A10X is the new A8X.

[Kendo]

I'm underwhelmed by the increase in power, only 30 and 40 for CPU and GPU. I was in the market to update my iPad Air 2 but now I think I'll go for a cheap A9X. Coming from an iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 owner, you need at least a 2X jump in performance like iPads in the past to make it a true longevity model. I still shudder at my underpowered iPhone 6 (A8 chip) which only had a 25 and 50 increase compare to the A7.

 

[Andres Cantu]

40% like from the A9 to A10 Fusion would have been nice, but we can't have everything.

I'm more interested in knowing why Apple changed the calculator icon if they didn't include it in the iPad (or did they?)

 

[jumpingjackflash]

I think A10X is the new A7X (not the A8X which was and still is super fast). Previously CPU and GPU speeds had usually almost doubled in 12 monts or so. Now after 18 months we got only 30-40% increase which isn't that great. After all the new 120hz screen should be even more demanding and it propably eats up the increased speed.

Not to mention the RAM. If the new iPad 12.9" has only 4gb like the old one it really is a bummer. After 18 months it really should be increased to 6gb.

Because of those things (and some other minor like home button and the lack of 3D touch and oled) i'm going to hold untill the next iPad release which is most likely at the end of the 2018.

I know, I think It's going to be a long, long wait.

 

[dallas112678]

You probably shouldn't get so worried about it, it's very doubtful that apps will take advantage of the extra power (especially the GPU) as there is such a wide discrepancy in the performance of iPads that are already out there. It's nice to see power double every year, but when the majority of iPads out there are significantly less powerful than the latest and greatest, you aren't going to see many developers make things that maximize the latest and greatest.

 

[rui no onna]

I think A10X is the new A7X (not the A8X which was and still is super fast). Previously CPU and GPU speeds had usually almost doubled in 12 monts or so. Now after 18 months we got only 30-40% increase which isn't that great. After all the new 120hz screen should be even more demanding and it propably eats up the increased speed.

There was no A7X.

A5 iPad 2
A5X iPad 3
A6X iPad 4
A7 iPad Air & mini 2 (& mini 3 one year later)
A8X iPad Air 2
A8 iPad mini 4
A9X iPad Pro 12.9 & 9.7

A7, Apple probably didn't have a choice. I'm guessing technology available at the time didn't allow for a much faster GPU given the battery capacity and size reduction, and the inherent cooling issues with such move. Iirc, there were plenty of benchmark results that cropped up after the A7's release testing CPU throttling.
[doublepost=1496732496][/doublepost]

I'm underwhelmed by the increase in power, only 30 and 40 for CPU and GPU. I was in the market to update my iPad Air 2 but now I think I'll go for a cheap A9X. Coming from an iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 owner, you need at least a 2X jump in performance like iPads in the past to make it a true longevity model. I still shudder at my underpowered iPhone 6 (A8 chip) which only had a 25 and 50 increase compare to the A7.

It might only be a 30% increase from A9X to A10X but compounded with the improvement from A8X to A9X, you're probably looking at almost double the performance from the Air 2 to the 10.5 Pro.

Don't get me wrong, I love my 9.7 iPad Pro. Given the pricing and options available at the time of purchase, it was the best choice for me.

However, unless you're getting like a 50% discount off the 9.7 Pro, I don't understand the logic of getting the slower 9.7 Pro because the 10.5 Pro isn't a "longevity model". That's like people saying to buy the Air 2 last year instead of the 9.7 Pro because the 9.7 Pro only had 2GB RAM and wasn't a "longevity model".

 

[ljjycss]

You can't always have 2X performance increase year over year. Is Snapdragon 835 twice as fast as 820? How does Kaby Lake compare to Sandy bridge? Ryzen is a big leap, but how many years did AMD spend on that? Moore's Law no longer holds.

 

[jumpingjackflash]

Only time will tell how well the A10X chip will age. On single apps it will work for many years but I believe that multitasking is going to be a next big thing in the future and it requires a lot of power. I also believe that Apple changed 60Hz to 120Hz screen because of multitasking in mind.
[doublepost=1496743981][/doublepost]

You can't always have 2X performance increase year over year. Is Snapdragon 835 twice as fast as 820? How does Kaby Lake compare to Sandy bridge? Ryzen is a big leap, but how many years did AMD spend on that? Moore's Law no longer holds.

I would have been happy with 50-80% performance increase and 6gb of RAM. 30-40% increase and same old 4gb of RAM after 18 months is just not enough for me. So I'll wait.

 

[DaveOP]

I think A10X is the new A7X (not the A8X which was and still is super fast). Previously CPU and GPU speeds had usually almost doubled in 12 monts or so. Now after 18 months we got only 30-40% increase which isn't that great. After all the new 120hz screen should be even more demanding and it propably eats up the increased speed.

Not to mention the RAM. If the new iPad 12.9" has only 4gb like the old one it really is a bummer. After 18 months it really should be increased to 6gb.

