iPad Pro Looking for people’s experiences with the new higher spec M4 iPad Pro with 16GB RAM - Updated with real world results

[nappes]

As already mentioned, the 1 TB is not QLC.

Where did you see this

 

[EugW]

Where did you see this

8GB vs 16GB RAM M4 iPad Pro

The 1TB 11" M4 uses a TLC Toshiba storage, tlc_3d_g5_2p_512.

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Gelam]

Antivirus in iPad? Is there any? I doubt it’s possible in closed system like iPad.

Would love to have that too.

Solely for the purpose of scanning Windows malware/virus so I don't pass them from incoming windows machine to outgoing windows machine.

 

[nappes]

8GB vs 16GB RAM M4 iPad Pro

The 1TB 11" M4 uses a TLC Toshiba storage, tlc_3d_g5_2p_512.

forums.macrumors.com

Thanks.
what then do you think is causing the gap in write performance versus 512gb model in the Jazz disk benchmarks. It has similar read perf but lower write performance. Which would be consist with qlc

 

[EugW]

Thanks.
what then do you think is causing the gap in write performance versus 512gb model in the Jazz disk benchmarks. It has similar read perf but lower write performance. Which would be consist with qlc

No idea, but it does not appear to be QLC.

 

[TheRealAlex]

I’m looking for some feedback from those who bought the new iPad Pro M4 10 core model with 16gb RAM. Are you noticing any tangible benefits?

I initially bought the base 256gb model (11”) but was so in love with it but I’ve placed an order for the 1TB version (standard glass) and plan on returning the base model. I use Logic Pro (a lot) and could do with the increased storage, and wanted to know if others are seeing any benefits from having the extra core and the 16gb Ram, not necessarily using Logic Pro, but with any use case / work flow.

Thanks!

Using a 1TB 16GB M4 with 10 Cores 11” it’s a massive Upgrade. I never close any apps so everything is much more snappy. It’s maybe a few percentages in a benchmark but in daily use, it’s crazy how fun it is.

 

[Wind30]

I’m looking for some feedback from those who bought the new iPad Pro M4 10 core model with 16gb RAM. Are you noticing any tangible benefits?

I initially bought the base 256gb model (11”) but was so in love with it but I’ve placed an order for the 1TB version (standard glass) and plan on returning the base model. I use Logic Pro (a lot) and could do with the increased storage, and wanted to know if others are seeing any benefits from having the extra core and the 16gb Ram, not necessarily using Logic Pro, but with any use case / work flow.

Thanks!

Sad to report no benefits for my use case of Netflix, web surfing and coc. Honestly, u need to ask the people who bought the base model not the 16gb model, whether they had issues with any tasks first. Very few people have both and can actually tell u what is the improvement. I have the 256gb m1 12.9 iPad Pro… I think both is just as fast….

 

[Macintosh101]

I’m back with some real world testing for my use case, and some other general tests that may interest people (I’ve also added this info to my original post at the start of this thread ).

I picked up the 1TB M4 11” this morning and have been able to directly compare it to the 11” M4 base model, which I’ve using since launch.

I started the tests after i had restored all my apps, settings, etc so it was identical to the base model in terms of what was installed. Both iPads were on airplane mode, with no other apps open, on the same brightness. However it was likely the 1TB was still indexing the background, so I will try some of these again tomorrow.

I exported some rather large Logic Pro files (using the exact same export settings). These projects are about 30 mins in length, are very complex with multiple tracks and lots of plugins (some are much more complex than others.) Results are below:


iPad Pro M4 11” 256GB (8GB RAM) 9 cores - 3 performance 6 efficiency.

Export times (in minutes and seconds):

File 1: 05:19
File 2: 04:32
File 3: 04:45
File 4: 04:09
File 5: 01:58
File 6: 01:32


iPad Pro M4 1TB (16GB RAM) 10 cores - 4 performance cores, 6 efficiency

Export times (in minutes and seconds):

File 1: 04:41 (- 38secs)
File 2: 03:59 (- 33 secs)
File 3: 04:24 (- 21 secs)
File 4: 04:05 ( - 4 secs)
File 5: 01:39 (-19 secs)
File 6: 01:21 (-11 secs)

I did the tests a number of times and the results were consistent.

For reference, I also exported 2 of the files using Logic Pro on a MacBook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM (10 cores - 8 performance 2 efficiency)

Export times (in minutes and seconds):

File 1: 05:57
File 4: 04:46

Other observations.

I loaded the same 20 tabs on safari on both iPads, and opened other apps like News, a video player, Music, Logic Pro, Weather, etc. I noticed that apps opened consistently quicker on the 16GB model (individual projects on Logic Pro opened quicker too). While the 256GB had to reload apps like Logic Pro after switching to a few different apps, the 16GB model didn’t. The tabs in safari needed to reload on the 256GB model more often too, and never reloaded on the 1TB model.

