by vintagedave 18 hours ago
My current iPad is the iPad Air 3 (the one with the backlight issue that's never been acknowledged, to my understanding.)
Can someone explain to me why an iPad at all, let alone an iPad Air, needs as powerful a processor as a M4? That's stronger than my laptop (a M2) where I run multiple VMs and more.
The newer CPUs are more efficient and faster. In a mobile format you want the CPU to process everything as fast as possible and then return to a low power mode for battery life.
Apple re-uses the same core across their lineup because it’s cheaper to build 100 million of the same core than to design and maintain two separate CPUs that go into 50 million devices each.
The cpu is better but the software is worse and more bloated so they fight against each other
This sums up my entire experience with technology progress over the past 40 years.
The traditional expression of this idea is "What Andy giveth, Bill taketh away".
The names are different now, but they were always metonymic.
And of course, those of us in the Motorola/Apple ecosystem didn't have the same problems. :)
40 years from now we won't be able to boot our device until an LLM codes the software on the fly for it. (Each time it boots, of course.)
Do they really do it just because it's cheaper? I thought they did it for each generation to offer the best of that generation; it makes sense for more powerful chips to have more cores and higher capacity, but it doesn't make sense for each core to arbitrarily be less efficient or less performant just because you didn't buy more of them. Especially because this approach makes the base models an extraordinarily high value compared to base models from competitors.
I have an iPad Pro (2018) with A12X processor which at one point was a "holy crap this this is incredibly fast for how thin it is" device.
8 years later the local apps still run fast, but it struggles with web browsing.
Which is to say, you need a fast processor or web developers will out-bloat your device capabilities in a few years.
Yeah, devs using top of the line MBPs and taking a “works on my machine” attitude keeps web bloat on a constant incline.
I sometimes wish it were an industry norm for devs (a group of which I am a member) to be required to use a $300 Walmart special laptop for a week every two months.
The processor is still fast enough, the ram is too small for modern web apps.
Good point, also likely 8 years of OS bloat leaving less RAM for the browser.
2018 was iOS 12 which was a very good year for iOS optimization, things have been downhill since then.
I have 4 GB which is typical for these, and admittedly low by modern standards. The 1 TB model had 6 GB but was $1750.
I have an iPad for the purpose of 3D modeling in Nomad Sculpt and Shapr3D. It’s an M2 Air, it’s still way overkill, and I’m regularly frustrated at how limited every piece of iPadOS software is compared to the hardware. The dichotomy of prioritizing iPad hardware but iPadOS being arguably their worst actively developed software is baffling.
Maybe there are people out there doing 8k video editing on their Pros, but I’ve yet to meet them.
Apple seems to prioritize hardware upgrades without matching the software capabilities, which is evident for users like you. It’s frustrating to have powerful devices that can’t fully utilize their potential due to OS limitations.
It's Operations Management 101.
It's cheaper to use an old generation CPU, than the effort needed to design and manufacture a custom iPad-only chip.
Same reason why the Studio Display uses binned iPhone chips.
In theory it improves battery life by doing more for less power. It also future proofs it for future workloads giving it an extended lifespan. Also note that thermals will limit what this is capable of compared to your laptop.
There are some decently powerful apps available, like Final Cut Pro, and there is multi-window support including external displays.
I think the percentage of iPad users actually using this level of processing power is small, but there are some ways to do it.
I do really wish they would just allow running a VM on an iPad though at this point. Running a linux or even MacOS VM would be a nice escape valve for a lot of things that can't be done natively.
Can you explain, why not? If it’s easier for Apple to just maintain a fewer series of chips going forward, why not keep it up to date?
If your question is what do people use it for? Well thats different. iPads have a range of users from people who just browse the internet and will never stress this out, to people who do concept art and CAD who will appreciate the power.
But again, why do people always complain that a device got a spec bump?
In theory an iPad is a computer and then you could run whatever you want on it. So maybe the better question is, why can't you run whatever you want on it?
They make those, don't they? They're called MacBook Air?
So the difference is a keyboard? If I attach a keyboard into my iPad, why can't I do all the same?
Some creative workflows genuinely benefit from the tablet form factor. I often do serious photo editing on the iPad because I have access to Apple Pencil, and, somehow, holding the thing in my hands like an actual physical object activates some different more analog brain region for me than using a laptop / desktop, and it’s helpful to my creative process. Lightroom for iPad is quite capable but it requires some power.
And then visual artists are often using Procreate, and those files can get heavy as well.
Plus, it’s nice to carry my iPad around with me in a sling and work in a cafe whenever I feel like it. I wouldn’t want to do that with my 16” MBP.
Photoshop and video editing. Until the M chips, the app options were slim, and now iPads get new M chips as they come out.
You might ask — doesn’t it suck to do either on an iPad? Yep, yet even on my iPhone, I use Photoshop all the time.
VMs are not very CPU demanding usually — usually more RAM demanding.
How do you do any productivity on it if getting files in and out is such a pain?
I had M4 iPad PRO and is just collecting dust. Too clunky to use.
If you're in the apple ecosystem, the "normal" way is to just literally drag and drop files between devices with your mouse, use airdrop, copy on one device then paste on another, etc. "Continuity" makes it stupidly easy, but not advertised well.
The Files app can connect to SMB locations.
You can attach a USB drive. The Pro models have Thunderbolt.
Try running liuliu's 'Draw Things' app, or any other tool that generates AI images locally.
They don't need it. Apple is introducing new hardware for the sake of introducing new hardware.
Personally, they need to put the iPad on a two-year release cycle and focus on improving iPad OS.
I assume it's an economies of scale thing now.
It's not like Apple is putting any thought into either the UX or the engineering side of utilising the compute properly (except calculating those glass effects extra inefficiently).
Minimise SKUs and get some use out of the binned chips who have a few failed cores.
I wonder if a big part of it is simplification at Apples end. It’s just easier and more cost effective to make more M4s regardless of where they end up?
It doesn’t necessarily need it other than for niche use cases, but they can’t well have the SoCs stagnate for many years, because SoC updates drive upgrades, whether the buyers really need it or not.
Besides what the other commentators have said — if you're buying an iPad today, wouldn't you rather have the newest/best processor in it?
Poor software quality, especially websites
Now you can bring the power and convenience of your laptop to iPad with just a single VNC connection. Oh wait…
VNC and other Remote Desktop solutions work, I use an app called Screens to remotely manage my Macs and PC from an iPad with keyboard and mouse.
Or did you mean the other way around? It would be great to have the iPhone mirroring feature on iPads.
> Can someone explain to me why an iPad at all, let alone an iPad Air, needs as powerful a processor as a M4?
Because marketing? Seriously, the people I see using iPads in coffee shops are rich retired dudes looking at the news on it.
Because fanbois don't want to wait another year for M5?
Pure marketing, in a couple years it will start lagging doing basic web surfing, like every other iOS device
That has never been true. My iPhone 15 Pro and iPad M1 have no lag.
Those devices are too young to start lagging. Eventually websites will bloat to the point that you will definitely notice. My estimate is that it will be at the 7 year point.
7 years seems a bit beyond a couple of years. And past the life of most any Apple device.