Because of those things (and some other minor like home button and the lack of 3D touch and oled) i'm going to hold untill the next iPad release which is most likely at the end of the 2018.

I know, I think It's going to be a long, long wait.

This is a little silly though, as the current iPad Pro has so much headroom. My 12.9 never comes close to slowing down or having trouble with multiple apps. The processor and RAM in these was overkill from the start, so the new ones will be that much more overkill.

 

[darkarn]

There was no A7X.

...except this one?

But more on topic, I thought 40% increase is quite good? Especially for a tablet that is considered to be overpowered in current market conditions?

 

[keaide]

So is this now the iPad Pro to buy or is there any real chance that there will be a A11X iPad alongside the new iPhone this fall?
Compared to my current iPad 3, I guess everything will feel fast but I could still wait another 3 months...

 

[redscull]

So is this now the iPad Pro to buy or is there any real chance that there will be a A11X iPad alongside the new iPhone this fall?.

I am by no means an official source, but based on the rumors we'd been hearing and Apple's typical patterns, I seriously doubt we have any other iPads coming out any time soon. This fall's attention should be entirely on the new iPhone. Next Spring or Summer is likely the soonest for another round of iPads, and I personally feel like even that's overly optimistic.

 

[rui no onna]

So is this now the iPad Pro to buy or is there any real chance that there will be a A11X iPad alongside the new iPhone this fall?
Compared to my current iPad 3, I guess everything will feel fast but I could still wait another 3 months...

I think the probability of that happening is something like 0.00000001%

 

[masotime]

Well..... iPads have never been announced at WWDC before, but it did happen. I'd be quite happy if they refreshed the iPad mini (yes I'm still holding out for that) sometime this year.

EDIT: I do agree that an A11X iPad is extremely unlikely though. That would imply a < 6 month refresh of the just-launched iPad Pros.... Apple might do that, but there would definitely be a lot of angry customers...

 

[jumpingjackflash]

This is a little silly though, as the current iPad Pro has so much headroom. My 12.9 never comes close to slowing down or having trouble with multiple apps. The processor and RAM in these was overkill from the start, so the new ones will be that much more overkill.

It's not silly if you think of it closely. After 18 months there might be no increase in ram and only 30-40% speed. The biggest thing with the new IPP's is the 120hz refresh rate. That alone eats up the whole speed increasement.

This seriously starts to look like a iPad3 case vol.2.

 

[Aluminum213]

Apple could have put a A20 chip in it and it wouldn't matter, the A9X can easily handle anything

 

[PBG4 Dude]

40% like from the A9 to A10 Fusion would have been nice, but we can't have everything.

I'm more interested in knowing why Apple changed the calculator icon if they didn't include it in the iPad (or did they?)

No calculator app on the iPad.

 

[bufffilm]

I think A10X is the new A7X (not the A8X which was and still is super fast). Previously CPU and GPU speeds had usually almost doubled in 12 monts or so. Now after 18 months we got only 30-40% increase which isn't that great. After all the new 120hz screen should be even more demanding and it propably eats up the increased speed.

Not to mention the RAM. If the new iPad 12.9" has only 4gb like the old one it really is a bummer. After 18 months it really should be increased to 6gb.

Because of those things (and some other minor like home button and the lack of 3D touch and oled) i'm going to hold untill the next iPad release which is most likely at the end of the 2018.

I know, I think It's going to be a long, long wait.

We won't get another major Pad Pro update until maybe 2019. Maybe force touch in 2018, but OLED won't happen until 2019.

Set your calendars.
[doublepost=1496773211][/doublepost]

No calculator app on the iPad.

Get one from the App Store.

People can be so melodramatic.
[doublepost=1496773365][/doublepost]

So is this now the iPad Pro to buy or is there any real chance that there will be a A11X iPad alongside the new iPhone this fall?
Compared to my current iPad 3, I guess everything will feel fast but I could still wait another 3 months...

Are you for real?

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Wow, I answer someone's question and I get called melodramatic.
It would seem the rest of your post is as vacuous as your reply to me was.

 

[bufffilm]

Wow, I answer someone's question and I get called melodramatic.
It would seem the rest of your post is as vacuous as your reply to me was.

Speak to the hand.

 

[DavesIknow]

Well..... iPads have never been announced at WWDC before, but it did happen. I'd be quite happy if they refreshed the iPad mini (yes I'm still holding out for that) sometime this year.

EDIT: I do agree that an A11X iPad is extremely unlikely though. That would imply a < 6 month refresh of the just-launched iPad Pros.... Apple might do that, but there would definitely be a lot of angry customers...

They are going longer between updates, not shorter...less than zero chance for the A11X after the iphone, we will maybe get it next year

 

[Andres Cantu]

No calculator app on the iPad.

Well, that's disappointing. 7 years and nothing.

