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pdoherty

macrumors 65816
Dec 30, 2014
1,491
1,736
Generally speaking, RAM doesn't affect performance. RAM holds data like the gas tank in a car holds gas. Whether it's 10, 15, or 18 gallons, the cars performance is a product of the engine and transmission, not the size of the gas tank. And a computer's performance is dependent upon the CPU and GPU. RAM specs have influence, but not so much the RAM quantity.
Yes, the comparison will be less about performance and more about how the extra RAM *performs*; that is to say, how many and what size apps can be ran and remain resident in RAM and for how long.
 

isoft7

macrumors 6502a
Oct 3, 2011
965
564
They're already making these SOCs for the Macs, so that's why and it could be as simply for marketing purposes. Its not really costing them anything more, that is they're not creating a different manufacturing workflow for this - AFAIK, and why not? Gives them more reason to promote and market the top tier iPad to entice more people to buy it.

Just look at all of the people opting for MBPs with the max ram selection, most are doing it just for future proofing even if they know they won't need it. Same mentality imo.
I like this opinion... I mean, there's also a lot of personal satisfaction available to the consumer who feels they "have the best". Apple providing customers with an option to own the "best" specs is a win/win for their bottom line and for the buyers who have peace of mind know their configuration is as good as it gets.

I do wonder sometimes at the futureproofing argument though, as a lot of people who buy the best specs will repeat that process the second the newer generation is released thus never needing to protect themselves from the future in the first place. ;)
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,920
13,269
I do wonder sometimes at the futureproofing argument though, as a lot of people who buy the best specs will repeat that process the second the newer generation is released thus never needing to protect themselves from the future in the first place. ;)

I used my 2017 iPP 12.9 512GB LTE for 4 years (only 7% free space now) and my 2011 i5-2450M/16GB RAM/1TB SSD laptop until Windows 7 EOL (~9 years?). Granted, the 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD were aftermarket upgrades in 2013 that cost more than the laptop itself (upgraded from 1TB HDD to 1TB SSD immediately after the first consumer 1TB SSDs were released).

I reckon I can easily skip a couple of generations with the 2021 Pro 1TB. Storage is one of the primary reasons I'm upgrading from the 2017 iPP anyway and I expect 1TB will be comfortable for quite a while.

And really, the "futureproofing" you can do even on the iPad Pro is fairly limited. It's not like you're getting a 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 with 128GB RAM. 16GB isn't such a huge amount of RAM that majority will be going unused over the length of its service life.
 
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LFC2020

macrumors P6
Apr 4, 2020
16,874
38,037
These new M1 iPads with 8gb and 16gb ram are really impressive, these so called android tablets, if you can call them that, should give up now and leave the tablet market, they'll never get close to being anywhere near as good as a iPad.
 

Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,655
4,490
These new M1 iPads with 8gb and 16gb ram are really impressive, these so called android tablets, if you can call them that, should give up now and leave the tablet market, they'll never get close to being anywhere near as good as a iPad.
This sounds a little fanboyish... Let me quote another fanboy, an anti-Apple that recently replied to me on youtube, so that people see how you both are wrong... " iPads aren't computers which is why their market share has dropped from 80% to 34% over the pass decade. Also, 99% of what people do on an iPad can be done on an iPhone. It's 2021, not 2010...lol" (mistakes not corrected)
He is wrong because most of that market share is taken by cheap Android tablets, cheaper than even the base iPad, and you are wrong because Android tablets have their place in the market since they offer additional price points that iPad does not offer and, at the higher end, they offer options that haven't existed so far for iPads (OLED screens for instance) and offer some competition in terms of features (the iPad with all its mega specs can't still multitask anywhere near what Samsung dex can you when you plug in a monitor). So they have their place in the market and only fanboys could wish for them to give up an disappear....
 