Incidentally I didn’t notice any ‘grain’ others have reported, either on the 256GB model, and I’m not seeing this on the 1TB model either, and I’ve tested it in a dark room at low brightness.

SSD Speed:

JazzDisk returned the following sequential results for the 1TB model:

Read: 2844.44 MB/s
Write: 2226.09 MB/s

Compared to the following for the 256GB model:

Read: 1656.96 MB/s
Write: 1395.10 MB/s

 

[masotime]

I’m back with some real world testing for my use case, and some other general tests that may interest people (I’ve also added this info to my original post at the start of this thread ).

 

[EugW]

I’m back with some real world testing for my use case, and some other general tests that may interest people (I’ve also added this info to my original post at the start of this thread ).

I picked up the 1TB M4 11” this morning and have been able to directly compare it to the 11” M4 base model, which I’ve using since launch.

I started the tests after i had restored all my apps, settings, etc so it was identical to the base model in terms of what was installed. Both iPads were on airplane mode, with no other apps open, on the same brightness. However it was likely the 1TB was still indexing the background, so I will try some of these again tomorrow.

I exported some rather large Logic Pro files (using the exact same export settings). These projects are about 30 mins in length, are very complex with multiple tracks and lots of plugins (some are much more complex than others.) Results are below:


iPad Pro M4 11” 256GB (8GB RAM) 9 cores - 3 performance 6 efficiency.

Export times (in minutes and seconds):

File 1: 05:19
File 2: 04:32
File 3: 04:45
File 4: 04:09
File 5: 01:58
File 6: 01:32


iPad Pro M4 1TB (16GB RAM) 10 cores - 4 performance cores, 6 efficiency

Export times (in minutes and seconds):

File 1: 04:41 (- 28secs)
File 2: 03:59 (- 33 secs)
File 3: 04:24 (- 21 secs)
File 4: 04:05 ( - 4 secs)
File 5: 01:39 (-19 secs)
File 6: 01:21 (-11 secs)

I did the tests a number of times and the results were consistent.

For reference, I also exported 2 of the files using Logic Pro on a MacBook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM (10 cores - 8 performance 2 efficiency)

Export times (in minutes and seconds):

File 1: 05:57
File 4: 04:46

Other observations.

I loaded the same 20 tabs on safari on both iPads, and opened other apps like News, a video player, Music, Logic Pro, Weather, etc. I noticed that apps opened consistently quicker on the 16GB model (individual projects on Logic Pro opened quicker too). While the 256GB had to reload apps like Logic Pro after switching to a few different apps, the 16GB model didn’t. The tabs in safari needed to reload on the 256GB model more often too, and never reloaded on the 1TB model.

Incidentally I didn’t notice any ‘grain’ others have reported, either on the 256GB model, and I’m not seeing this on the 1TB model either, and I’ve tested it in a dark room at low brightness.

SSD Speed:

JazzDisk returned the following sequential results for the 1TB model:

Read: 2844.44 MB/s
Write: 2226.09 MB/s

Compared to the following for the 256GB model:

Read: 1656.96 MB/s
Write: 1395.10 MB/s

I wonder how much of the export performance difference is due to the extra performance core and how much is due to the extra RAM.

However, even if Safari on its own maybe is not be able to address more than 8 GB RAM (6 GB?), the Safari tab reload results do illustrate the benefits of 16 GB RAM when heavily multitasking.

 

[Macintosh101]

I wonder how much of the export performance difference is due to the extra performance core and how much is due to the extra RAM.

However, even if Safari on its own maybe is not be able to address more than 8 GB RAM (6 GB?), the Safari tab reload results do illustrate the benefits of 16 GB RAM when heavily multitasking.

I’m thinking the improved export times maybe to do with the extra core. I read somewhere that the 10-core M4's Geekbench score was 10 percent faster than the 9-core M4. The difference in export times seems to be around 13% for a few of the files.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Anecdote from using my 1TB iPP today;

The only app I've had reload has been Safari. Everything else has stayed exactly where I left it with no hangups.

 

[Macintosh101]

Anecdote from using my 1TB iPP today;

The only app I've had reload has been Safari. Everything else has stayed exactly where I left it with no hangups.

Same here

 

[Riffz60]

I’m back with some real world testing for my use case, and some other general tests that may interest people (I’ve also added this info to my original post at the start of this thread ).

I picked up the 1TB M4 11” this morning and have been able to directly compare it to the 11” M4 base model, which I’ve using since launch.

I started the tests after i had restored all my apps, settings, etc so it was identical to the base model in terms of what was installed. Both iPads were on airplane mode, with no other apps open, on the same brightness. However it was likely the 1TB was still indexing the background, so I will try some of these again tomorrow.

