Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPad Pro Is the A12Z any better than the A12X?
- Thread starter AutomaticApple
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The A12X had 7 core graphics.
I never saw an A12X die photo, it may be that the silicon has 8 GPU cores but always had one disabled, and this one simply enables it. The rest might be run a little bit faster due to 7nm process tweaks in the past 15+ months.
If not, then it's new silicon...
I never saw an A12X die photo, it may be that the silicon has 8 GPU cores but always had one disabled, and this one simply enables it. The rest might be run a little bit faster due to 7nm process tweaks in the past 15+ months.
If not, then it's new silicon...
I do wonder why they didn’t just use an A13? Or an A13X which runs at higher clocks with extra GPU core? Either way, looking forward to seeing how the A12Z performs as the A12X set quite the high bar.
I think a better question is, Is it better in a way that will matter/be visible to most users?
Most likely A12Z will be an incremental improvement over A12X at best.
Why? Because obviously Apple needs to have a reason for you to upgrade to the next iPad.
The fact that it is still an A12 series chip suggests it will be virtually identical to the A12X in terms of CPU tasks. Likely there will be some improvements in GPU tasks thanks to the extra graphics core. However, we’ll have to wait on benchmarks to find out just how big that difference is.
because the a13x doesn't exist, and the a13 is considerably slower than the a12x at about half the speed on geekbench
To be precise, A13 is slower in multicore tests because it has fewer cores than A12X. A13 has better single thread performance than A12X.
[automerge]1584562367[/automerge]
Not necessarily. A12Z may indeed has the identical CPU microarchitecture. However, it may be clocked at a higher frequency. Also, improvements in thermal management could also help maintaining peak speed for longer period of time.
This iPad feels like third generation iPad to to me, will have a truly updated version by end of year with better chip, etc.
Yeah A12Z?
I'd be feeling pretty good about my 2018 iPP right now if I had one if its just the camera, 6gb, and wifi 6
The real question is when is the NEXT refresh? late this year? early next? feels like won't be as long as it was between this one and the last certainly
I think we are done with iPad Pro's this year. Apple did release multiple iPad upgrades in 2018, but only one for iPad Pro. We may not see another update until 2021 or Oct 2022.
That’s what I suspect. Apple has been implementing such minor upgrades that this upgrade is probably good enough for them for another year, minimum.
Last edited:
I would blame the virus problems for the A12Z, but that would be short-sighted. Apple had to have planned the A12Z before they knew manufacturing could be a problem.
It does concern me that we could see a repeat of the iPad 3rd Gen because of this. It only concerns me because I know how I felt when they released the iPad 4th gen after I bought the 3rd at launch. I'm about to buy this new iPad Pro and I don't want to feel burned in the fall.
It will be interesting to see if the standard iPad gets an A13, A12Z, or an A14 later in the year.
The A12Z likely has some minor, but helpful improvements. The rumored 6GB RAM is really going to make a difference for people like me compared to the 4GB versions from 2019. A bit of a GPU boost and maybe some CPU tweaks would make it well rounded for an update and worth it to me buying over a 2019 model.
It does concern me that we could see a repeat of the iPad 3rd Gen because of this. It only concerns me because I know how I felt when they released the iPad 4th gen after I bought the 3rd at launch. I'm about to buy this new iPad Pro and I don't want to feel burned in the fall.
It will be interesting to see if the standard iPad gets an A13, A12Z, or an A14 later in the year.
The A12Z likely has some minor, but helpful improvements. The rumored 6GB RAM is really going to make a difference for people like me compared to the 4GB versions from 2019. A bit of a GPU boost and maybe some CPU tweaks would make it well rounded for an update and worth it to me buying over a 2019 model.
6GB of RAM has been confirmed.
That's based on iOS 13.4 code. So "confirmed" is a strong word. There's good evidence pointing to it, but I don't consider that a confirmation.
I think their development cycle could be upset for some unknown time due to the coronavirus outbreak. There have been reports of engineers having difficulty working remotely because Apple's drive for internal security on new products. If they start losing team members to illness, the problems will only be exacerbated.
Because Apple slightly tweaked the name of the Apple Watch processor to make it sound newer but kept it the same. It could be very well the same chip with an extra GPU core enabled and better thermal management (as apple has advertised). An upgrade, but not one nearly as exciting as a new chip.
I bought the 3rd gen iPad and then was pretty pissed when they brought out the much better 4th gen a few months later. I have a feeling of deja vu here. The rumours of micro/miniLED and the failure to bump the CPU up to an A13X suggests to me that they’re going to drop a big upgrade later this year.
I have an original 12.9” 2015 iPad Pro which is still great for my needs but my keyboard is falling apart. Not in a position to upgrade now anyway but I might be later this year. I’ll wait and see.
Wonder how much heavier the magic keyboard is?
I have an original 12.9” 2015 iPad Pro which is still great for my needs but my keyboard is falling apart. Not in a position to upgrade now anyway but I might be later this year. I’ll wait and see.
Wonder how much heavier the magic keyboard is?
Hopefully there will be some benchmarks coming out soon to see if they made any further improvements to this chip. Maybe higher clock speeds
It is disappointing with the A12 architecture for sure. If we put it into perspective, A12X>A12Z improvements are probably larger than seen between two generations of Intels "i" chips.
6Gb RAM, better camera, better microphones, LIDAR makes it far better upgrade than the 3:rd gen IPP since I am upgrading from the 1:st generation iPP. All these additional improvements including the better microphone system are very useful for me for producing teaching materials.
6Gb RAM, better camera, better microphones, LIDAR makes it far better upgrade than the 3:rd gen IPP since I am upgrading from the 1:st generation iPP. All these additional improvements including the better microphone system are very useful for me for producing teaching materials.
Yeah I got bit by the 3rd gen. Something tells me that Apple was probably aiming for an a13x but something went wrong with the design (thermals, manufacturing issue) and went with plan “Z” instead.
The cynic in me says that the bean counters at Apple figured that they could just rebadge A12X chips with all 8 graphics cores enabled.
[automerge]1584603004[/automerge]
CPUs are years in the making and Apple would have been testing a13x samples over 6 months ago. If a a13x ever existed it was abandoned long before all this pandemic.
Last edited: