Always sounds good until you remember there are no apps that let you do anything the MacBook Pro does for the iPad so benchmarks are pretty much pointless.
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New iPad Pro Has Comparable Performance to 2018 15" MacBook Pro in Benchmarks
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So that means Logic, Final Cut and Xcode are all coming to iPad, right?
I think that is premature, but what it does show is that at some point in the not to distant future, it will be possible to do so.
If you compare the raw benchmark improvements generation over generation, that will tell a lot. When the low end A series has a 50% improvement over the low-end (let alone high-end) x86, then Apple will have some choices to make. If there were a 50% gap between the low end, even emulating an x86 would then become possible at a lower cost and faster speed.
Why does the iPad need to become a Mac? Especially if Apple is working on their own CPUs for the Mac? At the event this week Intel wasn’t mentioned on stage once. It seems very clear Apple is looking to eventually be free of Intel.
That’s exactly the funny thing. Even Apples Pro apps are not on the iPad Pro.
You seem to be implying that Apple could easily build a more expensive ARM-based CPU that would beat the 5300 score. We don't know if that's true. All the money in the world doesn't magically make CPUs go faster.
I think there is a difference between laptop replacement and 'what can be achieved'. This is the digital environment we are now in.
I think its becoming increasingly for most users that the iPad does that they need: emails, banking, messages, websites etc and tablet specific advantages IE: for artists
However, beyond that, its still not a laptop replacement. Very simple cases can be demonstrated that really are an achilles heal at present:
Try MS word on iPad v on Mac OS. Any writer trying to do something complicated, or more advanced and they will run for the Mac OS version. Also the lack of a file system really undermines the iPad and that's just word...what about pro-apps etc...
It can be 50 times more powerful but without a proper OS, apps and controllers it's half useless
Geekbench scores are not meaningful compared across platforms. Apple A series Geekbench scores can be compared to other A series, perhaps Qualcomm ARM CPUs, but not to x86-64.
Do you really believe that Apple can make a 5W fanless CPU that performs that closely to a 45W CPU? If you do, I suggest cutting back on the kool-aid.
Great, a super light, portable tablet that’s as powerful as a desktop with the ability to draw right on the display and manipulate your work with your own hands, just what every designer has ever wanted!
I can’t wait to install Solidworks and Catia on it and get to work designing, and fire up Mastercam and Surfcam (and don’t worry, I have the usb dongle to run it) and connect to our secured (ethernet only) intranet, access all our project files in our PLM system, and stream the machining programs off to the mills and lathes with wild abandon.
Or maybe I’ll just take it to the coffee shop and read a newspaper on it.
I can’t wait to install Solidworks and Catia on it and get to work designing, and fire up Mastercam and Surfcam (and don’t worry, I have the usb dongle to run it) and connect to our secured (ethernet only) intranet, access all our project files in our PLM system, and stream the machining programs off to the mills and lathes with wild abandon.
Or maybe I’ll just take it to the coffee shop and read a newspaper on it.
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I doubt it, for several reasons:
1. Apple is about 4% of their revenues. They'd take a hit but not that big of one.
2. While Apple's ARM is impressive, it still isn't up to competing with Intel's higher end chips yet; so if Apple wants to build a Mac Pro they still may wind up switching in steps.
3. Porting MacOS and keeping some sort of backward compatibility isn't easy; and if they require developers to update programs they me see some stop developing for the Mac. Even those that plan to stick with Apple may slow development to focus on the upcoming ARM chip.
4. If they do do stepwise rollout with ARMs at the low end first then they have to keep two versions compatible and still by Intel chips. I would suspect you'd see it on an iPad or Air first.
I do think Apple will move to the ARM, since it gives them control over their processor roadmap and further integrates their supply chain. I have no doubt they will make ARMs that are powerful enough for all the machines they sell from entry level to pro. I doubt Intel is losing a lot of sleep over that since Apple is a small part of their revenue and unlikely to sell their ARM to other manufacturers so Apple is not becoming a competitor.
iOS could be the real future as iPads become more powerful and able to handle the heavy lifting done today on the Mac. They could continue to make it more powerful and adding OS X features until it supplants oS X; leaving a core OS that is adapted to phones, TV boxes, watches and tablets/computers. In the end, Mac is a marketing concept that they could still use even if the OS is no longer the same BSDn based system; much as they did when they transitioned from Motorola to Intel but still called them Macs.
