iPad Pro 2021 iPad Pro vs Air 4

[iPadified]

I can and do earn money with my iPhone 12 mini, as well as iPad Air 4. ? Apple’s “Pro” is merely an indicator for the most advanced hardware = higher price. Software-wise it is all very similar, so it all depends on what you need & like, IMO.

Like the Mac.

 

[rui no onna]

So the ipad air model will disappear? Profits over customers? How did Enron end up?

Why will the Air disappear? Just saying Apple will likely maintain the current status quo as far as chipset used:

iPad: 2-3 generations old A-series SoC

iPad Air: current or last gen A-series SoC

iPad Pro: AX, now M-series SoC

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

Why will the Air disappear? Just saying Apple will likely maintain the current status quo as far as chipset used:

iPad: 2-3 generations old A-series SoC

iPad Air: current or last gen A-series SoC

iPad Pro: AX, now M-series SoC

But do we think they will keep making a separate A series? Or will M series be in everything now?

 

[rui no onna]

But do we think they will keep making a separate A series? Or will M series be in everything now?

Given iPhones are Apple's bread and butter where small size, thermals and low power consumption are extremely important, yes, I think we'll continue to have A-series.

Apple sells around 200 million iPhones a year. Meanwhile, they sell around 20-30 million Macs and 30-40 million iPads.

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

Given iPhones are Apple's bread and butter where small size, thermals and low power consumption are extremely important, yes, I think we'll continue to have A-series.

Apple sells around 200 million iPhones a year. Meanwhile, they sell around 20-30 million Macs and 30-40 million iPads.

Gotcha, I don't know anything about the A versus M. Didn't know there was a size difference.

 

[snipr125]

Making iPad Air “disappear” will be as unwise as removing iPhone 12, IMO. Both are Apple’s mid-line devices with a good price/features balance and thus are very popular. Besides, Air 5 could inherit an M1 chip in 2022. No issues there.

It could probably make more sense to discontinue iPad Pro 11”, actually, depending on how well they sell.

What we know for sure is that Apple’s most popular iPad worldwide is their regular iPad.

One more, would you prefer the Air 5 to inherit the M1, or would you rather it had the A16 Bionic (if released on Sept/Oct 2022). Personally I would much rather the A16 bionic which will be more modern and efficient, and will probably have faster single core performance and maybe equal multicore performance to the M1 chip (will be 2 years old in 2022).

 

[I7guy]

Why will the Air disappear? Just saying Apple will likely maintain the current status quo as far as chipset used:

iPad: 2-3 generations old A-series SoC

iPad Air: current or last gen A-series SoC

iPad Pro: AX, now M-series SoC

Do you think the m1 in the ipad is different than the Macbook and that should be called the AX?

 

[rui no onna]

Gotcha, I don't know anything about the A versus M. Didn't know there was a size difference.

A14 and M1 essentially use the same cores (with M1 getting some Mac specific optimizations).

If you look at previous and current gen:

A12 & A14
2x high power CPU cores
4x low power CPU cores
4x GPU cores

A12X/Z & M1
4x high power CPU cores
4x low power CPU cores
8x GPU cores (1 GPU core disabled on A12X and on select M1 Macs)
2x memory bandwidth

You need more silicon to accommodate all that extra stuff on the AX/Z and M series SoCs.

In future, what will happen is we'll get M1 level performance on a smaller, lower power A15 or A16 SoC. Pretty much how technology has usually progressed. The A12 performs similar to the A10X and the A14 performs similar to A12X/Z.

 

[rui no onna]

Do you think the m1 in the ipad is different than the Macbook and that should be called the AX?

Apple already said they're the same chip. Probably not worth the cost to make a separate AX chip that removes all the Mac specific optimizations.

 

[one more]

One more, would you prefer the Air 5 to inherit the M1, or would you rather it had the A16 Bionic (if released on Sept/Oct 2022). Personally I would much rather the A16 bionic which will be more modern and efficient, and will probably have faster single core performance and maybe equal multicore performance to the M1 chip (will be 2 years old in 2022).

The most important upgrade incentive for me, personally, would be a nice OLED screen on it. 128 GB base model storage and 6-8 GB of RAM will be a plus as well, but not crucial, considering current iPadOS limitations. Chip-wise, A15-16 or M1 will all be fine for my use. ?

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

A14 and M1 essentially use the same cores (with M1 getting some Mac specific optimizations).

If you look at previous and current gen:

A12 & A14
2x high power CPU cores
4x low power CPU cores
4x GPU cores

A12X/Z & M1
4x high power CPU cores
4x low power CPU cores
8x GPU cores (1 GPU core disabled on A12X and on select M1 Macs)
2x memory bandwidth

You need more silicon to accommodate all that extra stuff on the AX/Z and M series SoCs.

In future, what will happen is we'll get M1 level performance on a smaller, lower power A15 or A16 SoC. Pretty much how technology has usually progressed. The A12 performs similar to the A10X and the A14 performs similar to A12X/Z.

Thanks for that!

