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kukheart

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 22, 2003
261
83
Dallas
I was pretty close to buying an iPad Air this year. Since the new iPad Pro gets the M1, shouldn’t it reckon that the Next iPad Air get the M1 Chip next year sometime? Seems like it would make sense to hold off for that.
 

one more

macrumors 603
Aug 6, 2015
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Unlikely, IMO, as in this case there would be fewer and fewer incentive to buy iPad Pro 11”. Unless Apple decide to use their new M chips in everything, including iPhones. Then yes.
 
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Digitalguy

macrumors 601
Apr 15, 2019
4,656
4,493
No, no way the air is getting M1 (quad (high performance) core). The Air will get the same dual core SOC as the iPhone, while the budget iPad will remain 2 generations behind (it should remain A12 this year too).
However the A15 should get a 30% speed bump thanks to ARM v9, so in single core it will be 30% faster than M1....
M1 should be faster in multicore, but not much faster, more like 20-25% faster...
 

Tsepz

macrumors 601
Jan 24, 2013
4,888
4,698
Johannesburg, South Africa
I was pretty close to buying an iPad Air this year. Since the new iPad Pro gets the M1, shouldn’t it reckon that the Next iPad Air get the M1 Chip next year sometime? Seems like it would make sense to hold off for that.
You never know. It may be best to wait to see the new iPad Air, that could reveal a lot. ;)
 

throAU

macrumors G3
Feb 13, 2012
9,241
7,405
Perth, Western Australia
Doubt it. Too soon, the m1 isn't a cheap processor and the price point they'll want to hit with the Air won't allow for it is my bet.

I mean the m1 package only comes in 8 and 16 GB configurations, I very much doubt they'll bump the air up to 8 GB of RAM, never mind the processing speed.

I doubt the air will ever get the "m1" - by the time it get something that speed apple will have a cheaper to produce, smaller processor making those performance figures and the pro, etc. will be running something a lot faster.
 
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The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,991
20,174
UK
Before the Pro? Also very unlikely.
Pro isn’t expected to get OLED.

latest rumours are air will get OLED in 2022 and the pro will stick with mini LED and then upgrade to micro when the tech is ready

apple’s mindset is worry about burn in for the larger devices and the pro line they want to stick with mini led
 

one more

macrumors 603
Aug 6, 2015
5,158
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Earth
Pro isn’t expected to get OLED.

latest rumours are air will get OLED in 2022 and the pro will stick with mini LED and then upgrade to micro when the tech is ready

apple’s mindset is worry about burn in for the larger devices and the pro line they want to stick with mini led

Found it now, thanks! ?
 

iamMacPerson

macrumors 68040
Jun 12, 2011
3,488
1,927
AZ/10.0.1.1
No, no way the air is getting M1 (quad (high performance) core). The Air will get the same dual core SOC as the iPhone, while the budget iPad will remain 2 generations behind (it should remain A12 this year too).
However the A15 should get a 30% speed bump thanks to ARM v9, so in single core it will be 30% faster than M1....
M1 should be faster in multicore, but not much faster, more like 20-25% faster...
It just depends when Apple starts selling devices with ARM v9. I know the rumor is the M2 but I’m thinking that’s too soon. If I were a betting man I would say the M2X or M3, so sometime in 2022 and that would be a stretch IMO. Apple was the first to use ARM v8, which debuted in the A7 (iPhone 5s). ARM v8 was published in Oct 2011 and the A7 released in Sept 2013. Assuming a sped-up 1.5 year timeline from when the reference lands in Apple’s lap to when the first device is ready to ship, we’re talking Sept 2022. At that same time, v9 will work it’s way into the mobile-series chips. So expect the A16 to be gangbusters, not the A15.
 

kazmac

macrumors G4
Mar 24, 2010
10,103
8,658
Any place but here or there....
Eventually, as the Pros add more bells and whistles and more powerful chips, I could see an Air with the M1 chip. I canceled my 2021 iPad Pro order as mom wouldn't take my 2020 Air.

I'll wait for sales on both models. If I can snag a 256gb Air for $450 new or the 11" 256gb M1 is on sale for $650 new, I'll jump.
 

iamMacPerson

macrumors 68040
Jun 12, 2011
3,488
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Eventually, as the Pros add more bells and whistles and more powerful chips, I could see an Air with the M1 chip. I canceled my 2021 iPad Pro order as mom wouldn't take my 2020 Air.

I'll wait for sales on both models. If I can snag a 256gb Air for $450 new or the 11" 256gb M1 is on sale for $650 new, I'll jump.
I doubt it. Eventually the iPad Air will get a chip as powerful as the M1, but never the full fat M1. By the time the M1 has 'depreciated' enough in Apple's eyes, the A16 or A17 would be on the horizon offering the same - if not better - performance than the M1 using less power. The M1 is a 5nm chip. By then I'm sure we'll look at 5nm the way we're looking at Intel's 10nm.
 

isoft7

macrumors 6502a
Oct 3, 2011
965
564
The next Air will most certainly have an M1... if not an M2 even. With the next generation iPad Pro getting the M2 after.

It's an obvious evolution now that Apple is reducing chip design lines.

Also, the question of why Pro then?

Easy... more ram, larger storage options, 120hz screen... this isn't complicated to figure out.
 
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rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,921
13,272
The next Air will most certainly have an M1... if not an M2 even. With the next generation iPad Pro getting the M2 after.

It's an obvious evolution now that Apple is reducing chip design lines.

Also, the question of why Pro then?

Easy... more ram, larger storage options, 120hz screen... this isn't complicated to figure out.

The base iPad and iPad Air have just been getting iPhone chips. Apple didn't design a chip that's specifically for the Air. Given Apple sells something like 200 million iPhones a year and the die size of phone SoCs is much smaller, I expect there's even greater savings there than putting M1 on the Air.
 
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doboy

macrumors 68040
Jul 6, 2007
3,776
2,956
Won't get the "full" M1 chip, likely crippled with less big cores like the current one.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,921
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Won't get the "full" M1 chip, likely crippled with less big cores like the current one.

The A14-based iPad Air 4 handily beats the A10X-based iPad Pro 10.5. For that matter, I think so does the A12-based basic iPad.

If the Apple A16 can match or beat M1 performance with fewer cores and using less power, I consider that a win.
 
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doboy

macrumors 68040
Jul 6, 2007
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The A14-based iPad Air 4 handily beats the A10X-based iPad Pro 10.5. For that matter, I think so does the A12-based basic iPad.

If the Apple A16 can match or beat M1 performance with fewer cores and using less power, I consider that a win.
Yes, but the Pro will beat it again. Since they're not on the same cycle, it's unavoidable.
 

doboy

macrumors 68040
Jul 6, 2007
3,776
2,956
Given the Pro is more expensive, it should always beat the Air in all areas. ?‍♀️

Honestly, I found the Air 4 vs 2020 Pro situation quite weird. Glad to see that being remedied now.
Since I bought the 2020 Pro few months prior to Air's release, I wasn't too thrilled. But Air seems be plagued by crappy screen, at least :)
 
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