Apple's iCloud push could also result in Apple's version of the Chromebook - a stripped down ARM based machine that relies on cloud based software; targeting it at say education where wifi is available and price is a concern. I doubt it but an iPad running a new MacOS with a keyboard could be the first step...
Have you tested yours? The i9 is really only 5300?
My 13 i7 gets to 5500 single core
It's nice to see the new iPad Pro performing well.
But ultimately, these benchmark comparisons don't tell much. Why?
For heavy computer work (After effects projects, 3D animation, motion graphics, etc) having dual screen setup with a proper keyboard & a precise mouse is an absolute must. Rendering an animation (hours of heavy load) would either melt a tablet, or the processor would have to throttle down avoiding thermal blow, quadrupling+ the time needed to render, hence, making it barely usefull...
I would like to see Tim Cook try opening up a complex scene in Cinema 4D and rendering it. He would quickly figure out, we are FAR from substituting computers with tablets.
I am no engineer, but doesn't this sort of performance show promise for an Apple developed chip if given the proper space, cooling, and components needed to be a laptop/desktop processor that rivals Intel? The type of task you are describing should obviously take place in a traditional computer, but the potential is there for Apple to make the chip to do so.
I get your point....but we have been seeing these exact headlines for 2 years about iPad pro performance. I see the future here for creatives and its hobbling along on a walker. Affinity is so far ahead of adobe and the only reason they got in the game now. Adobe's mobile strategy has been a mess (at best) on iPad, releasing a dozen apps to do the job of one.
Apple needs to stop with the gaming stuff too. Touch based games and some indie stuff? Sure. But no way in hell me or anyone else is dumping their XBOX or even Switch for a damn iPad. Its just silly. Apple has nothing in place to work with developers to bring AAA gaming (which requires a controller) to lure hardcore gamers to the platform. That ship sailed in 2013 when everything went to "Free to Play". Apple is way too stubborn to let gaming companies , who are experts in their field, tell apple what controllers to make and how to make the games work properly. So the game demos every year are just getting silly at this point.
I love my iPad, but right now I see little strategy other than to just make more money with high priced iPads. My 10.5 pro will run the new photoshop nearly as well as the new ones. Just as millions of users are using older ipads just fine for basic home computing. The 329 iPad will be fine for 80 percent of people. The 10.5 is the like the XR and the others are like the XS. Nice but not really needed nor worth the money. I'll be curious to see how anyone justifies spending well over $1000 on an iPad (with added accessories). But who knows, people are ok with $1500 iPhones soooooo.
It also does photo manipulation faster than an i7 in Affinity Photo and will continue to do so in Photoshop. It's only a matter of time before CAD and 3D apps start arriving. The App Store is already filled with powerful apps, but this kind of performance will open it to even more powerful ones. The days when iPad was just for a little bit of surfing and email are long gone. For some reason you feel bad about it and would like to be negative, but it's how it is - it still has a long way to go, but iPad is slowly winning. In the next decade, for a lot of professionals, iOS will be the platform of choice. There will be more iPads than PC laptops that are capable of running modern software well - and what do you think the developers will do then? The fact that Adobe is taking iPads so seriously, just tells you what's going to happen. In fact, I'm almost worried that there is no serious sign of competition in the next era of computing.
The biggest problem is the OS, not the hardware.
I have an iPad Pro 12.9 2017. For using the pencil and consuming media it's an amazing device, but iOS has many limitations that prevent an iPad Pro from being a complete laptop replacement for a lot of people:
I have an iPad Pro 12.9 2017. For using the pencil and consuming media it's an amazing device, but iOS has many limitations that prevent an iPad Pro from being a complete laptop replacement for a lot of people:
- App sandbox (this greatly limits developers who might want to have a terminal and a code editor).
- Stupid restrictions all over the place.
