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Ethosik

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Oct 21, 2009
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That's just flat out wrong on utilization. I see clear performance improvements on my 2021 Pro over my 2018 Pro.

You can’t honestly believe that the iPad is just as good as the 13” MacBook Pro. The whole point of this topic is that iPadOS holds back the hardware. Point is proven I can do a lot more things and have an application use 12-13GB of RAM (subtract some for operating system).
 
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sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
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I am responding
You can’t honestly believe that the iPad is just as good as the 13” MacBook Pro. The whole point of this topic is that iPadOS holds back the hardware. Point is proven I can do a lot more things and have an application use 12-13GB of RAM (subtract some for operating system).

I am responding to this statement you just made: "iPadOS CANNOT utilize the hardware provided". Nowhere in that post do you talk about comparisons to a Mac, nowhere do I make a similar comparison.
 

Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
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I am responding


I am responding to this statement you just made: "iPadOS CANNOT utilize the hardware provided". Nowhere in that post do you talk about comparisons to a Mac, nowhere do I make a similar comparison.

It can’t. Right now there is a 5GB limit for applications and how much RAM it can use. How much the entitlement can change this is unknown.

So let me ask you this, what is the point of M1 Macs then? Why bother? Hardware is equal now. But the fact is macOS opens the door to the hardware more than iPadOS.
 
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I7guy

macrumors Nehalem
Nov 30, 2013
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Gotta be in it to win it
It can’t. Right now there is a 5GB limit for applications and how much RAM it can use. How much the entitlement can change this is unknown.

So let me ask you this, what is the point of M1 Macs then? Why bother? Hardware is equal now. But the fact is macOS opens the door to the hardware more than iPadOS.
Different hardware, different experiences. Doesn't mean the ipad pro can't have a killer app that shows off the capabilities of the M1 in a different way than a mac.
 
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Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
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Different hardware, different experiences. Doesn't mean the ipad pro can't have a killer app that shows off the capabilities of the M1 in a different way than a mac.

Hardware is exactly the same now. M1 iPad Pro at 16GB RAM matches my M1 Mac

I have Illustrator on my M1 Mac right now and I have many documents open. It’s taking up 12GB out of my 16GB of RAM which is not possible on iPadOS.

I still experience Safari and YouTube refreshing when I switch apps. Something I don’t experience on macOS.
 
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sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
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It can’t. Right now there is a 5GB limit for applications and how much RAM it can use. How much the entitlement can change this is unknown.

So let me ask you this, what is the point of M1 Macs then? Why bother? Hardware is equal now. But the fact is macOS opens the door to the hardware more than iPadOS.
Mac is irrelevant to me - don't have one, don't want one and we're talking about iPads here, not Macs.

M1 provides better performance - I actually see it. The RAM allowance is changed in iPadOS 15.
 

sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
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Seattle WA
Hardware is exactly the same now. M1 iPad Pro at 16GB RAM matches my M1 Mac

I have Illustrator on my M1 Mac right now and I have many documents open. It’s taking up 12GB out of my 16GB of RAM which is not possible on iPadOS.

I still experience Safari and YouTube refreshing when I switch apps. Something I don’t experience on macOS.

Then stick with your Mac and stop grousing about the iPad.
 

Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
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Then stick with your Mac and stop grousing about the iPad.

Geez what’s happening to the world these days where you can’t have constructive criticism or think things are not as good as they should be.

I’m as much of an Apple fan as everyone else here. Even have an Apple tattoo. I have pretty much every Apple product except the Mac Pro.

But that still doesn’t mean I can’t be frustrated about the iPad situation.

As far as iPadOS 15, developers still need to ensure their application works in the 5GB limit in order for them to be able to get more RAM. And will Apple allow an app to take 13GB? Why did I keep getting my apps to reload when I tested the IPad? The app suspension is still an issue and iPad doesn’t have full multitasking.

And the biggest complaint so far about iPadOS is that there is only one audio source. So if I’m listening to music and browsing Safari, the music will stop if the website has an ad that has audio, even if that ad is muted.

