iPad Pro How bad/slow is the A12X chip (iPad Pro 11")

[Rychiar]

I use this exact model daily at work and it's still plenty good for just about anything. I don't do anything crazy with it but I do compile videos in iMovie. that being Said I did finally notice a tiny bit of lag since iOS16 that wasn't there before.

 

[bcortens]

I would argue that the biggest limitations are:
- Memory (4GB on storage below 1TB)
- Missing external display support in stage manager

If these aren't an issue for you then it is still an amazing machine, I don't notice it slowing down at all but I mostly use it for vector design (Affinity Designer) and annotating and note taking with pdf docs and then playing Civ 6 and LoL Wild Rift in my down time.

 

[ian87w]

I believe the AnX chips are amazingly fast for their age, thanks to those extra performance cores. I handled a co-worker's 10.5" ipad Pro, and I cannot tell if that thing is an old ipad based in the performance. It feels very zippy despite the A10X being more than 5 years old now. This is in contrast to the regular A10 on the iphone 7/7+ which are showing its age.

 

[coffeemilktea]

If you're just browsing and reading, then this absolutely should be fast enough. ✌

 

[Hombre53]

The A12x is a great processor, arguably, one of the best Apple ever made. My 2018 iPad Pro (11") is doing just fine, thanks.

 

[aneftp]

My son iPad Pro 2017 10.5 with 4gb ram a10x is still a beast.

I sold my iPad Pro a12x last year.

I have iPad Pro m1 plus iPad Pro m2. Don’t notice much difference between both of those iPads vs the A10x 5 plus year model

 

[Digitalguy]

I have the A9X (2 and 4GB), the A10X (4GB) and the A12X (4 and 6GB), and the M1 (8GB), and while the main difference is RAM, the dual core A9X, while way faster that my old Air 2 or mini 4, it's definitely not smooth in recent versions of iPadOSs. A10X is big step-up with its 3 performance cores, but it's not perfectly smooth.
A12X with its 4 performance cores (+ 4 efficiency cores with all 8 cores being able to work at the same time) is so close to perfectly smooth that I can hardly tell the difference with M1 (which has the same number of cores, just faster), unless I compare them side by side (again not considering reloads etc due to RAM).
So yes, if it wasn't for RAM these "older" processors (especially A12X) would age beautifully and to a great extent they are indeed aging beautifully

 

[FeliApple]

AnX chips are amazing, and I reckon they’re far better in terms of performance and battery life (due to battery size) than comparable iPhone chipsets on the same iOS versions. Their longevity is far better than comparable iPhones on the same iOS versions, as well. While the A9X is definitely not perfect from iPadOS 13 onwards, it is like-new on iOS 12. That said, I haven’t used an iPhone 6s on iOS 12, I cannot compare them, but I can say that an iPhone 6s on iOS 13 is far worse. Slower, with unbearable keyboard lag. While totally usable, it isn’t the experience I personally am used to.

My 9.7-inch iPad Pro runs on iOS 12 almost as well as it did on iOS 9 before Apple forced it out. I was quite worried when Apple forced me out, I was sure I’d have to practically throw the iPad away. I was used to 32-bit updates - having tried an iPhone 5c on iOS 10 extensively - and I honestly assumed that the device would be near-useless. Expecting that and out of options, I updated. It was a pleasant surprise. Yes, battery life saw an immediate and irreversible 25% decrease, but it worked - and still works today - just fine. I went from expecting something abhorrent, to being annoyed about that battery life drop, but this iPad is perfectly usable for content consumption (what I use it for), in terms of both performance and battery life, even if it wasn’t what it used to be. Like I said, I extensively tested an iPhone 6s on iOS 13 and I was not happy with that one.

I reckon both the A10X as the A12X, like others have said, should be far better, especially considering that my version of the A9X has 2GB of RAM. Battery life on the A10X isn’t good as far as I’ve seen on the latest versions, but performance-wise, it should be quite good. The A12X should be even better on both categories. I hope that the A12X (and the A12) become the first processors to reach their iOS support limit with the best performance and battery life so far. We’ll see.

 

[apple fan23]

You guys are the best - so much info, thank you!
Eyeing up a 2018 model for around £300, or one with a newly installed battery (under apple warranty), prob going for around £350, or a 2020 model for about £430. Not sure the new battery is worth it and not sure the 2020 model is worth the extra money (more ram though but no external display support I believe). The iPad will live at home so can charge any time. Will definitely get a pencil with it for annotating.

