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Actually, the people whinging about it generally have no idea as to it's impact on performance, now or later. We aren't Apple engineers and have no idea as to how RAM is managed in iOS.

Perhaps I could be one of them, But this is a no brainer an extra RAM is always better and future proof it is like the more the better !
 
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every other iOS device currently sold is 2gb so no one is going to alienate the other device users.

Or less, the iPad Mini 2, still currently on sale, comes with a whopping 1GB RAM. Funnily enough, I know people who have one, have no idea what's inside it and to them it works perfectly fine.
 
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I think that all components like CPU, GPU, RAM size are dependent on one another. If there is a substantial increase in performance/quantity of one, it warrants proportionate increase in other components as well. Right now, the CPU/GPU performance has doubled but RAM size is same in 9.7" Pro compared to Air 2.

So it is clear that the increased speed is definitely going to be wasted by shortage of RAM. In short this Pro is not a balanced product. Sure it will be fast and all. But it will get outdated roughly the same time as Air 2.

It should have had at least 3 GB of faster RAM.
 
By this logic then all current PCs and Macs should just come with 128gb of RAM and stuff 32gb RAM in an iPad just because right? Forget that more RAM needs more battery to keep it powered and and other technical aspects of running more RAM.

You put in what is needed now; at some point in the future you will need more. Cost/benefit. There is little benefit compared to the cost to stuff specs in where the current aren't being maxed out now. Then everyone will b*tch and whine the price goes up even more when they get the specs they want because they think Apple should charge them at cost for the upgraded parts; just like the why are they charging more for more memory as if Apple owes them better parts for equal cost.

And everyone forgets the 12.9" is pushing around a LOT more pixels so it may need 4gb of RAM not to hit the 2gb cap (well whatever amount is usable RAM)

This has only been going on 20 years with computing in general that new devices come out with better specs. Apple has no duty to make a device so that you can use it 5 years from now for your financial benefit, lets be real. They're a company who runs on profits.

If anyone can name even 1 app the only can run on 4gb then this argument has an iota of merit; as every other iOS device currently sold is 2gb so no one is going to alienate the other device users.
Exactly:

  • the 12" is pushing more pixels
  • profit
 
But why we should need 4GB RAM?! And not 3 or 6 for example?! If the product is disowned to work perfectly with 2GB then that is. Who knows how many RAM he needs?! It is not properly just to claim we need more and more RAM without justifying it.
 
It's not a question whether it works fine today, because it certainly does. But what about 2 years from now? Or 4 years?

Oh sorry, I forgot. Everyone here is buying a new toy every year, so not a big deal, right? There're very few things more miserable than techie fanboys defending or justifying their purchases on forums.
 
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The 12" iPad is fundamentally better suited to more intense multitasking hence the need for more RAM. Sure we'd like to think that more ram comes with no trade offs but the general consensus is that the new Pro is too expensive anyhow.
 
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It's now a question whether it works fine today, because it certainly does. But what about 2 years from now? Or 4 years?

Oh sorry, I forgot. Everyone here is buying a new toy every year, so not a big deal, right? There're very few things more miserable than techie fanboys defending or justifying their purchases on forums.

But following this logics I would say - what about after 10 years?! Then you would need 32GB maybe or some special hardware for example.
 
But following this logics I would say - what about after 10 years?! Then you would need 32GB maybe or some special hardware for example.
Yeah, basic future proofing is for *******. Who cares about comfortable office apps multitasking with large files or iOS gaming in 2 years (not that you can do a lot with iOS anyway)

Instead let's just ridicule the issue and make fun of it – perhaps it'll magically justify another important feature Apple decided to ignore.
 
Apple doesn't need more profit but they certainly want more. Heck, any sane businessman would. If your boss gave you a raise, are you gonna decline? Of course not.

Not arguing it's right or wrong. Just capitalism at work.

