 and 6,845 respectively.

As for graphics performance, the M1 iPad Pro currently has an average Metal score of 20,578, which is up to 71% faster than the previous-generation iPad Pro with the A12Z chip and roughly equal to the graphics performance of M1 Macs.

The new iPad Pro became available to order starting April 30, with a launch expected on May 21. Reviews of the device are expected to drop next week.

Article Link: M1 iPad Pro Over 50% Faster Than Previous Generation in Early Benchmarks

And no apps to really take advantage of it because they refuse to have a proper desktop Os run on it….

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

If they give us multi-user support I might finally buy an iPad, but I'm not buying everyone in my family their own and we're certainly not going to share one account.

 

[isoft7]

Found @MKBHD, for real now.

You'd think they'd be running benchmarks on airplane mode... not only to protect performance integrity, but also to keep numbers from leaking.

I think this sort of thing gets pushed out intentionally to stir headlines.

 

[brofkand]

Give me real, no compromises Lightroom and Office on the iPad and I'll buy a 1TB 12.9".

Granted that is up to Microsoft and Adobe writing the apps as much as it is Apple providing the API's.

 

[jjpiv]

Whatever, Intel still makes the world’s best microprocessors. I’m better off owning a Microsoft Surface.

Are you a professional comedian or is this just something you do in your free time?

 

[SkiHound2]

How does that compare with the new iPad Air?

update (found it):

A14 iPad Air has 1583 single core and 4198 multi-core (I thought it would be higher since everybody keeps saying the M1 is just a glorified A14)

Single score cores are pretty similar. Single core scores for the A14 are considerably faster than single core scores for A12Z. The additional performance and gpu scores of the M1 are what sets it apart. For the vast majority of us the performance of any of iPad Pros since 2018 and the Air 4th gen is more than sufficient.

 

[Reggiebaldwin]

This will be my first iPad since the original mini. I used a friends and could not believe how well the 12.9 worked for sheet music, sharing videos, etc. and the new screen should be even better. I don't have to buy a separate web cam for my Mac mini M1 with LG ultrafine 24 monitor which works flawlessly but Center Stage should remedy that issue. I am going to use it as an iPad with just the smart folio and pencil and be happy with it. If better software comes along to make editing on the go easier I will be ready for it. Can't wait!!!!

 

[bradman83]

How does that compare with the new iPad Air?

update (found it):

A14 iPad Air has 1583 single core and 4198 multi-core (I thought it would be higher since everybody keeps saying the M1 is just a glorified A14)

Technically the M1 is a glorified A14, or rather it's a clocked-up A14X. It uses the same underlying Firestorm and Icestorm core microarchitecture, just clocked faster (since it's not constrained by the thermals of a phone) and with two added Firestorm performance cores. It's pretty clear that Apple branded the M1 the way it did so that people would drop the "they're putting phone/tablet processors in Macs" complaint about Apple silicon, and once the M1 proved itself in the marketplace they built on that by using it in the iPad Pro and saying "We're putting a desktop chip in our iPad!"

 

[Mr.Simple]

Really impressiv. I want to upgrade from my iPad pro 2018 but maybe I will wait when the rumours about a new iPad mini pro with 120 Hz Display and M1 come true.

 

[ouimetnick]

New iPad owners better hope you see a huge iPadOS surprise. Otherwise, there may be a lot of unhappy people.

That’s why I’ll be waiting until after WWDC until I make a decision. 😉