LFC2020

macrumors P6
Apr 4, 2020
16,874
38,037
This sounds a little fanboyish... Let me quote another fanboy, an anti-Apple that recently replied to me on youtube, so that people see how you both are wrong... " iPads aren't computers which is why their market share has dropped from 80% to 34% over the pass decade. Also, 99% of what people do on an iPad can be done on an iPhone. It's 2021, not 2010...lol" (mistakes not corrected)
He is wrong because most of that market share is taken by cheap Android tablets, cheaper than even the base iPad, and you are wrong because Android tablets have their place in the market since they offer additional price points that iPad does not offer and, at the higher end, they offer options that haven't existed so far for iPads (OLED screens for instance) and offer some competition in terms of features (the iPad with all its mega specs can't still multitask anywhere near what Samsung dex can you when you plug in a monitor). So they have their place in the market and only fanboys could wish for them to give up an disappear....
Not fanboyish at all, the iPad is a proper tablet with proper tablet apps and software, while the android tablet if you can call it that, well no ones knows exactly what it's good for.

Wouldn't be adding $50 android tablets to the market share list, they're useless at doing anything?
 

Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,655
4,490
Not fanboyish at all, the iPad is a proper tablet with proper tablet apps and software, while the android tablet if you can call it that, well no ones knows exactly what it's good for.

Wouldn't be adding $50 android tablets to the market share list ?
Fanboys often do not realize that they are fanboys.... How about watching videos with an OLED Android tablet that has a better aspect ratio than the iPad for that and costs less, while at the same time some people buy iPads just for that....
$50 tablets are useless, $200 ones can be better than the base iPad for watching videos (Samsung A7, much better speakers and better aspect ratio)
 
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LFC2020

macrumors P6
Apr 4, 2020
16,874
38,037
Fanboys often do not realize that they are fanboys.... How about watching videos with an OLED Android tablet that has a better aspect ratio than the iPad for that and costs less, while at the same time people buy iPads just for that....

Yeah, no thanks, Oled screen with over saturated colours and on that cramped up aspect ratio of a screen, I'll stick to my mini led iPad Pro, cost less? 2 years software support, then you'll be buying a new one, in the long run my 7 years software updates will make my iPad way cheaper than a samsung so called tablet.
 

PBG4 Dude

macrumors 601
Jul 6, 2007
4,363
4,645
“What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.” — Michael Dell on what Steve Jobs should do with Apple shortly after Steve returned as Apple’s iCEO (i for interim, he was later permanently appointed CEO and the i was dropped).

Don’t get cocky and rule out the competition. Pretty sure that’s the moral of the tortoise and the hare story.
 
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Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,655
4,490
Yeah, no thanks, Oled screen with over saturated colours and on that cramped up aspect ratio of a screen, I'll stick to my mini led iPad Pro, cost less for 2 years software software support, then you'll be buying a new one, in the long run my 7 years software updates will make my iPad way cheaper than a samsung so called tablet.
Again this shows how little you know about the competition. Samsung new policy is 3 years of upgrades plus a 4th year of security, and videos work even after that... So no, people are not buying new ones every 2 years, on my Samsung I even got a 5 year warranty extention, and the oversaturated colors is you subjective opinion and it's completely possible to change the white balance, remove the saturation and even recalibrate the display for those that don't like it (many people love the vivid colors as they are)
 

LFC2020

macrumors P6
Apr 4, 2020
16,874
38,037
Again this shows how little you know about the competition. Samsung new policy is 3 years of upgrades plus a 4th year of security, and videos work even after that... So no, people are not buying new ones every 2 years, on my Samsung I even got a 5 year warranty extention, and the oversaturated colors is you subjective opinion and it's completely possible to change the white balance, remove the saturation and even recalibrate the display for those that don't like it (many people love the vivid colors as they are)
There is no competition mate, what competition are we talking about, Samsung Dex? ?‍♂️??? if you want a proper tablet experience, Only a iPad will do, even the entry model iPad runs rings around these so called flagship android tablets.

Even most diehard android fans recommend a iPad over a android tablet, even they say android tablets can’t compete with iPads when it comes to app support from developers, proper tablet apps and software.
 

Isengardtom

macrumors 65816
Feb 14, 2009
1,351
2,196
Samsung’s high end tablets are pretty good. I’d argue purely for video watching they are even slightly better because of the aspect ratio. For almost everything else, the iPad aspect ratio is better though in my view.

and I prefer the apple ecosystem. Samsung is working hard to compensate some of the android downsides when it comes to tablet optimised apps but it’s definitely not at the same level in many ways

Competition is good. Otherwise updates would become super incremental and progress would come to a stop.
 
