iPad Pro Interesting real world improvements with IPad Pro 2020 vs 2018

[TravisPNW]

If I had a 2018 Pro I probably wouldn't have upgraded... but I had a 2017 with bezels and touch ID.

 

[rui no onna]

A12X vs 12Z It’s not even a full new CPU it’s the same CPU architecture. There’s like a 7% boost to performance.

For gaming, it's got an extra GPU core so 14%. Extra 2GB means more things (textures, etc) can be cached in RAM. It's also possible Apple used faster RAM (which often has bigger impact on GPU than CPU).
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I’ll wait for anandtech to do a deep dig into the new ipads and the new chips. I have trust issues with some of these other sites. A proper test would need to have many variables equalized as best as possible. Like storage capacity, fresh OS install, temp measurement etc. No doubt improvements can and should happen, but honestly never heard of some of these sites before.

Do they still do those? Been a while since I checked their reviews and the last iPad/iPhone review I read on AT (after Anand left) wasn't the same quality as Anand's reviews and read more like a generic one you might find on The Verge or something.

 

[DougFNJ]

If we are talking about RAM contributing to these speeds, would that include the 2018 1 TB models with the 6GB RAM?

 

[rui no onna]

If we are talking about RAM contributing to these speeds, would that include the 2018 1 TB models with the 6GB RAM?

That's why we need to see more tests with various configs so we can see which speed-ups are attributable to the various components. As @Moyapilot has mentioned, the variables need to be equalized.

If you just compare a 2018 A12X/4GB 64GB iPad 12.9 that's been in use for 1.5 years to a fresh 2020 A12Z/6GB 128GB iPad 11, that's a crap ton of moving parts. Apart from just GPU and thermals, there's also RAM, storage, resolution and configuration.

 

[GDF]

I have noticed any real world differences in performance between my 2018 11 Pro compared to the 2020 12.9 that I purchased. Unless you are interested in the camera or LiDAR, don’t upgrade or larger/smaller screen, don’t upgrade from 2018 Pro’s. Waste of money. Mine will probably be going back and wait until a real upgrade comes along. First since Gen 3’s I have done that.

 

[Macintosh101]

I have noticed any real world differences in performance between my 2018 11 Pro compared to the 2020 12.9 that I purchased. Unless you are interested in the camera or LiDAR, don’t upgrade or larger/smaller screen, don’t upgrade from 2018 Pro’s. Waste of money. Mine will probably be going back and wait until a real upgrade comes along. First since Gen 3’s I have done that.

Interesting - my experience is the opposite. I have the exact same setup as you (my 2020 12.9 Pro arrived today and I have the 2018 11 inch Pro). I am seeing a noticeable difference - particularly in RAM and other things. My GarageBand exports are also faster comprared to the 2018. I also owned the 12.9 2018 model in the past (sold it earier this year) and this model certainly feels quicker at everything I’m throwing it at at.

 

[el beisbol]

If I had a 2018 Pro I probably wouldn't have upgraded... but I had a 2017 with bezels and touch ID.

Same. Gotta say I feel out of sync with the upgrade cycle as 2018 would have been a great time to buy. I definitely wasn't holding out longer for a possible same-year bump, though.

I'm really happy with this device. Face ID works better than I expected, trackpad support is amazing, tabs aren't reloading. I love it!

 

[TravisPNW]

Same. Gotta say I feel out of sync with the upgrade cycle as 2018 would have been a great time to buy. I definitely wasn't holding out longer for a possible same-year bump, though.

I'm really happy with this device. Face ID works better than I expected, trackpad support is amazing, tabs aren't reloading. I love it!

Awesome... ordered his and hers yesterday (both had 2017's) and arrival is Monday.

 

[GDF]

Interesting - my experience is the opposite. I have the exact same setup as you (my 2020 12.9 Pro arrived today and I have the 2018 11 inch Pro). I am seeing a noticeable difference - particularly in RAM and other things. My GarageBand exports are also faster comprared to the 2018. I also owned the 12.9 2018 model in the past (sold it earier this year) and this model certainly feels quicker at everything I’m throwing it at at.

