They will change it, since the current caps is for 6GB devices, but there is very little chance that they will move it above 7GB, so the 16GB devices will only serve for less reloads, not for apps. We'll know soon but that's what they have done so far whenever there were 2 different RAM version of the same chip. Again I wouldn't speculate too much on why then 16GB, since it was already part of the M1 and can also incentivize higher storage tiers... (just like 6GB in 2018)
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro 8vs 16gb real performance comparsion
- Thread starter Delarock
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
iPadOS can’t build swapfiles to simulate RAM like macOS can.
Even if they move it to 7 I don't think it warrants the price increase. Also that is not an assumption I would comfortably recommend anybody base that big of a purchase decision on
I absolutely agree and I have said it already. 16GB makes sense only if you would have bought 1TB anyway or if you are on the fence between 512 and 1TB, otherwise it is of little use other than for keeping apps open for longer (and as max tech showed not even that actually, since the 8GB actually kept more apps open than the 16GB one, so the RAM management algorithm seems to act somewhat randomly...)
How are you determining that price? Are you ignoring the screen and the extra storage that comes with getting 1TB or higher storage?
yeah the extra difference is actually $400 (200 for the storage increase and 200 for the RAM, just like on Macs, except that here the 2 are bundled), but I guess he is starting from the base model...
Last edited:
Probably wouldn't make a difference regardless. The MacBook air isn't handicapped based on another video from the reviewer
You do get the extra storage in that price jump, but it is definitely a big jump. I imagine if they had a lower price option for 16 GB of RAM with 128/256 GB of storage it might be pretty popular.
not sure about the screen, i'm just comparing to base ipad pro.
i mean the storage is only worth it if you want it.
Right now it doesn't seem that there is because I believe that Apple has limited the RAM usage for apps and there is no difference between how much the 8 GB iPad is allowed to use and how much the 16 GB iPad is allowed to use.
I’m not sure about what type of computing you have done but Ram effects performance. If you run out of ram it’s going to page your ssd, it you have a large ssd you will probably never notice it though. I picked a base model 16” mbp and it only had 16 gigs and it would average only around 5 gigs free before using heavy apps like photoshop. When I exchanged it for a 32gig model it was a world of difference. More ram give you more headroom For doing multiple things at once typically. If you are working with high megapixel Raw photos, 4K video especially 10bit or higher etc you’ll notice the difference. (At least one win/Mac). I have the 1tb iPad Pro and it flys. Was it worth the money going up from 512, I’m not sure but all I know is that it is so fast it blows my mind plus I just got a canon r5 and want to be able to edit 8k. If you have the money for it the 1tb go for it but I’m pretty sure the base Model will be just fine especially if you aren’t using 5k, 6k or 8k video. Disclaimer- 8 gigs of ram is 2 more than the high end 2020 iPad Pro so it more than likely would be ok until your next upgrade.
Last edited:
That guy’s probably just guessing. Resolution is the same across the board. Storage, even the high end SSDs just use 1GB RAM per 1TB NAND flash, and Apple has been fine using 6GB RAM for previous 1TB models.
Could be. But I think they are going to expand the pro apps available on the iPad which would benefit from the ram.
Whatever sales person told you that was doing a darn good job... that is, they're selling, I mean that sincerely, because thats the biggest load of BS I've heard in a long time. ?
I actually really hope so, while I went for the 8gb config, more out of price consideration than anything else... I'd love to see all this horsepower get used for something beyond allowing me to just fire up Call of Duty 1.3 seconds quicker than on my 2020 model.
Pointless test without knowing if iPadOS is defaulting to saving app state to storage when suspended to background then restore app state bringing app back to foreground versus actually running in RAM in the background. The fact that he notices some apps don't fully resume until touched hints at this behavior without him realizing it.
Last edited:
I don't think there is anything like you describe, rather the typical IOS behavior is compressing in RAM and then decompressing, rather than some sort of saving to storage, even if the final effect is similar (with the difference that in one case you use storage as a sort of temporary swap and in the other you use CPU for compressing and decompressing)