 

[Math889]

There was no A7X.

A5 iPad 2
A5X iPad 3
A6X iPad 4
A7 iPad Air & mini 2 (& mini 3 one year later)
A8X iPad Air 2
A8 iPad mini 4
A9X iPad Pro 12.9 & 9.7

A7, Apple probably didn't have a choice. I'm guessing technology available at the time didn't allow for a much faster GPU given the battery capacity and size reduction, and the inherent cooling issues with such move. Iirc, there were plenty of benchmark results that cropped up after the A7's release testing CPU throttling.
[doublepost=1496732496][/doublepost]
It might only be a 30% increase from A9X to A10X but compounded with the improvement from A8X to A9X, you're probably looking at almost double the performance from the Air 2 to the 10.5 Pro.

Don't get me wrong, I love my 9.7 iPad Pro. Given the pricing and options available at the time of purchase, it was the best choice for me.

However, unless you're getting like a 50% discount off the 9.7 Pro, I don't understand the logic of getting the slower 9.7 Pro because the 10.5 Pro isn't a "longevity model". That's like people saying to buy the Air 2 last year instead of the 9.7 Pro because the 9.7 Pro only had 2GB RAM and wasn't a "longevity model".

A7 on IPad Air was a huge mistake, Apple should have putted an A7X processor not A7. They saw the mistake and never included an A chip on an iPad (regular 9.7).
[doublepost=1496796849][/doublepost]Next iPad just next year folks . Predict September/October 2018 .

IPad cycle moved for 1.5 year.

 

[DaveOP]

It's not silly if you think of it closely. After 18 months there might be no increase in ram and only 30-40% speed. The biggest thing with the new IPP's is the 120hz refresh rate. That alone eats up the whole speed increasement.

This seriously starts to look like a iPad3 case vol.2.

No, this is a case of you worrying too much honestly. The iPad Pro A9X probably had power to spare to run all these specs. These chips are way ahead of the rest of the industry, and have plenty of power.

 

[jumpingjackflash]

No, this is a case of you worrying too much honestly. The iPad Pro A9X probably had power to spare to run all these specs. These chips are way ahead of the rest of the industry, and have plenty of power.

Worrying too much? How? By mentioning the fact that 120hz screen eats the performance improvement on 12.9"? After iOS 11 and true multitasking, with 120hz screen you need every single bit of power to use it smoothly for years. This is something to consider with the new 12.9" IPP.

Here's one review that supports my conclusions:

"We don't know this chip's clock speed, and we don't know how much RAM either tablet has (I would guess 4GB for both models, but that's based on a hunch and not actual data). But Apple says the A10X is around 30 percent faster than the dual-core A9X in the old iPad Pros. Some of that increase may come from architectural improvements, but most of it will come from the presence of that third processor core. The GPU is apparently 40 percent faster, which will help keep those new 120Hz displays fed with frames."

https://arstechnica.com/apple/2017/06/checking-out-the-new-ipad-pros-and-their-fancy-120hz-screens/

 

[Krevnik]

I also believe that Apple changed 60Hz to 120Hz screen because of multitasking in mind.

Huh? That doesn't compute.

Here's one review that supports my conclusions:

A couple things to point out about the statement from the article:
1) The assumption that the 30% was from the third core turns out to be wrong. It's 30% faster in single core, and has a third core on top of that. That's a pretty good boost, especially for multitasking. Less so for most apps that are single-threaded though. There's pretty much zero way that the A9X will have more longevity than the A10X on the CPU front.

2) Upping the screen refresh rate isn't quite the same thing as adding a ton of pixels. Increasing resolution increases the demands you must meet in order to hit a certain performance target. So if I want to go from standard to retina displays, the GPU now needs to blit 4x the pixels, and the CPU has to draw into texture buffers that are 4x as big for the GPU to blit. And this demand can't really be ignored, so it increases the hardware requirements of your apps. Not by 300%, but considerably.

Upping the screen refresh rate doesn't increase the demands placed on apps. Instead it raises the ceiling of where the cap is. If you want to reach for the new cap, you may need more resources, but it isn't 2x as much. The GPU needs to blit 2x the pixels, but the CPU is drawing the same amount of pixels into texture buffers, and doing it as frequently. Think about scrolling. The time it takes to scroll from top to bottom of a page is the same, so new content is introduced at the same rate with 60fps or 120fps drawing. So anything rendering at 60fps today, will render at a higher frame rate, up to 120fps. Anything not rendering at 60fps today will still render faster on the new iPad Pro. 120Hz is not placing any new demands, so is not "consuming" the speed boost of the CPU, but rather, giving the speed boost of the CPU something to actually do in apps like Things, Safari, Mail, etc where they aren't exactly CPU-bound apps to begin with.

So no matter what, an existing app will be smoother on the new iPad Pro than on the old one. Will all apps hit 120fps? No. But will any apps get worse on the new iPad Pro? No.