There are a lot of things that iPadOS does that holds back the iPad from being fully capable.

I have a 2020 iPad Pro and I love it, but apps suspended is still driving me crazy. I didn’t notice a difference with the M1 iPad Pro other than the screen. But utilizing M1 to the fullest (M1 beats the crap out of my 2019 i9 iMac) and having apps be able to use as much memory as possible (12-13GB being used by Illustrator here with dozens of documents open). It’s being help back. How can someone argue otherwise?
 

sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
9,988
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Seattle WA
Geez what’s happening to the world these days where you can’t have constructive criticism or think things are not as good as they should be.

I’m as much of an Apple fan as everyone else here. Even have an Apple tattoo. I have pretty much every Apple product except the Mac Pro.

But that still doesn’t mean I can’t be frustrated about the iPad situation.

As far as iPadOS 15, developers still need to ensure their application works in the 5GB limit in order for them to be able to get more RAM. And will Apple allow an app to take 13GB? Why did I keep getting my apps to reload when I tested the IPad? The app suspension is still an issue and iPad doesn’t have full multitasking.

And the biggest complaint so far about iPadOS is that there is only one audio source. So if I’m listening to music and browsing Safari, the music will stop if the website has an ad that has audio, even if that ad is muted.

There are a lot of things that iPadOS does that holds back the iPad from being fully capable.

I have a 2020 iPad Pro and I love it, but apps suspended is still driving me crazy. I didn’t notice a difference with the M1 iPad Pro other than the screen. But utilizing M1 to the fullest (M1 beats the crap out of my 2019 i9 iMac) and having apps be able to use as much memory as possible (12-13GB being used by Illustrator here with dozens of documents open). It’s being help back. How can someone argue otherwise?

The problem with your criticism has been your absolutist statements that performance with the new M1 processor is no better than earlier iPad versions and that is simply not true. A lot does indeed need to be done about iPadOS but don't muddy your valid criticisms with statements that are not true.
 

Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
8,141
7,119
The problem with your criticism has been your absolutist statements that performance with the new M1 processor is no better than earlier iPad versions and that is simply not true. A lot does indeed need to be done about iPadOS but don't muddy your valid criticisms with statements that are not true.

From my experience the M1 does nothing. The 2020 iPad Pro can the M1 iPad Pro has no difference. And the 16GB version still suffers from app suspension when switching apps which leads to apps refreshing when switching back. This should not happen when going from 6GB of RAM to 16 GB.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,915
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The problem with your criticism has been your absolutist statements that performance with the new M1 processor is no better than earlier iPad versions and that is simply not true. A lot does indeed need to be done about iPadOS but don't muddy your valid criticisms with statements that are not true.

Yep. Also, why cripple hardware progress? We're getting annual iPhone chipset upgrades and no one's complaining about those being overpowered even when single-core performance of A14 almost matches that of M1 and is faster than the 2020 iPad Pros.

As far as RAM, maybe with his workload, it hasn't made a difference. However, for me, 16GB RAM has definitely reduced app and Safari tab reloads (and improved system stability actually) compared to my 2017 iPad Pro.
 

Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
8,141
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Yep. Also, why cripple hardware progress? We're getting annual iPhone chipset upgrades and no one's complaining about those being overpowered even when single-core performance of A14 almost matches that of M1 and is faster than the 2020 iPad Pros.

As far as RAM, maybe with his workload, it hasn't made a difference. However, for me, 16GB RAM has definitely reduced app and Safari tab reloads (and improved system stability actually) compared to my 2017 iPad Pro.

You both are comparing the 2017 and 2018 pros and I am comparing with the 2020. Maybe that’s why you are seeing such a difference and I’m not?
 

jsmith1

macrumors 6502a
Jun 6, 2010
683
594
Perfect setup as designed….windows main, iPad sidepiece, iPhone….say want you want but this setup gives you the most options of any setup….as it was designed.
 

sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
9,988
34,224
Seattle WA
You both are comparing the 2017 and 2018 pros and I am comparing with the 2020. Maybe that’s why you are seeing such a difference and I’m not?

