6GB RAM in lower model found

[macduke]

i was browsing Geekbench again this morning and saw a new model pop up with a curious result.

So far we’ve seen iPad8,8 with 6GB RAM and iPad 8,3 with 4GB RAM. But I just found an iPad 8,2 with 6GB of RAM. What do you guys make of this?

https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/10575276

Can anyone decode how these model identifiers are working? Is it possible that LTE models are getting more RAM or something? Only thing I could find was Wikipedia listing iPad 8,1 through 8,4 as iPad Pro 11” and iPad8,5 through 8,8 as 12.9” third gen. But that’s also Wikipedia so who knows. Seems like they map to 64, 256, 512, and 1024GB. But why would iPad 8,2 have more RAM then? If model identifier doesn’t correlate with LTE, but the 256GB model is iPad 8,2 and the 512GB model is iPad 8,3 then what exactly is going on here? Is it maybe an LTE thing too?

 

[Dovahkiing]

8.2 and 8.4 seem to be the 1TB models of the 11" where 8.1 and 8.3 are the lower memory configurations.

 

[yegon]

One definite is that it isn't tied to LTE or not.

I cancelled my 512gb and ordered a 1TB today. Original order was scheduled for launch day, now I'll be waiting till Nov 26 - Dec 3, but heyho! I'll live

I usually skip every other iPad so the 6gb ram will add some longevity.

 

[macdaddy1991]

If only the 1TB models having 6gb proves true. I may be returning my 12.9” and waiting until 2019/2020 for the update as those will surely get ram increases.

 

[macduke]

8.2 and 8.4 seem to be the 1TB models of the 11" where 8.1 and 8.3 are the lower memory configurations.

Why would there be two IDs for 11” 1TB and two IDs shared by the other three sizes? Makes no sense. There are four sizes and four IDs.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

One is 11 and one is 12.9? Just a guess though, but pretty much confirmed only the 1 TB has 6 gigs.

 

[macdaddy1991]

Why would there be two IDs for 11” 1TB and two IDs shared by the other three sizes? Makes no sense. There are four sizes and four IDs.

There is also wifi and LTE models

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Why would there be two IDs for 11” 1TB and two IDs shared by the other three sizes? Makes no sense. There are four sizes and four IDs.

8.2 is WiFi. 8.4 is WiFi + cellular. 8.1 and 8.3 are WiFi / cellular models that aren’t 1TB in storage size.

 

[lewisd25]

Everyone is assuming that the two extra gigs of ram will have a noticeable system wide benefit, but that isn’t proven yet. I would wait before switching orders to 1tb to allow folks to fully compare performance.

 

[macdaddy1991]

Everyone is assuming that the two extra gigs of ram will have a noticeable system wide benefit, but that isn’t proven yet. I would wait before switching orders to 1tb to allow folks to fully compare performance.

Right now there is probably no benefit but in a year or two there sure will be when iPad pros are shipping with 6 or 8gb of ram standard

 

[macduke]

One is 11 and one is 12.9? Just a guess though, but pretty much confirmed only the 1 TB has 6 gigs.

Nobody ever proved it, there is no source for it other than a developer saying someone told him that. He didn't actually prove it by digging through the software like he normally does.

The 8,8 model and 8,2 model in Geekbench has confirmed 6GB of RAM. Other people are saying 8,4 also has 6GB of RAM.

What's weird is if you look at the 10.5" and 2nd gen 12.9" models, here is how the model identifiers work:

iPad7,1 : iPad Pro 12.9" 2nd gen WiFi in sizes 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB in all colors.
iPad7,2 : iPad Pro 12.9" 2nd gen LTE in sizes 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB in all colors.

iPad7,3 : iPad Pro 10.5" 2nd gen WiFi in sizes 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB in all colors.
iPad7,4 : iPad Pro 10.5" 2nd gen LTE in sizes 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB in all colors.

So the lower numbers are for the bigger iPad. Interesting. And model identifiers don't seem to indicate how much storage either. And yet we have four model numbers per device now? Is it region-specific LTE? Maybe we can't actually rely on model identifiers to determine storage capacity? Not sure what to make of this. Could really use some help with this as I've never dug this deep into the model identifier weeds before.
[doublepost=1541083549][/doublepost]

There is also wifi and LTE models

See above.

 

[flur]

Right now there is probably no benefit but in a year or two there sure will be when iPad pros are shipping with 6 or 8gb of ram standard

This is my concern as well. But I don’t need a terabyte of storage and the upcharge to get it is too high for me, so it just stinks.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

Everyone is assuming that the two extra gigs of ram will have a noticeable system wide benefit, but that isn’t proven yet. I would wait before switching orders to 1tb to allow folks to fully compare performance.

While true, and I have no issues with the 4 gigs in the previous model. I wish I would have known as I ordered 512, I would have gone 1 TB had I known it had more ram.

 

[lewisd25]

Right now there is probably no benefit but in a year or two there sure will be when iPad pros are shipping with 6 or 8gb of ram standard

Again, you are making the assumption that the extra ram is directly beneficial to the entire OS, and that may not be the case. Apple didn’t put the extra ram in the 1TB model just because they felt like it, there must be a technical reason for it. That doesn’t mean that the end user will benefit from it.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

Nobody ever proved it, there is no source for it other than a developer saying someone told him that. He didn't actually prove it by digging through the software like he normally does.

The 8,8 model and 8,2 model in Geekbench has confirmed 6GB of RAM. Other people are saying 8,4 also has 6GB of RAM.