Interesting. I don’t use GarageBand, so maybe that is why. I do use it for work for Office 365 docs, internet, Webex, etc.. and notice no difference. So, maybe worth it for you.

 

[Moyapilot]

One thing I still find annoying on my iPP 11 2018 is the slow Face ID. I liked my 10.5 pro for how fast touchid2 was. It was instant. I find i have so little patience being spoiled by fast tech, so first world problems lol

Does the 2020 iPP have faster face ID? like a version 2?

For gaming, it's got an extra GPU core so 14%. Extra 2GB means more things (textures, etc) can be cached in RAM. It's also possible Apple used faster RAM (which often has bigger impact on GPU than CPU).
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Do they still do those? Been a while since I checked their reviews and the last iPad/iPhone review I read on AT (after Anand left) wasn't the same quality as Anand's reviews and read more like a generic one you might find on The Verge or something.

Unfortunately I think you’re right. I miss those days, pure tech geek heaven!

@GDF Thank you for that review, I think you’ll save a lot of 2018 model owners money. This is a great upgrade for previous gen owners though, or for those doing very specific things like 4k video exports for their work where every second counts

 

[rui no onna]

@GDF Thank you for that review, I think you’ll save a lot of 2018 model owners money. This is a great upgrade for previous gen owners though, or for those doing very specific things like 4k video exports for their work where every second counts

Note, this video contradicts the 4K video export speed up from the 1st post.

Here are more examples of real world improvements in the iPad Pro 2020 vs 2018 model, especially in terms of gaming, as well as RAM management.

This is why knowing the full config is important. If the first test was on A12X/4GB 64GB and the faster test was on A12Z/6GB 128GB, the speed up could be a result of any number of things.

Heck, even app installs and updates on 32GB iPhone 7 is noticeably slower compared to the 256GB iPhone 7.

It's out of stock at the moment but 1TB 2018 Pro 11 refurb is $1019 while 512GB 2020 Pro 11 is $1099. Both have 6GB RAM. Which performs better on different tasks? I expect gaming is a win for the 2020 but what about other tasks? How much of an advantage does improved thermals really provide and is it worth spending more or sacrificing storage to get the latest model?

 

[GDF]

I don’t notice faster Face ID compared to the 2018 iPad Pro, but never thought the 2018 was slow.

I do get faster download WiFi speed - around 580 mbps download on the 2020 and on the 2018 about 341 mpbs on the 2018. This is with an Orbi WiFi Mesh router.

The video above said gaming was better and I don’t so game, so that may be true.

Let me know if you anyone needs anything else.

One thing I still find annoying on my iPP 11 2018 is the slow Face ID. I liked my 10.5 pro for how fast touchid2 was. It was instant. I find i have so little patience being spoiled by fast tech, so first world problems lol

Does the 2020 iPP have faster face ID? like a version 2?



Unfortunately I think you’re right. I miss those days, pure tech geek heaven!

@GDF Thank you for that review, I think you’ll save a lot of 2018 model owners money. This is a great upgrade for previous gen owners though, or for those doing very specific things like 4k video exports for their work where every second counts

 

[TheRealAlex]

I bet they just double the Cache on the A12X and with and extra 2GB RAM and 1 More GPU Core. That’s your boost in performance.

 

[EugW]

For multi-media export, there are a lot of variables there too. To backup a couple of years, while most of 2018 vs 2017 iPad Pro reviews had the 2018 being much faster, there were a few tests out there that had video export times being about the same in the 2017 and 2018. I suspect it was because these were utilizing 100% hardware encode. I don't have a 2018 to compare, but I do note that when I was testing out LumaFusion, my export times to 1080p h.264 and 4K h.265 were exactly the same, and I mean exactly - to the second - despite the fact that 4K h.265 is an order of magnitude more complex. In contrast, with software encoding on my computer, 4K h.265 was taking literally 10X as long as 1080p h.264, or even longer.

OTOH, with Photoshop on the desktop/laptop, having abundant RAM often does have a significant advantage for scripted editing actions, up to a certain point. Photoshop with 4 GB RAM on the desktop was horrendously RAM starved in some tests, but going from say 16 to 32 GB didn't help at all in some tests. Also, some Photoshop actions are GPU accelerated.