 

[FeliApple]

You guys are the best - so much info, thank you!
Eyeing up a 2018 model for around £300, or one with a newly installed battery (under apple warranty), prob going for around £350, or a 2020 model for about £430. Not sure the new battery is worth it and not sure the 2020 model is worth the extra money (more ram though but no external display support I believe). The iPad will live at home so can charge any time. Will definitely get a pencil with it for annotating.

It’s a difficult quandary honestly...

If you plan to update iOS (or, well, iPadOS), you would want the newest model and battery you can get, and the most RAM you can get. If possible, the 4th-gen (2020) iPad Pro would be a good option, too.

If you play to stay behind, then the new battery model would guarantee maximum longevity.

That said, maybe, like we have stated earlier, the A12X gets to be the first model with great longevity, and if you don’t require the battery life, it should work. iPads’ battery longevity (like iPhones) is massively variable, but a new battery would guarantee more longevity, obviously.

2GB RAM iPads, for instance, were quite criticized here after iPadOS 13. I have mine on iOS 12 so I wouldn’t know, it runs quite flawlessly, but that’s something else to consider, too. RAM has historically been quite important throughout the history of iOS updates.

Assuming battery life on the cheapest iPad you mentioned is fine, I think it’s a pretty good price, and if iPadOS updates aren’t as impactful as they were due to sheer power... it could be a good option. However, like I said, a new battery would guarantee more longevity in that regard, especially considering what @Digitalguy said about the stellar performance of the A12X.

As you can see, I’m not entirely sure what I’d do myself if I were you. Maybe the rest can weigh in with their opinions?

 

[floral]

It’s a difficult quandary honestly...

If you plan to update iOS (or, well, iPadOS), you would want the newest model and battery you can get, and the most RAM you can get. If possible, the 4th-gen (2020) iPad Pro would be a good option, too.

If you play to stay behind, then the new battery model would guarantee maximum longevity.

That said, maybe, like we have stated earlier, the A12X gets to be the first model with great longevity, and if you don’t require the battery life, it should work. iPads’ battery longevity (like iPhones) is massively variable, but a new battery would guarantee more longevity, obviously.

2GB RAM iPads, for instance, were quite criticized here after iPadOS 13. I have mine on iOS 12 so I wouldn’t know, it runs quite flawlessly, but that’s something else to consider, too. RAM has historically been quite important throughout the history of iOS updates.

Assuming battery life on the cheapest iPad you mentioned is fine, I think it’s a pretty good price, and if iPadOS updates aren’t as impactful as they were due to sheer power... it could be a good option. However, like I said, a new battery would guarantee more longevity in that regard, especially considering what @Digitalguy said about the stellar performance of the A12X.

As you can see, I’m not entirely sure what I’d do myself if I were you. Maybe the rest can weigh in with their opinions?

My two cents is to save cash and get the 2018 model. Doing basic activities like reading and browsing wouldn't need the latest version of iPadOS, plus any apps you decide to run would probably work fine until the latest version is about 3 above your own. Meaning that you'd get about 6 years of use out of it, which for $300 is a steal.

 

[FeliApple]

My two cents is to save cash and get the 2018 model. Doing basic activities like reading and browsing wouldn't need the latest version of iPadOS, plus any apps you decide to run would probably work fine until the latest version is about 3 above your own. Meaning that you'd get about 6 years of use out of it, which for $300 is a steal.

Agreed, web browsing still works fine on my 9.7-inch iPad Pro running iOS 12, barring extremely isolated cases. For everything else regarding content consumption (and also including iMovie like the OP mentioned) almost any iPad would be perfectly fine. I have no clue how web browsing will evolve, but if I’m four iOS versions behind and it works perfectly 99% of the time, a new iOS version will fare even better. Regarding everything else, like I said, there won’t be any issues regardless of the iOS version.

App support is also fine on iOS 12, as of now.

 

[floral]

Agreed, web browsing still works fine on my 9.7-inch iPad Pro running iOS 12, barring extremely isolated cases. For everything else regarding content consumption (and also including iMovie like the OP mentioned) almost any iPad would be perfectly fine. I have no clue how web browsing will evolve, but if I’m four iOS versions behind and it works perfectly 99% of the time, a new iOS version will fare even better. Regarding everything else, like I said, there won’t be any issues regardless of the iOS version.

App support is also fine on iOS 12, as of now.

Even better, that means 7 years!

 

[FeliApple]

Even better, that means 7 years!

Hopefully older versions’ longevity improves and it is even more than that!