 

[jsmith1]

One more, would you prefer the Air 5 to inherit the M1, or would you rather it had the A16 Bionic (if released on Sept/Oct 2022). Personally I would much rather the A16 bionic which will be more modern and efficient, and will probably have faster single core performance and maybe equal multicore performance to the M1 chip (will be 2 years old in 2022).

For sure, I would never want an M1 chip in the current iPad design…computers hate heat and that chip is way over the current design but they had to offload them somehow.

 

[Digitalguy]

For sure, I would never want an M1 chip in the current iPad design…computers hate heat and that chip is way over the current design but they had to offload them somehow.

M1 is efficient enough for the 11/10.9 design. It's similar to A12X/Z. It won't go into the air because of Apple line of products, not because of efficiency. But A15/16 will be plenty powerful. Honestly even A14 is. The limitation is RAM, not CPU/GPU power at this point...

 

[rui no onna]

M1 is efficient enough for the 11/10.9 design. It's similar to A12X/Z. It won't go into the air because of Apple line of products, not because of efficiency. But A15/16 will be plenty powerful. Honestly even A14 is. The limitation is RAM, not CPU/GPU power at this point...

Yep. I'd love to get an Air 4 with A14, 8GB and 1TB for $1000. Alas, that's a pipe dream.

 

[jsmith1]

M1 is efficient enough for the 11/10.9 design. It's similar to A12X/Z. It won't go into the air because of Apple line of products, not because of efficiency. But A15/16 will be plenty powerful. Honestly even A14 is. The limitation is RAM, not CPU/GPU power at this point...

Reread, wasn’t talking about efficiency…heat from chip way over design of iPad

 

[coolguy4747]

Like the Mac.

Wish they'd stuck to the PowerPC naming conventions.

iPhone 12 = iPhone 12
iPhone 12 Pro = PowerPhone 12
iPad/iPad Air = iPad/iPad Air
iPad Pro = PowerPad

Golden.

 

[jsmith1]

Yep. I'd love to get an Air 4 with A14, 8GB and 1TB for $1000. Alas, that's a pipe dream.

I would settle for that except with 256gb, should be around $699 more with cellular

 

[kazmac]

Yes, seems the heat issue is a bigger issue than being let on by Apple and some users but it’s makes sense as there are no cooling features in the iPad verses computers even laptops and they keep putting hotter and hotter chips in from leftover stock to be able to justify their price hike.

At some point there will have to be a new design, cooler chip or end of life speed upgrade and really it’s not needed anyway as a sidepiece.

I’m waiting for the next gen Air myself hopefully there will be ID options other than Face ID kept in it too as Face ID on iPads suck when using solely in landscape mode.

good feedback maybe it will help someone not to make the mistake as well.

The heat has been an issue for years. Disappointing. I knew the M1s would run hotter, but when I started seeing the exact same issues in Procreate as a result (and missed the Touch ID in the power button too), I went back to the Air. I hope the Mini gets the Air 2020 specs too.

If the next Air has the same features as this one, I may upgrade it.

 

[jsmith1]

Report: Apple to Release 5th-Gen iPad Air With OLED Display Next Year

Apple plans to release a 10.8-inch iPad with an OLED display next year, followed by the company's second iPad with an OLED display in 2023,...

www.macrumors.com

 

[jsmith1]

Goodbye pro

 

[snipr125]

Goodbye pro

I don’t know, I think both the Air and Pro 11 can co-exist, like the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro both having the same screen size, with the Pro model offering more premium materials, more RAM, telephoto lens etc. However, the Air 4 is cannibalising the Pro 11 sales, thats for sure, and the Air 5 with an OLED screen is going to be even more enticing for the masses.

 

[darngooddesign]

A refurbished 2018/2020 iPad Pro would be similar in price to the iPad Air and give you the better speakers, screen and 2GB more RAM than the Air. Just have to wait for one.

 

[darngooddesign]

Wish they'd stuck to the PowerPC naming conventions.

iPhone 12 = iPhone 12
iPhone 12 Pro = PowerPhone 12
iPad/iPad Air = iPad/iPad Air
iPad Pro = PowerPad

Golden.

iPad Air = iPadCentris

 

[jsmith1]

I don’t know, I think both the Air and Pro 11 can co-exist, like the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro both having the same screen size, with the Pro model offering more premium materials, more RAM, telephoto lens etc. However, the Air 4 is cannibalising the Pro 11 sales, thats for sure, and the Air 5 with an OLED screen is going to be even more enticing for the masses.

Yes for sure…I meant for me if the 5 is all that with 6gb ram no need for a pro for many

 

[rui no onna]

A refurbished 2018/2020 iPad Pro would be similar in price to the iPad Air and give you the better speakers, screen and 2GB more RAM than the Air. Just have to wait for one.

Unless you buy the 1TB model, the 2018 iPP has the same 4GB RAM as the iPad Air.

Besides, there's no guarantee on availability of refurbs. I was checking the Apple certified refurb store throughout 2019 and 2020 for 2018 iPP 1TB LTE refurbs and the well was pretty dry.