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

[theluggage]

Correct. Most architectures out there are RISC at this point. RISC has more than proven itself. It has basically become a defacto standard, outside of the x86 world.

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.

 

[rowspaxe]

So what has held back magic mouse support and mac-like file management?

Plus one. Also, what good is monitor support if you are working with your fingers. The processing power is impressive,
but there is no way an ipad is as productive as a Surface. Some sort of pointer function inevitable.

 

[Ploki]

Honestly, its never going to happen because it would require too much reprogramming. But I think Apple's long term goal is to kill off the Macbooks and other traditional computers as we know to transition to iOS completely and be a competitor to ChromeOS devices. Of course many ChromeOS devices can also run most Linux apps now, plus Android and Chrome Extensions, so there will be an issue there.

That's a really long shot. A lot of content creators for Apple's own mobile devices rely on Apple computer to produce the content.
Nobody take ChromeOS seriously. And architecture switch isn't anything new for apple.

 

[gaximus]

This is such wasted potential. Nothing with a touch keyboard is going to make use of this.

How about games, photoshop, video editing, music creation. There are actually very few things with a real keyboard that would make use of this. Coding is the only thing I can think of that needs this kind of power and a real keyboard.
Also it was made to support a real keyboard.

 

[Ploki]

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.

It's funny, I remember one of the transition issues was PowerPC being RISC and intel CISC.

 

[Koudspeel]

As long as the iPad can't run VM's, server applications and has no proper mouse/keyboard support I don't see why I should get an iPad.

I'd like to edit some configs, testrun a gameserver, monitor performance and move files about all at the same time. I just can't do that on an iPad.

 

[groadyho]

I don't understand why people here think Intel should be scared, mac has such low user base compared to PC. You think HP Dell Lenovo MS will stop using Intel?

 

[blackcrayon]

Pretty useless stat, since the iPad Pro is still very limited due to its OS. It will open Safari faster, yippekayee.

A MacBook Pro is the complete package, full OS, mouse support, external HDs, displays, it's a work horse. I can see an iPad Pro work well for on the field, check ups, but no proper heavy duty work.

Stat is anything BUT useless. We already know the MacBook Pro is tailored for a greater number of tasks. But with the tasks that overlap, the iPad can now be just as fast.

I'd like to see some actual app comparisons where we have the same software running on both.
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As long as the iPad can't run VM's, server applications and has no proper mouse/keyboard support I don't see why I should get an iPad.

I'd like to edit some configs, testrun a gameserver, monitor performance and move files about all at the same time. I just can't do that on an iPad.

Correct. Those are the only things people buy computers for, and the iPad isn't good for them. Apple should cancel the product.

 

[citysnaps]

Pretty useless stat, since the iPad Pro is still very limited due to its OS. It will open Safari faster, yippekayee.

A MacBook Pro is the complete package, full OS, mouse support, external HDs, displays, it's a work horse. I can see an iPad Pro work well for on the field, check ups, but no proper heavy duty work.

Hardly a "useless stat." It's a glimpse into the future with respect to Apple's processor development. And the potential for future use in desktop/laptop computers.

Very impressive overall.

 

[Rogifan]

When does iPad get desktop Safari?

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

An ARM-based Mac running OSX will require Rosetta II Technoloy to run intel Mac OSX apps AND the ARM itself would have to beat the intel performance by 50% to not suffer a huge performance penalty compared to running an app natively.

This would be the PPC to Intel Transition all over again.

I think Apple with have blazing A14/A15 processors in two years. Intel should be afraid. Afraid of losing 5% of its business or more.

 

[citysnaps]

All great but you still need MacOS. Sorry Tim, ipad is awesome but as companion tool not really a replacement for a real Mac.

Huh? Mr. Cook never claimed it would be a replacement for all users.

 

[load97]

Plus one. Also, what good is monitor support if you are working with your fingers. The processing power is impressive,
but there is no way an ipad is as productive as a Surface. Some sort of pointer function inevitable.