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Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,655
4,490
There is no competition mate, what competition are we talking about, Samsung Dex? ?‍♂️??? if you want a proper tablet experience, Only a iPad will do, even the entry model iPad runs rings around these so called flagship android tablets.

Even most diehard android fans recommend a iPad over a android tablet, even they say android tablets can’t compete with iPads when it comes to app support from developers, proper tablet apps and software.
As much as I love iPads and have 7 of them... bias is bias and things are not black and white as you describe....
On the lower end Android tablets a lot of value for video watching, which again is what many people essentially do with low to mid range tablets.
On the high end, iPads have much better specs and better apps, but iPadOS, while more polished, is much more limited than what some Android tablets offer in terms of multitasking, monitor support and file system.
Many people don't use pro apps and Google and Microsoft apps are just as good on Android tablets than they are on iPad...
I use my iPads more than my Tab S7+, but for movie (and other videos) watching that thing is 200gr lighter than the 12.9in, has an even bigger screen for videos, has OLED since well before the excellent miniled and I can continue watching a video full screen on a monitor or tv by simply plugging it into the tablet and still use the tablet for other things... And the speakers are better than on my 12.9.
And it can be used as an external monitor for Windows with no third party app, with touch and sound.
For everything else that I do I use an iPad, but I am glad that I have other options too
 

Isengardtom

macrumors 65816
Feb 14, 2009
1,351
2,196
As much as I love iPads and have 7 of them... bias is bias and things are not black and white as you describe....
On the lower end Android tablets a lot of value for video watching, which again is what many people essentially do with low to mid range tablets.
On the high end, iPads have much better specs and better apps, but iPadOS, while more polished, is much more limited than what some Android tablets offer in terms of multitasking, monitor support and file system.
Many people don't use pro apps and Google and Microsoft apps are just as good on Android tablets than they are on iPad...
I use my iPads more than my Tab S7+, but for movie (and other videos) watching that thing is 200gr lighter than the 12.9in, has an even bigger screen for videos, has OLED since well before the excellent miniled and I can continue watching a video full screen on a monitor or tv by simply plugging it into the tablet and still use the tablet for other things... And the speakers are better than on my 12.9.
And it can be used as an external monitor for Windows with no third party app, with touch and sound.
For everything else that I do I use an iPad, but I am glad that I have other options too
Im hoping some of those things to come to the iPad Pro with iPadOS 15
 
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sparksd

macrumors G4
Jun 7, 2015
10,013
34,357
Seattle WA
This sounds a little fanboyish... Let me quote another fanboy, an anti-Apple that recently replied to me on youtube, so that people see how you both are wrong... " iPads aren't computers which is why their market share has dropped from 80% to 34% over the pass decade. Also, 99% of what people do on an iPad can be done on an iPhone. It's 2021, not 2010...lol" (mistakes not corrected)
He is wrong because most of that market share is taken by cheap Android tablets, cheaper than even the base iPad, and you are wrong because Android tablets have their place in the market since they offer additional price points that iPad does not offer and, at the higher end, they offer options that haven't existed so far for iPads (OLED screens for instance) and offer some competition in terms of features (the iPad with all its mega specs can't still multitask anywhere near what Samsung dex can you when you plug in a monitor). So they have their place in the market and only fanboys could wish for them to give up an disappear....

Apple has 36% of the tablet market, the other 64% being Android and some Chrome (Lenovo).
 

FrozenDarkness

macrumors 68000
Mar 21, 2009
1,832
1,124
the price difference between 8GB and 16GB ram is quite high ($700-$800). Don't think the performance differences seem worth it tbh.
 

nicetriangles

macrumors regular
Apr 25, 2021
157
385
Seattle / Amsterdam
the price difference between 8GB and 16GB ram is quite high ($700-$800). Don't think the performance differences seem worth it tbh.
I personally could not recommend the 16 gig model to anyone if they didn't need 1tb+ of storage right now because of the cap on ram usage per app. If they change that it'd be a different story.
 
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