 

[rkuo]

This might look like a big leap individually. But when you add up each improvement, the difference is substantial.

Especially for Pro users like designers, editors and creators. If even a minute is saved per video or image, that huge for them.

The extra money they spend could be recovered in terms of time and energy they save.

In saying that, the 2018 iPad Pro is already a fast machine. So, the regular users need not hurry for an upgrade.

If the time savings is that important to them, they’ll probably just move the work to a Mac.

 

[Gathomblipoob]

I don’t notice faster Face ID compared to the 2018 iPad Pro, but never thought the 2018 was slow.

I agree with this. The 2018 iPad Pro Face ID was plenty fast for me, and the new one doesn't seem to be any faster.

 

[Ghost31]

This was an interesting comparison. The first benchmark he did between old and new, the 2018 actually beat the new one. Wtf man

edit: just watched the rest of the video. This is just odd. The 2018 iPad Pro actually outperformed the new one in loading the Minecraft world and loading websites. Guess I’m feeling extra good about keeping my 2018? I dont like to whine about ipad updates, but this is just...i can see why people are like what the hell kind of upgrade is this. A basic spec bump in processing power is to be expected. And Don’t give me that crap about “ohh well but its got some more ram”

 

[RevTEG]

Nope if you need an iPad Pro buy a 2018 refurb. The newest one even has the same chip. Apple simply renamed it. Remarkable. It’s very misleading to rename an old chip and pretend its new.

Apple hasn’t technically renamed their chip. They simply changed the letter ending to denote the same factor that has the additional 8th core “tuned on” verses only using 7 on the previous chip. That’s not misleading. It’s common practice in many industries that update products each year.

 

[EugW]

If the time savings is that important to them, they’ll probably just move the work to a Mac.

Not necessarily. Some types of work can be faster on the iPad and even video encoding can be faster in the iPad.

 

[aevan]

I also owned the 12.9 2018 model in the past (sold it earier this year) and this model certainly feels quicker at everything I’m throwing it at at.

Judging by every single video out there, including those that you posted, it is not quicker at everything you throw at it - a few things are a bit faster. It could be a placebo effect. As nice as it is, this is probably the smallest update in iPad history. Which is fine, both are amazing devices, and the previous update was huge.
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I don’t notice faster Face ID compared to the 2018 iPad Pro, but never thought the 2018 was slow.

I do get faster download WiFi speed - around 580 mbps download on the 2020 and on the 2018 about 341 mpbs on the 2018. This is with an Orbi WiFi Mesh router.

The video above said gaming was better and I don’t so game, so that may be true.

Let me know if you anyone needs anything else.

Thanks for the info. Do you notice any real-life difference with more RAM on 2020 - you know, in regular use?
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Guess I’m feeling extra good about keeping my 2018? I dont like to whine about ipad updates, but this is just...i can see why people are like what the hell kind of upgrade is this.

It’s like Mac updates - Apple wants to offer the best they can at the moment you decide to buy, not necessarily something that is leaps beyond what the previous gen was. People don’t usually update with every new cycle.

 

[cardfan]

Apple hasn’t technically renamed their chip. They simply changed the letter ending to denote the same factor that has the additional 8th core “tuned on” verses only using 7 on the previous chip. That’s not misleading. It’s common practice in many industries that update products each year.

Whatever u say. I mean sure Apple does this all the time right? Common practice.

 

[Ghost31]

Whatever u say. I mean sure Apple does this all the time right? Common practice.

In other words, Apple made practically zero improvements to the processor after a year and a half but deal with it because we get extra ram.

funny argument I see going around. But I guess people with older iPads will be stoked for the new one.

 

[drew0020]

I agree with this. The 2018 iPad Pro Face ID was plenty fast for me, and the new one doesn't seem to be any faster.

Agreed. Both seem very fast to me.

 

[Macintosh101]

Engadget’s review found some pretty good differences in video export times - see 3.30 in the video.

 

[harriska2]

We tried to get the lowest priced ipp (as close to $500 as possible). Ended up with $750 for a 2020 11” with 128 storage. Hope it lives as long as the air 2 it’s replacing.