Fair enough. I still feel that this smaller pro tablet should have had th star RAM that will inevitably come in handy at some point. Maybe sooner than we all think?m like I said, I'm an Air 1 owner and when that device came out no one was worried about RAM until real world use cases,me specially with Safari proved that the low RAM can be crippling. Sure, it's not a total deal killer but if they'd have just put 2GB in the Air 1..... It'd be perfect. It's very possible that the same thing will happen here.
 
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Yeah, basic future proofing is for *******. Who cares about comfortable office apps multitasking with large files or iOS gaming in 2 years (not that you can do a lot with iOS though).

Let's just ridicule the issue and make fun of it – perhaps it'll magically justify another important feature Apple decided to ignore.
Simply after 4 years you can keep running iPad Pro with iOS 10 and it will work perfectly as of today. Who can predict what games or apps will be in the market after 4 years and what resources they will need.
This discussion is absolutely useless now
 
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From reading many stories about Apple product development, it seems like there's a disconnect between the product teams inside Apple, and even with the iOS team.

The small iPad Pro was probably developed to be just an iPad Air 3, not an iPad Pro. I mean Apple didn't just churn this thing overnight, it was probably already in development a year or two ago, and during that time, even the iPad Air 2 can run iOS9's multi tasking, so this iPad Air 3 is simply a reiteration, with just the SoC and camera being upgraded. But then came the iPad Pro, and since it was going to target different market (and more room inside), they maxed it out, and it was probably too late to redesign the board for the iPad Air 3/Small iPad Pro for additional RAM.

I would say the next one will have 4GB RAM. This is a transition product. The current iPad Air 2 will be the "iPad 2," that it will linger around for few more years as the lower end 9.7" iPad, while all the goodies will be for the "Pro" lineup.

I think you are right there and and I all so think the next gen 9.7 inch iPad Pro will have 4GB of RAM! :)
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So it is clear that the increased speed is definitely going to be wasted by shortage of RAM. In short this Pro is not a balanced product. Sure it will be fast and all. But it will get outdated roughly the same time as Air 2.

Sorry I disagree, I think you wrong in a way because the 9.7 inch iPad Pro will be a bit "more future proof" then the Air 2 because of how much more powerful the A9X(which is as powerful as the Surface Pro 4 the I5 core version) compared to the A8X in the Air 2!!

And the increased speed won't be "wasted" because of the shortage of RAM in the 9.7 inch iPad Pro because apps/games will take advantage of the speed/power in the future!!
 
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It's not a question whether it works fine today, because it certainly does. But what about 2 years from now? Or 4 years?

Oh sorry, I forgot. Everyone here is buying a new toy every year, so not a big deal, right? There're very few things more miserable than techie fanboys defending or justifying their purchases on forums.
This is Apple. They don't exactly "future proof" their devices. They've always used just the bare minimum RAM they can get away with for good performance with the release date iOS version. That's been true since the original iPhone was released in 2007.

I'm not apologizing for Apple. I've just come to accept the reality of how they do things. There's no guarantee that the next 9.7" iPad will have 4GB RAM. Even if it did, it might not be released for another 1.5-2 years. Just buy the iPad you want now at a price that's reasonable to you because you can't really predict when and what Apple will release next.

Alternately, don't buy an iPad at all if you disagree with Apple's business practices and pricing scheme. Vote with your wallet.
 
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I think that the main obstacles keeping iPads from being PC replacements have more to do with the limitations of iOS than the spec limitations of the hardware. The Microsoft Surface 3 (Not the Pro, just the regular) has just 2 GB of RAM on the entry level model, runs full Windows 10, and can perform any function a laptop can. I find it hard to believe that iOS and its mobile apps needs more RAM to operate than Windows and desktop applications do.

I agree the biggest thing holding back the iPad is iOS—and a lot of the core apps need re-imagining for the bigger screen.

The other thing I worry about is the developer ecosystem. Apple brags about 1M iPad apps, but given the crappy economics of the App Store for anything but freemium gaming, there's not a lot of incentive to make amazing productivity apps which will make for a viable PC replacement.
 