I don't think it's enough of a difference to be really significant -

The 2020 ‌iPad Pro‌ is equipped with an A12Z Bionic chip, which is a slight upgrade over the A12X chip featured in the 2018 ‌iPad Pro‌ models. The 2018 and 2020 ‌iPad Pro‌ contain the same A12-series processor. The only difference is that the A12Z Bionic's GPU contains one more active core than the A12X, with eight cores in total.​

It could be in different usage - I'm using CPU-intensive apps like Lightroom, Photoshop and LumaFusion with large data files. The difference I see is in the rendering and export of finalized jobs.
 

Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
8,141
7,119
I don't think it's enough of a difference to be really significant -

The 2020 ‌iPad Pro‌ is equipped with an A12Z Bionic chip, which is a slight upgrade over the A12X chip featured in the 2018 ‌iPad Pro‌ models. The 2018 and 2020 ‌iPad Pro‌ contain the same A12-series processor. The only difference is that the A12Z Bionic's GPU contains one more active core than the A12X, with eight cores in total.​

It could be in different usage - I'm using CPU-intensive apps like Lightroom, Photoshop and LumaFusion with large data files. The difference I see is in the rendering and export of finalized jobs.

2018 has 4GB of RAM unless you got the 1TB model. 2020 iPad has 6GB of RAM.

And I noticed a significant improvement between the 2018 and 2020 model - most likely due to the RAM update.
 

sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
9,988
34,224
Seattle WA
2018 has 4GB of RAM unless you got the 1TB model. 2020 iPad has 6GB of RAM.

And I noticed a significant improvement between the 2018 and 2020 model - most likely due to the RAM update.

That's true. And a legitimate question is whether the performance improvement is worth the cost of the upgrade. Two different people with the same experiences with the device could easily have opposing answers – it’s a subjective question.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,915
13,259
You both are comparing the 2017 and 2018 pros and I am comparing with the 2020. Maybe that’s why you are seeing such a difference and I’m not?

At one point, I had 2018 12.9 1TB (Apple refurb), 2020 12.9 1TB (Amazon open-box) and 2021 12.9 1TB while trying to determine which one to keep. I had Mini-LED induced migraines when I first got the 2021 Pro so I decided to check out the alternatives.

While the 2018 and 2020 didn't reload as often as the 2017, it still reloaded more often than the 2021 in my experience (~90 Safari tabs, Excel, Marvin 3, Marvin sxs, Messages, Mail and Files). As I recall, I didn't get any reloads at all on the 2021 for a full week. Meanwhile, several of my Safari tabs reloaded on the 2018 and 2020. Marvin reloaded on the older Pros as well, which was noticeable since it loses the current position/page when it reloads because of the way it renders pages.

Even with the relatively light apps I'm using, RAM usage was still high. I know there's a saying free RAM is wasted RAM but in the case of iOS, a buffer is needed otherwise, it'll start suspending apps and stuff's gonna reload left and right.


Usage-Memory 2021 12.9 1TB 2021-06-10 at 9.36.25 AM.png



Usage-Memory 2018 12.9 1TB 2021-06-08 at 6.59.23 PM.png
 
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Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
8,141
7,119
That's true. And a legitimate question is whether the performance improvement is worth the cost of the upgrade. Two different people with the same experiences with the device could easily have opposing answers – it’s a subjective question.

What’s not subjective is switching apps, even with 16GB puts apps in suspended state, they can only do very minimal things in the background. And that Apple still has a 5GB RAM limit, that developers still need to meet even if they want to request more.

Things are not truly multitasking like macOS. Which is indeed holding iPadOS back. It’s still just a bigger phone operating system. iPadOS should stop limiting these things. Bring Finder instead of the poor Files app, bring Final Cut and Logic, bring in true multitasking. All these things M1 and even 8 GB of RAM has a breeze with on macOS. So by definition, iPadOS is holding back the hardware from being fulfilled to the fullest.
 
