New iPad Pro Has Comparable Performance to 2018 15" MacBook Pro in Benchmarks

[lec0rsaire]

except for games

I don’t know what these so called “games” are. Apart from what Rockstar ported over a few years ago, KOTOR, Infinity Blade 1-3, Fornite and PUBG there is sadly nothing worth playing.

Just a bunch of freemium crap that may look real pretty but may as well not even exist for people that buy $60 AAA games on either PC or console. I don’t see these people nor myself ever constantly spending money on virtual crap.

iAP was the best thing ever for devs but it destroyed the promise of serious games on iOS which is truly unfortunate. It looked incredibly promising in 2010/2011 with GTA 3 , IB, Shadowgun, Dead Space, Real Racing 2 and many many more.

 

[Emanuel Rodriguez]

Actually, "true" CISC pretty much died with intel's "Netburst" architecture just before Apple switched to Intel: The current x86 "Core" chips are all descended from the Pentium Pro architecture which (to simplify somewhat) was a RISC-like core sitting behind an x86-to-RISC translator. So while it might be stretching a point to say that even current Intel chips are "RISC" they survived by adopting a lot of RISC principles. Obviously, ARM can fit a few more cores in a package without all that translation gubbins...

I suspect a lot of the power of these A-series chips comes from the GPU and other co-processors that can be crammed onto the chip thanks to the simpler CPU core.

I just hope that Apple's plan isn't to kill off the Mac and force everybody onto closed-down iDevices. Tablets are great for the thing that tablets are great at, but they're useless for some stuff that laptops/desktops are good at. Crowing that your tablet out-performs your more expensive laptops isn't a good plan if you plan to keep selling laptops.

As long as Xcode for iOS/Windows isn't a thing, macOS's future is basically safe. Devs have to code on something, right? If Apple ever releases an Xcode for iOS/Windows (which I strongly suspect they may do someday), then I'd start worrying.

 

[Plutonius]

The thing that I find most interesting is the scores on the MacBook Pros. Seeing the prices for the different models and their geek bench scores, why would anyone buy anything other than the base processor configuration ?

 

[mazz0]

How exactly do I "develop" on the iPad Pro? Is there XCode on it? Visual Studio? is there even cursor support so I can quickly edit and manage text content?

The shame is that Apple wants to brag about how much performance their iPad Pro has but then cripple is ability to be used as a development platform because they refuse to implement even a cursor in iOS and refuse to bring XCode or any app/web development tools to the platform.

If these benchmarks can be believed and Apple has brought their ARM based CPU to parity with Intel processors, then the ball is in Apple's court to make iPad Pro a REAL professional development and content creation platform and not choose to keep it a casual mobile platform with a few novel professional-lite applications on it.

I’m all for cursor support (with Magic Trackpad or Mouse, etc), but I wouldn’t have identified text editing as a the killer use case for it. You’ve already two-finger cursor movement for text input on the touch screen, or keyboard shortcuts when using an external keyboard. For me cursor input is needed more for graphical applications when I’m sitting at a desk with the screen vertical (e.g. designing the UI in Xcode).

 

[Plutonius]

I don’t know what these so called “games” are. Apart from what Rockstar ported over a few years ago, KOTOR, Infinity Blade 1-3, Fornite and PUBG there is sadly nothing worth playing.

I highly recommend Heroes 3, Catan, and Panzer Corp for the iPad.

 

[thunng8]

I highly recommend Heroes 3, Catan, and Panzer Corp for the iPad.

Civilization VI and Grid Autosport are also great. I also like Skyforce Reloaded.

 

[DaRev]

x86 emulation on ARM is already possible. You just need to put this in a case with active cooling, and it is gonna perform just as good as comparable x86 CPU. I do not know why you people keep belittling the ARM, even after it proved itself as capable architecture over and over.

But, naysayers are gonna naysay. Always.

So, what VM software is available for iPad to run Windows? Right now I use Parallels Remote Access to access the VM from my Mac.

 

[waloshin]

While it's true that Premiere and AVID are slow and buggy, there really isn't any other option for editing. If you're an editor you just live with having to use one or the other. I've never seen or heard of anyone seriously Final Cut Pro X for actual professional work.

Davinci resolve works amazing for me and is Free.

 

[Amazing Ox Space Monkey]

I'm not so sure. What you're describing is probably done by a small fraction of the Mac user base; compared to those who use one for other productivity tasks not related to development. Apple will add features aimed at those users, allowing them to replace a Mac or PC with an iPad, which may also benefit developers as a side benefit but is not why Apple added the features.