 

[floral]

Hopefully older versions’ longevity improves and it is even more than that!

Potentially infinite iPad... the thought brings me hope that the thousand dollars I spent on Apple are worth it

 

[FeliApple]

Potentially infinite iPad... the thought brings me hope that the thousand dollars I spent on Apple are worth it

I don’t know if potentially infinite, but longevity is definitely far better now. 32-bit iPads three versions in were not great, while performance-wise, my 9.7-inch iPad Pro is nearly perfect. I’ve been highly critical of Apple for this, always, but I have to acknowledge that this is better than it used to be.

Hopefully, whichever iPad OP ends up getting, is even better than mine, regardless of the iOS version they decide to run. There has been high praise for the A12X (and the A12Z would fare even better), so whichever iPad they get, it’ll be fine for content consumption, I hope.

 

[floral]

I don’t know if potentially infinite, but longevity is definitely far better now. 32-bit iPads three versions in were not great, while performance-wise, my 9.7-inch iPad Pro is nearly perfect. I’ve been highly critical of Apple for this, always, but I have to acknowledge that this is better than it used to be.

Hopefully, whichever iPad OP ends up getting, is even better than mine, regardless of the iOS version they decide to run. There has been high praise for the A12X (and the A12Z would fare even better), so whichever iPad they get, it’ll be fine for content consumption, I hope.

Yeah, it was a joke

 

[FeliApple]

Yeah, it was a joke

I interpreted it as “extremely long-lasting”. I did not convey that in my reply. My mistake, sorry.

 

[apple fan23]

Thanks everyone. I would always have the latest IOS and not run an older one - personal preference for security etc.

Will let you know what I end up getting- hope the Ebay gods are with me for this one 😬

 

[Shanghaichica]

You can‘t go wrong with any of your choices. I would probably go for the 2018 with the new battery. For me personally 4GB of ram is more than enough. I purchased my 2018 iPad Pro in 2020 refurbished. I did consider the 2020 model at the time but I would have had to pay £200 more to get the same storage. Given the minimal differences in processor I didn’t see the point. I already had a 2017 iPad Pro with 4GB and knew that it would be ok for me as I only use it for consumption.

 

[apple fan23]

Thanks Shanghaichica! yes, I think I am the same. Would probably only run into ram problems if and when I become quite iPad-loving-mad and use it more than I anticipate. Going to try and score a good price on eBay....

 

[FeliApple]

You can‘t go wrong with any of your choices. I would probably go for the 2018 with the new battery. For me personally 4GB of ram is more than enough. I purchased my 2018 iPad Pro in 2020 refurbished. I did consider the 2020 model at the time but I would have had to pay £200 more to get the same storage. Given the minimal differences in processor I didn’t see the point. I already had a 2017 iPad Pro with 4GB and knew that it would be ok for me as I only use it for consumption.

Agreed, for content consumption you really can’t go wrong. Like I said, even a 2GB RAM iPad on iOS 12 or older works flawlessly for that. The increased longevity of the A12X is the key: either model should be good for you.

 

[Abazigal]

I do find my 2018 11" iPad Pro is starting to show its age a little, even though it continues to work great for me (currently using it as my everyday device in Uni).

In lectures, a friend I made is using an M1 iPad Air, and my impression is that everything just feels a little faster on his device (though it could also be because he doesn't have that many apps installed on it). Blackboard in safari loads faster, and I don't observe his notes app lagging (mine seems to after a while, though I am not sure if it's a ram or software issue).

At this point, in the interest of longevity, I really won't go with anything less than an M1 chip right now.

 

[iPadified]

I do find my 2018 11" iPad Pro is starting to show its age a little, even though it continues to work great for me (currently using it as my everyday device in Uni).

In lectures, a friend I made is using an M1 iPad Air, and my impression is that everything just feels a little faster on his device (though it could also be because he doesn't have that many apps installed on it). Blackboard in safari loads faster, and I don't observe his notes app lagging (mine seems to after a while, though I am not sure if it's a ram or software issue).

At this point, in the interest of longevity, I really won't go with anything less than an M1 chip right now.

When you are "on air" in the lecture hall, even one second waiting to feels like an age and breaks the rhythm.

In the peace and quit chamber annotating pdfs, likely any iPad would do.

My A12Z is (still) spectacular I both use cases and I expect will be for the next few years.

 

[Abazigal]

When you are "on air" in the lecture hall, even one second waiting to feels like an age and breaks the rhythm.

That I can relate to.