- No mouse support and desktop UI. Touch UIs for fat fingers have to be BIG which wastes a lot of space.
- No third party browsers with extensions.
- Etc.
The more I think about it, the more the dual processing option seems more realistic. Apple is figuring it out with their T2 "security" chip that they talked about extensively at the keynote. Perhaps the next Mac gen doesn't have a dedicated GPU, but a dedicated Apple chip that handles machine learning, graphics, and security/ system tasks. Maybe Intel is safe (for now), but AMD is the one to get the boot?
Having my ageing 10-year-old Macbook get slower every day, I had been looking. 2013 iMac 27, still going strong. I'm tired of notebooks, and not intrigued to pay the price for the new Macbooks. I'd get a 21" iMac well before that time. This 11" iPad Pro looks like what I wanted a few years ago. I think it's finally here. I maxed one out for my needs, $1600 with keyboard, pencil, tax and AC. About $350 less than the new MB Air. I've used Office 365 on an iPad, and I like it. I like the extra portability of the iPad, plus the advantage of having the cellular ability.
This is really such a headline grabbing stat. My hats off to Apple and ARM in general for impressive performance gains, but unless we can run same OS and same application on ARM and x86, and compare sustained load, they are pretty meaningless. Geekbench has been widely known to skew results towards ARM and against x86, and while the GB 4 has improved things considerably, this is still not an Apples-to-Apples comparison.
At the end of the day, if A12X is honestly in the same ballpark as an i7, bring on MBP on ARMs, I don't think most people have any emotional attachment to Intel. I bet Apple is in a quandary though, iOS closed ecosystem is a much better financial future for them. Should they convert Macs to ARMs and continue the separate OSes, or should they continue to develop iOS and iPads to a point that it starts making sense for broader population to ditch their laptops?
2019 should be an interesting year. IMHO what Apple does next year will decide the ultimate fate of iOS/Mac OS and ARM/Intel.
At the end of the day, if A12X is honestly in the same ballpark as an i7, bring on MBP on ARMs, I don't think most people have any emotional attachment to Intel. I bet Apple is in a quandary though, iOS closed ecosystem is a much better financial future for them. Should they convert Macs to ARMs and continue the separate OSes, or should they continue to develop iOS and iPads to a point that it starts making sense for broader population to ditch their laptops?
2019 should be an interesting year. IMHO what Apple does next year will decide the ultimate fate of iOS/Mac OS and ARM/Intel.
I see the power. I don’t see the experience of using an iPad changing. Surely this chip can run a better resolution screen. I see “mobile” versions of full desktop apps. Versions that aren’t pro level. I see a slick looking nba demo game but one that lacks any decent controls to actually be worthwhile while apple boasts that it’s 1k plus device equals a 200 dollar Xbox.
I see a usb-c port that was hardly talked about. It’s gimped. Locked down and hardly changes much for the iPad except what apple permits. Did anyone really think external drives would be a thing when apple banks on using storage size to drive sales?
I see danger in relying on apple for business needs. Apples primary motivation is greed. They sound more like used car salesmen on stage. The Today at Apple thing was cringe worthy making apple seem out of touch.
I enjoy apples products and the way they work together and primarily for personal use. But this isn’t a company I’m a fan of. I sure as heck wouldn’t want to partner with them. The only attraction is owning a piece of them. I’m sure that singer felt great at the end. She felt limited in what she could say. Controlled. That’s the apple I don’t care for.
I see a usb-c port that was hardly talked about. It’s gimped. Locked down and hardly changes much for the iPad except what apple permits. Did anyone really think external drives would be a thing when apple banks on using storage size to drive sales?
I see danger in relying on apple for business needs. Apples primary motivation is greed. They sound more like used car salesmen on stage. The Today at Apple thing was cringe worthy making apple seem out of touch.
I enjoy apples products and the way they work together and primarily for personal use. But this isn’t a company I’m a fan of. I sure as heck wouldn’t want to partner with them. The only attraction is owning a piece of them. I’m sure that singer felt great at the end. She felt limited in what she could say. Controlled. That’s the apple I don’t care for.