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Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
8,141
7,119
At one point, I had 2018 12.9 1TB (Apple refurb), 2020 12.9 1TB (Amazon open-box) and 2021 12.9 1TB while trying to determine which one to keep. I had Mini-LED induced migraines when I first got the 2021 Pro so I decided to check out the alternatives.

While the 2018 and 2020 didn't reload as often as the 2017, it still reloaded more often than the 2021 in my experience (~90 Safari tabs, Excel, Marvin 3, Marvin sxs, Messages, Mail and Files). As I recall, I didn't get any reloads at all on the 2021 for a full week. Meanwhile, several of my Safari tabs reloaded on the 2018 and 2020. Marvin reloaded on the older Pros as well, which was noticeable since it loses the current position/page when it reloads because of the way it renders pages.

Even with the relatively light apps I'm using, RAM usage was still high. I know there's a saying free RAM is wasted RAM but in the case of iOS, a buffer is needed otherwise, it'll start suspending apps and stuff's gonna reload left and right.


View attachment 1812148


View attachment 1812150

I didnt see much improvement with the apps reloading when switching from the 2020 vs M1 iPads. Might be the websites and how much I was doing on the other apps.

If I just launch the apps and switch in quick timing, it doesn’t happen. But if I get back to an app about 30+ minutes later, it goes through the refresh process.
 

iPadified

macrumors 68020
Apr 25, 2017
2,014
2,257
That’s……not true. Why get an i9 or Threadripper system if you just use Microsoft Word? iPadOS CANNOT utilize the hardware provided, so it’s just useless and we are paying for more that can’t be used - if I want 2TB of storage I HAVE TO GET 16GB of RAM.
A computer can be too expensive but never have too much performance. Funny you mention Word. 200 pages word document with 100 mb+ pictures is very heavy indeed so it is a bad example.

Furthermore, hardware must always be available before software. Who in their right mind would develop software for hardware that does not exist?

The 15-16 inch MBP has had 16 Gb RAM standard has soon a decade while the 13 inch has had 8gb. Are you complaining about that forced extra 8 gb RAM as well on the larger MBP?
 
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bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
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Lard
Microsoft announced first class support for Android apps. They're able to do this via hyper-v. It's going to be GPU accelerated as well. It should work very similar to WSL which has very good performance, so running Android apps on Windows 11 will work out of the box.

W11 makes the entire OS touch friendly just like the iPad, so a lot of the frustrating usability issues are resolved!
I thought Microsoft announced support for Android apps currently running on Amazon products, not everything.
 

Ethosik

Contributor
Oct 21, 2009
8,141
7,119
A computer can be too expensive but never have too much performance. Funny you mention Word. 200 pages word document with 100 mb+ pictures is very heavy indeed so it is a bad example.

Furthermore, hardware must always be available before software. Who in their right mind would develop software for hardware that does not exist?

The 15-16 inch MBP has had 16 Gb RAM standard has soon a decade while the 13 inch has had 8gb. Are you complaining about that forced extra 8 gb RAM as well on the larger MBP?

Word as in one-five page only simple high school stuff. Threadripper or other things will have too much performance for that.
 

Pierre535

macrumors regular
Jun 6, 2017
138
122
Well at the end of the day, its still a Microsoft product, so that kills it for me. Gave up on windows several years ago and never looked back. With IOS and MacOS free, I’ve saved a bundle over that time and reduced my frustration by tons. Now if I could only find a decent Word and Excel replacement. The Apple versions are flakey and flucky.
 

jsmith1

macrumors 6502a
Jun 6, 2010
683
594
Well at the end of the day, its still a Microsoft product, so that kills it for me. Gave up on windows several years ago and never looked back. With IOS and MacOS free, I’ve saved a bundle over that time and reduced my frustration by tons. Now if I could only find a decent Word and Excel replacement. The Apple versions are flakey and flucky.
Boy you miss running the best programs and games…but for some that’s not important
 
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