Whenever I go to PHP conferences, most of the attendees and speakers use macs. Because they are reliable computers. The iPad is more convenient for certain tasks but is in no way a replacement of a computer in its present form.

 

[Fishcake21]

But will it run MacOS?

 

[wubsylol]

What exactly can I do on the iPad Pro do utilise all this power? Photoshop is coming, but where's my Final Cut Pro X iPad Edition?

 

[BvizioN]

Neither can be made available on an iPad as long as it doesn't have a mouse cursor.

And why would you need that on a buttery smooth multi-touch display capable of extremely precise apple pencil? Comparing Apples with Oranges here, aren't we? When it comes to video or photo editing I find it that using Apple pencil is just as good (to not say better) than using a mouse and multitouch display better then trackpad.
The point of my original comment was, iPad could be a very capable PC replacement for me if it did have some Pro apps that I use (Final cut Pro X mainly) Thought the one i use, Lumia Fusion is lightyears ahead of iMovie, just not as good as Final Cut Pro X.

 

[RaoulDuke42]

To everyone demanding a damned mouse- do you also demand stick-shift in electric cars?! It’s NOT. GONNA. HAPPEN.

 

[aevan]

"The future" is whatever we make it to be.

It won't be anytime soon that I'll trade a multi-monitor desk setup for a tablet. Maybe some day when it becomes better at the things I need to do, but for now it's not even close.

This is exactly the reason why Apple is still investing heavily into the Mac. But iPads do feel like the future and I expect modern technological solutions, workflows, etc. will solve people’s needs. We’ll have to adapt a bit, modern computers will have to adapt a lot, we’ll meet somewhere in the middle - but it’s still the future, even if it’s not too near. But it is coming faster than I expected - for my work, I wouldn’t be surprised if I move to an iPad for the majority of it in a few years.

 

[pete2106]

I still struggle to get why people think that the iPad can’t compete with a laptop because it doesn’t have mouse support. I’ve always found the pencil to be way quicker, more accurate, and more versatile than a mouse.

 

[laurieballard]

I bet 95% of users are not going to notice any performance increase from the previous Pro models.

Speed is no longer a factor in why the average user upgrades in my opinion, until Apple release IOS 14 where the 10.5 Pro is running dog slow and you are forced to upgrade.

For me, I can't see any benefit to upgrading from the 10.5 Pro. Sure, the screen looks a little better but I honestly couldn't give a hoot about the Face ID thing, the fingerprint is just as quick for me.

 

[Abazigal]

People seem to forget that at one time, the mouse was considered the disruptor and people actually complained that it was a gimmick compared to the command line.

If people could move from the command line to the mouse, it stands to reason that we too could migrate our workflows from mouse to touchscreen. Everything that seemed natural today likely seemed weird and awkward at one point.

Most problems are solved by not doing it the old way. The best way to adapt to change is to avoid trying to turn the old thing into the new.

I believe the iPad can and will become the general purpose computer for the masses. And I salute Apple’s attempts at bringing about this new world order on their own terms.

 

[StellarVixen]

So, what VM software is available for iPad to run Windows? Right now I use Parallels Remote Access to access the VM from my Mac.

I am not talking about the iPad, but ARM. ARM is not made to run on iPad only.

When ARM becomes more mainstream on desktop, the software will follow. What matters right now are technical possibilities.

 

[chucker23n1]

The concept of RISC/CISC is absolutely a real hardware issue.

OK cool, name a RISC architecture.

And before you offer ARM: FJCVTZS has made the idea that ARM is still RISC completely absurd.
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How did they measure llvm exactly? code compiling time?

Pretty sure it's incomparable due to architecture.

https://www.geekbench.com/doc/geekbench4-cpu-workloads.pdf

The LLVM workload processes an LLVM IR (intermediate representation) file through the LLVM optimizer and code-generation routines. The LLVM IR file was generated from a 3,900 line C source file using Clang. The workload uses ARM as the target architecture for code generation.

It always compiles to ARM.

Test is just test, no real world bench.

I don't even know what this means.

Windows RT already proven that general purpose on ARM and it's raw power is far behind x86 at this moment in time.

The only thing Windows RT proved was that Microsoft needed a strategy reset (which culminated in a new CEO).
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"The future" is whatever we make it to be.

It won't be anytime soon that I'll trade a multi-monitor desk setup for a tablet. Maybe some day when it becomes better at the things I need to do, but for now it's not even close.