What's weird is if you look at the 10.5" and 2nd gen 12.9" models, here is how the model identifiers work:

iPad7,1 : iPad Pro 12.9" 2nd gen WiFi in sizes 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB in all colors.
iPad7,2 : iPad Pro 12.9" 2nd gen LTE in sizes 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB in all colors.

iPad7,3 : iPad Pro 10.5" 2nd gen WiFi in sizes 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB in all colors.
iPad7,4 : iPad Pro 10.5" 2nd gen LTE in sizes 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB in all colors.

So the lower numbers are for the bigger iPad. Interesting. And model identifiers don't seem to indicate how much storage either. And yet we have four model numbers per device now? Is it region-specific LTE? Maybe we can't actually rely on model identifiers to determine storage capacity? Not sure what to make of this. Could really use some help with this as I've never dug this deep into the model identifier weeds before.
[doublepost=1541083549][/doublepost]
See above.

Gotcha, may not be proven. Was just what apple told several journalists at the event. I wish, hope, that you are right. But I don't think you are.

 

[flur]

While true, and I have no issues with the 4 gigs in the previous model. I wish I would have known as I ordered 512, I would have gone 1 TB had I known it had more ram.

I would have gone 256, because I’ll be replacing it sooner.

 

[macduke]

Okay, here is another thought:

If the model identifier has nothing to do with storage and everything to do with WiFi/LTE, then perhaps there are four identifiers because the extra RAM models have their own ID? So 8,1 could be 64-512GB WiFi, 8,2 1TB WiFi, 8,3 64-512GB LTE, 8,4 1TB LTE, and so on for the other size. This would explain why there are so many model identifiers, and possibly confirm our fears. But we don't know for certain yet which capacities could be grouped under the lower RAM and higher RAM groups. Just a fairly prominent developer with anonymous sources. But my hope is waning.
[doublepost=1541083987][/doublepost]

Gotcha, may not be proven. Was just what apple told several journalists at the event. I wish, hope, that you are right. But I don't think you are.

Do you have a source for that? If they actually told people then I'll accept it, but I haven't seen anyone specifically say that.

 

[rui no onna]

Why would there be two IDs for 11” 1TB and two IDs shared by the other three sizes? Makes no sense. There are four sizes and four IDs.

Seems like it's based on motherboard model. The 64-512GB have J###AP motherboards. The 1TB have J###xAP.

The fact that they have different motherboards point to 1TB models having extra RAM.

https://www.theiphonewiki.com/wiki/Models#iPad

 

[iapplelove]

I’m still going with the poor mans 64gb version of the bigger one.

4gb is plenty for how I use my iPads. I will get 4 years easy out of this one.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

Okay, here is another thought:

If the model identifier has nothing to do with storage and everything to do with WiFi/LTE, then perhaps there are four identifiers because the extra RAM models have their own ID? So 8,1 could be 64-512GB WiFi, 8,2 1TB WiFi, 8,3 64-512GB LTE, 8,4 1TB LTE, and so on for the other size. This would explain why there are so many model identifiers, and possibly confirm our fears. But we don't know for certain yet which capacities could be grouped under the lower RAM and higher RAM groups. Just a fairly prominent developer with anonymous sources. But my hope is waning.
[doublepost=1541083987][/doublepost]
Do you have a source for that? If they actually told people then I'll accept it, but I haven't seen anyone specifically say that.

I don't, just all the reports on twitter and news articles. They may have all been using the same developer source, I don't know, as I said, I hope you are right.

 

[macduke]

Seems like it's based on motherboard model. The 64-512GB have J###AP motherboards. The 1TB have J###xAP.

The fact that they have different motherboards point to 1TB models having extra RAM.

https://www.theiphonewiki.com/wiki/Models#iPad

I still have to wonder why Apple did this. It just seems so odd. Do you need a certain minimum amount of RAM to address an SSD that large? There has to be some reason for it because you'd think they'd have advertised this to push more people to get the most expensive model. Apple usually does things deliberately, whether we think it was a dumb idea or not, there is always some reason. They wouldn't go out of their way to engineer a separate logic board for such an expensive and unpopular configuration for no good reason. Remember, Cook is all about efficient supply chains. More model identifiers, more problems.
[doublepost=1541084455][/doublepost]

I don't, just all the reports on twitter and news articles. They may have all been using the same developer source, I don't know, as I said, I hope you are right.

Yeah, and we still don't have confirmation about which GB ranges are included with these "x" logic boards. You'd think if they were going to go out of their way to make an additional logic board design with it's own separate model identifier that it would be offered in at least two capacities. I'd be willing to move up to 512GB if that is the case. 1TB is priced crazy though and I can't imagine them selling that many to make it worth the extra model.

 

[rui no onna]

I still have to wonder why Apple did this. It just seems so odd. Do you need a certain minimum amount of RAM to address an SSD that large?

Samsung 860 EVO
256GB: 512MB
512GB: 512MB
1TB: 1GB
2TB: 2GB
4TB: 4GB

 

[macduke]

Samsung 860 EVO
256GB: 512MB
512GB: 512MB
1TB: 1GB
2TB: 2GB
4TB: 4GB

Is that a system requirements list or like a memory buffer included in each drive? Because if that's the case, then perhaps we won't even be able to use part of this RAM if Apple is restricting it for system use. But then again, Geekbench seems able to access it.

Does anyone know if Geekbench actually uses the full amount of RAM when testing, or if it's just reporting the amount?

 

[rui no onna]

Is that a system requirements list or like a memory buffer included in each drive?

That's what's included in each drive. AnandTech has a pretty good explanation as to the why (something to do with mapping/addressing).

 

[darkarn]

I may be a old fuddy duddy but I prefer my RAM to be divisible by 4, so this 6 GB news does not faze me much

But still, quite curious why Apple would want to conceal this info in the first place? This can be used for marketing too you know