Only the 1TB and 2TB iPad Pros feature the full M4 core count and 16GB of RAM

[midian182]

Why it matters: There's been a lot of interest surrounding Apple's reveal of the latest iPad Pro this week, given that the tablet is the first device to pack its new M4 chip. Cupertino talked a lot about the SoC's performance, but what it wasn't too keen to mention was that its four high-performance CPU cores are only available in iPad Pro models with 1TB and 2TB of storage.

Apple's Let Loose event saw rumors of an M4-powered OLED iPad Pro confirmed. Much of the presentation was dedicated to talking about the new chip and its "up to" ten CPU cores, made up of four high-performance cores and six efficiency cores.

Apple used the words "up to" for a reason. The iPad Pro's spec page reveals only the 1TB and 2TB models have all four high-performance CPU cores. The 256GB and 512GB iPad Pros use a version of the M4 with three of these cores enabled.

It's not just an extra high-performance core that buyers of more expensive iPad Pros receive: The 1TB and 2TB tablets have 16GB of memory, while the 256GB and 512GB models come with 8GB.

Different RAM amounts based on an iPad's storage capacity is something Apple has done in the past, but the different CPU core count is a first.

Opting for more storage significantly increases the price of the iPad Pro. The 11-inch version costs $999 for 256GB, $1,199 for 512GB, $1,599 for 1TB, and $1,999 for 2TB. The 13-inch iPad Pro, meanwhile, starts at $1,299 and increases to $1,499, $1,899, and $2,299 based on storage size.

The rest of the M4 specs, including the 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 120GB/s of memory bandwidth, are found across all iPad Pro models. The new iPad Air models all come with exactly the same M2 chip and 8GB of RAM.

As pointed out by Ars Technica, this isn't just a way for Apple to push people onto its more expensive iPads, though that will certainly play a part. Slightly flawed chips made using the advanced 3nm process can be partially disabled and used in the cheaper iPads instead of having to dispose of the silicon, aka chip binning.

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Only the 1TB and 2TB iPad Pros feature the full M4 core count and 16GB of RAM

 

[Nelson28]

Sneaky move by Apple! So the super fast M4 chip in the new iPad Pro only comes in the most expensive models? Bummer for anyone hoping for mid-tier performance without the maxed-out price tag. Sounds like they're using less-than-perfect chips too, but hey, at least they're not throwing them away!

 

[Dimitriid]

Didn't watch this keynote but I don't think they changed much on the ipad 'Pro' which is well, not very pro at all since it's very slowly getting feature and software parity with macos (Instead of the decisions that would make more sense of just letting the tablets run full macos): It's a shame than an actual professional would probably get a lot more use of the now humble 13" original M1 macbook air than the shiniest 14" full spec ipad pro simply because he probably can't run most you know, software professionals need to use.

While I expect ipados updates and software dev support to eventually get better for pro ipads, they're still just hyper specific to like a single type of user that really needs the portability and touch screen + stylus usage and the power to actually manually retouch like high def pictures. So if you're a photographer that needs to do some edits on the field or a graphic designer that needs to work as a starbucks hobo everyday then these might absolutely be for you otherwise...meh.

 

[BabaYaga]

"Apple used the words "up to" for a reason. The iPad Pro's spec page reveals only the 1TB and 2TB models have all four high-performance CPU cores. The 256GB and 512GB iPad Pros use a version of the M4 with three of these cores enabled."

First, that's how it's always been. Second, how is this different from AMD offering 6, 8, 12, or 16 cores which also come with various cache sizes?

I got my Ipad Pro 3rd gen with 512GB just to get the 6GB of RAM instead of 4GB in lower tiers.

Macbook does the same thing with cores. I don't have an issue with pay more for more cores. How's this any different when picking a CPU or GPU? You're not getting more cores for free. AMD has up to 16 cores.

Apple M3 Pro chip with 12‑core CPU, 18‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
Apple M3 Max chip with 14‑core CPU, 30‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine+ $400.00
Apple M3 Max chip with 16‑core CPU, 40‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine+ $700.00

 

[waclark]

They may not have been specific at the event, but the data is clearly posted up on the web site,
https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/?modelList=ipad-pro-13-m4,ipad-pro-11-m4,ipad-air-13-m2

Just jump to the Chip section of the page. It's all there.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Apparently Techspot just wants to Apple-bash cause it's popular and gets clicks...

This is not a story: newsflash, to get the best CPU, one must pay more money! Wow...

 

[yRaz]

First, that's how it's always been. Second, how is this different from AMD offering 6, 8, 12, or 16 cores which also come with various cache sizes?

Well, each part of the CCD has a certain amount of cache attached to it. You can have a CCD with 6 functional cores on an 8 core chiplet, the cache attached to the 2 bad cores is inaccessible. There is also the 3d vcache where they use a very exotic and expensive process to add more cache to by vertically stacking it on top of the chiplet.

 

[BabaYaga]

Apparently Techspot just wants to Apple-bash cause it's popular and gets clicks...

This is not a story: newsflash, to get the best CPU, one must pay more money! Wow...

Apple and Tesla are hot. They get clicks. I don't mind informative technical stuff but not complete nonsense just to make up articles.