It doesn't really matter whether you and I move an existing setup to the iPad. It matters whether new generations start with an iPad in the first place and, by and large, see no need for traditional computing.

See also: mainframes.

 

[barmann]

That's fine, it's your right to be afraid of that happening. The future is coming however. It's just ridiculous seeing people all over this thread delegitimize iPad Pro as a future laptop replacement. Either embrace the future, or get left in the dust. This is coming from someone who uses an iMac for work and a Macbook Pro for school.

But the iPad is the past .
It's an old platform that hasn't made significant gains in usability in years .

Users hit a ceiling due to the iPad's input, OS and connectivity limitations very quickly, if they try to venture beyond the most mundane tasks - and get left in the dust ...

 

[MacBH928]

Does this mean that the iPad is powerful enough to code 3D games and movies on them? I doubt it. With Macbook Pros you can have multiple PRO apps working same time.

Anyone thinks its post PC era is so wrong, there were so many instances where I had to go back to a real computer to get things done, things as simple as signing up to a web service. Desktop/Laptop OS is still king.

“But ARM isn’t as good as x86, because of some sort of RISC/CISC thing I skimmed on the internet and don’t really understand.”

ARM macs in 2020.

moving to ARM means we will lose every software ever made in the past. The advantage of intel macs will be gone, and probably Parallels won't be a thing to co-run Windows on macs (which btw was a huge reason for people shifting over and buy Macs in 2006)

 

[jlc1978]

Whenever I go to PHP conferences, most of the attendees and speakers use macs. Because they are reliable computers.

As I said before, pick your tool based on the one that does what you need; whether it's a Mac, iPad, or flip chart and marker.

The iPad is more convenient for certain tasks but is in no way a replacement of a computer in its present form.

Again, that depends on what tasks you need to do. It does somethings very well and for some people that is enough and an iPad is perfect for them. If mail, occasional writing, web browsing and social media the primary use case for a computer for then an iPad is more than capable of meeting that user's needs. It's a great device if what you want is something to carry around documentation to read, much better than a PC.

In my case, I could easily ditch my Mac for presentations and instruction and have at times. The iPad is more than capable, even before the new models, of projecting a presentation on the screen. There is software that lets me easily highlight items or write directly on the screen; so in some respects it is more powerful than a Mac under the same circumstances.

I agree for some users, it's not a computer replacement yet. I'd say it is more of a limited replacement for most users today, but getting closer to being a true replacement. It all depends on the use case.
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It doesn't really matter whether you and I move an existing setup to the iPad. It matters whether new generations start with an iPad in the first place and, by and large, see no need for traditional computing.

See also: mainframes.

See also: Cloud computing; AKA the return to the client server model of the VT100:Mainframe era.

 

[diamond.g]

The thing that I find most interesting is the scores on the MacBook Pros. Seeing the prices for the different models and their geek bench scores, why would anyone buy anything other than the base processor configuration ?

To get the better GPU options that Apple doesn't offer on the base model (note the Vega GPU's appear to only be available on the higher end model).

 

[jlc1978]

The advantage of intel macs will be gone, and probably Parallels won't be a thing to co-run Windows on macs (which btw was a huge reason for people shifting over and buy Macs in 2006)

x86 emulation existed on the PPC Macs, I ran VirtualPC on one. It's nothing new. You could even run DOS on the PCTransporter board in an Apple ][.

It wasn't great but it worked; and MS has a Windows/ARM solution already, even if it doesn't run on Apple's ARM. I have no doubt someone will offer a solution to run Windows on ARM if and when Apple goes to it as their sole processor. I am also not sure how much of a difference being able to run Windows in a VM really is in a buying decision. I've run Parallels/Fusion since the old white plastic Macbooks but I'd guess only a tiny fraction of today's Mac users really need it and would switch to OPCs if that capability went way.

 

[chucker23n1]

x86 emulation existed on the PPC Macs, I ran VirtualPC on one. It's nothing new. You could even run DOS on the PCTransporter board in an Apple ][.

x86 emulation was nowhere near feasible for the same kinds of applications as virtualization is, though.

I am also not sure how much of a difference being able to run Windows in a VM really is in a buying decision. I've run Parallels/Fusion since the old white plastic Macbooks but I'd guess only a tiny fraction of today's Mac users really need it and would switch to OPCs if that capability went way.

I'm sure it's only a minority, but that doesn't mean it isn't important. They'd willingly throw away part of their target audience.