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Apple needed something to make people upgrade. The iPad Pro 9,7" enabled Apple to charge more money stop offering the Air 2 with reasonable storage options.

The 9,7" Pro ist not a Pro at all. The 12,9" version is better suited for Pencil use, has more RAM and a larger battery.
There is really no point considering buying one right now.
That's my opinion, and I stand by that claim.

The True Tone Display is really just a small test for the upcoming phones.
 
I agree the biggest thing holding back the iPad is iOS—and a lot of the core apps need re-imagining for the bigger screen.

This. if you believe this RAM argument is the bottleneck you really haven't explored iOS in any depth.

2gb of RAM should be able to handle 99.999% of the apps in the App Store just fine. You may find 1 or 2, like graphics or editing software, someone specifically designed for the 12.9 iPad only that is RAM heavy.

Further you MUST consider the extra pixels being pushed to the display on the 12.9. The 12.9 doesn't likely NEED 4gb either, but it may have gotten too close for comfort at 2gb and an odd number like 3gb made no sense based on whatever chips they used or could get.

With ALL of the other iOS devices with 2gb, no one is alienating their user bases anytime soon as maybe 1 out of 10,000 iPads in people's hands now will be a 12.9. I bet 2gb devices are supported easily for another 2 years from now still; so you lose nothing here. Expecting 4 years from a tablet is your own interpretation and expectation.

it's not being an apologist it's being realistic; and whining about it will not cause the IPP 9.7 to sprout 2gb more RAM either. Dont like it don't buy one or go buy an Air 2. Will the IPP 9.7 last 3-4 years? Who knows. But show me Apple's future-proofing guarantee. Oh wait, there is none? You mean they have a Board of Directors with duties to the stockholders to make profits like any other company and thus not cram specs into devices to last forever? Who woulda thunk it?!

End of story really.
 
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Apple needed something to make people upgrade. The iPad Pro 9,7" enabled Apple to charge more money stop offering the Air 2 with reasonable storage options.

The 9,7" Pro ist not a Pro at all. The 12,9" version is better suited for Pencil use, has more RAM and a larger battery.
There is really no point considering buying one right now.
That's my opinion, and I stand by that claim.

The True Tone Display is really just a small test for the upcoming phones.

Eh. It's a matter of use really. I see 9.7 as more of the standard Prosumer device while the 12.9 as the Pro Device. But as a pro device it's still a little pointless as there are no real pro apps. 9.7 is for mass appeal. RAM isn't an issue and won't be for years for the average user. My Air 2 will work fine for years.

Spec mongers are the only ones that have an issue with the lower RAM and slightly under clocked processor. This idea of "future proof" is just plain silly. By the time iOS actually needs the 4gb of RAM your A9X will be considered "too slow" for the Spec Mongers and they'll upgrade their 12.9 Pro anyway. Any way you cut it 4gb is currently a little pointless for people not running CAD or any actual Pro apps on their iPad. Which is probably why Apple just went with 2gb in the 9.7. I say this as a 12.9 owner. It's nice to have the huge screen but it's a bit of a cumbersome device to use on the go.
 
I think that the main obstacles keeping iPads from being PC replacements have more to do with the limitations of iOS than the spec limitations of the hardware. The Microsoft Surface 3 (Not the Pro, just the regular) has just 2 GB of RAM on the entry level model, runs full Windows 10, and can perform any function a laptop can. I find it hard to believe that iOS and its mobile apps needs more RAM to operate than Windows and desktop applications do.
But Windows and OS X programs do need "more RAM". The difference is both support virtual RAM/page files on HDD/SSD whereas I believe iOS does not. I've got 4GB RAM on one of my Windows 7 desktops and and if I drop the pagefile from 4GB to 1-2GB, I get error messages every few minutes about needing to close Firefox due to not enough memory. Chrome just crashes.

That said, I don't have any idea what the write amplification (ergo storage longevity) implications are for writing pagefiles to iPads which only have 16GB of storage. Then there's the matter of the pagefile eating a sizable chunk of a 16GB iPad's already limited storage.
 
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