I agree. A pointer setup when connected to a monitor is definitely needed.

 

[BvizioN]

And I want VMware, 32GB of RAM and a mouse. Oh wait, that's called a MacBook Pro.

On what universe does Macbook Pro comes with a mouse?

 

[BruceEBonus]

A rather odd boast. It may be as fast as but it ain’t a MacBook despite its lofty price.

 

[Hedwigg]

Pretty useless stat, since the iPad Pro is still very limited due to its OS. It will open Safari faster, yippekayee.

A MacBook Pro is the complete package, full OS, mouse support, external HDs, displays, it's a work horse. I can see an iPad Pro work well for on the field, check ups, but no proper heavy duty work.

Pretty useless statement, without stating what task you're looking to accomplish.

 

[citysnaps]

But who’s saying it’s a Mac replacement? As strangely enough Apple don’t seem to have stopped making laptops ...

Only people here who continually whine Apple/Tim Cook does not like the Macintosh.

 

[baryon]

So wait, the iPad Pro could run macOS at a performance similar to a much thicker, much more expensive computer that has two fans, a dedicated GPU, and runs professional industry standard apps? I somehow don't believe it. If it's that fast, why won't it run more than two apps at once, for example?

Without a dedicated GPU, fans, or apps that would make use of good performance, it's kind of meaningless to say that the performance of the iPad is comparable to the MacBook Pro. How fast can it render 4K video in Premiere? In AVID? How fast will it track power windows in DaVinci Resolve? How quickly can it batch-process 1000 RAW photos? Create proxy files from video? These are the things that require speed, but it can't do any of them. Running a limited version of Photoshop, or iMovie, or checking for mail is not a fair comparison, and isn't something that needs fast performance in the first place.

At this point it's like saying that a washing machine has similar rotation speed as a car's engine. Yet the two cannot even begin to do similar tasks.

 

[Ploki]

An ARM-based Mac running OSX will require Rosetta II Technoloy to run intel Mac OSX apps AND the ARM itself would have to beat the intel performance by 50% to not suffer a huge performance penalty compared to running an app natively.

This would be the PPC to Intel Transition all over again.

I think Apple with have blazing A14/A15 processors in two years. Intel should be afraid. Afraid of losing 5% of its business or more.

dont know if you're ironic with last sentence, but it's never fun to lose a premium customer.

 

[rowspaxe]

On what universe does Macbook Pro comes with a mouse?

Hello from earth. Macbook Pro is mouse capable. It also has a trackpad.

 

[Falhófnir]

Definitely very impressive - another big milestone on the road to ARM MacBooks!

 

[UltimateSyn]

When are they going to slow down with these ARM chips?! Incredible

 

[Ploki]

Without a dedicated GPU, fans, or apps that would make use of good performance, it's kind of meaningless to say that the performance of the iPad is comparable to the MacBook Pro. How fast can it render 4K video in Premiere? In AVID? How fast will it track power windows in DaVinci Resolve?

At this point it's like saying that a washing machine has similar rotation speed as a car's engine. Yet the two cannot even begin to do similar tasks.

tbh new mac mini doesnt even have dedicated GPU.
and premiere is notoriously slow rendering in mac vs on pc.

and everything AVID is just a bag of cancer. AVID would be slow and buggy on a quantum super computer.

 

[mpe]

I think the industry desperately need better benchmarks than Geekbench everybody is using.

 

[DNichter]

I don't understand why people here think Intel should be scared, mac has such low user base compared to PC. You think HP Dell Lenovo MS will stop using Intel?

I'd think because less and less people are buying traditional computers today. iPad's sell more as it is. Once Apple uses their own chips in their laptops and desktops, it will only further differentiate Apple products from the competition, providing huge performance gains, great battery life, and new form factors. It just shines a negative light on Intel considering where they are at today and where Apple's chip team is at. They aren't going anywhere, but their dominance will likely be over.