I exported some rather large Logic Pro files (using the exact same export settings). These projects are about 30 mins in length, are very complex with multiple tracks and lots of plugins (some are much more complex than others.) Results are below:


iPad Pro M4 11” 256GB (8GB RAM) 9 cores - 3 performance 6 efficiency.

Export times (in minutes and seconds):

File 1: 05:19
File 2: 04:32
File 3: 04:45
File 4: 04:09
File 5: 01:58
File 6: 01:32


iPad Pro M4 1TB (16GB RAM) 10 cores - 4 performance cores, 6 efficiency

Export times (in minutes and seconds):

File 1: 04:41 (- 38secs)
File 2: 03:59 (- 33 secs)
File 3: 04:24 (- 21 secs)
File 4: 04:05 ( - 4 secs)
File 5: 01:39 (-19 secs)
File 6: 01:21 (-11 secs)

I did the tests a number of times and the results were consistent.

For reference, I also exported 2 of the files using Logic Pro on a MacBook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM (10 cores - 8 performance 2 efficiency)

Export times (in minutes and seconds):

File 1: 05:57
File 4: 04:46

Other observations.

I loaded the same 20 tabs on safari on both iPads, and opened other apps like News, a video player, Music, Logic Pro, Weather, etc. I noticed that apps opened consistently quicker on the 16GB model (individual projects on Logic Pro opened quicker too). While the 256GB had to reload apps like Logic Pro after switching to a few different apps, the 16GB model didn’t. The tabs in safari needed to reload on the 256GB model more often too, and never reloaded on the 1TB model.

Incidentally I didn’t notice any ‘grain’ others have reported, either on the 256GB model, and I’m not seeing this on the 1TB model either, and I’ve tested it in a dark room at low brightness.

SSD Speed:

JazzDisk returned the following sequential results for the 1TB model:

Read: 2844.44 MB/s
Write: 2226.09 MB/s

Compared to the following for the 256GB model:

Read: 1656.96 MB/s
Write: 1395.10 MB/s

I’ve been interested in getting the new iPad for Logic and FCP so it’s looking like my use case may actually be suitable

 

[Digitalguy]

I wonder how much of the export performance difference is due to the extra performance core and how much is due to the extra RAM.

However, even if Safari on its own maybe is not be able to address more than 8 GB RAM (6 GB?), the Safari tab reload results do illustrate the benefits of 16 GB RAM when heavily multitasking.

And how much is due to the faster SSDs...

 

[Digitalguy]

Anecdote from using my 1TB iPP today;

The only app I've had reload has been Safari. Everything else has stayed exactly where I left it with no hangups.

when you say reload you mean every tab? And how many did you have open?

 

[ProbablyDylan]

when you say reload you mean every tab? And how many did you have open?

I had 2 safari tabs open in the background. Both had to reload. Nothing crazy, no video or anything, just some news articles.

 

[Digitalguy]

I had 2 safari tabs open in the background. Both had to reload. Nothing crazy, no video or anything, just some news articles.

wow, on a 16GB RAM device... really buying the 16GB device only for Safari is a waste of money... I guess it reloads identically to the 8GB iPads

 

[hovscorpion12]

Idk if we are going to get definitive, everyone who is tearing down the iPads is doing the cheap models. I haven’t seen a 1TB teardown

here is the Jazz Disk SSD speed results for 11” Wifi model (cellular and 13” diff a bit)
you can see, 256 is slowest, 512 is fastest, then write speed drops off significantly for 1TB, which would be consistent with QLC (as does random reed and write and i ops speed) 2TB recovers, I *think* cause bigger discs are using faster, they can read from more parts of the ssd at once.

Jazz Disk Bench

It’s interesting what Jazz Disk is showing for the 1TB.

My 13” shows 2828 on the read, 2226 on the write.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

wow, on a 16GB RAM device... really buying the 16GB device only for Safari is a waste of money... I guess it reloads identically to the 8GB iPads

Only safari refreshed. Not YouTube, Affinity Photo, or any other app I had open. Seems like a Safari issue rather than an memory issue

 

[ipaddaro]

I have iPad Pro 11 M4 256 gb, so with 8 GB of RAM and reloads A LOT. More than any iOS device I ever had… expecially when new.

It often reload just switching from 2 apps (I’m speaking about youtube, prime video or settings, for example, not intensive graphic o processing apps).

REALLY disappointed it that sense, but I think and hope it’s a software issue (apps not optimized yet?) ‘cause my iPhone Pro 14 with 6 GB of RAM reloads way less…

 

[rui no onna]

I have iPad Pro 11 M4 256 gb, so with 8 GB of RAM and reloads A LOT. More than any iOS device I ever had… expecially when new.

It often reload just switching from 2 apps (I’m speaking about youtube, prime video or settings, for example, not intensive graphic o processing apps).

REALLY disappointed it that sense, but I think and hope it’s a software issue (apps not optimized yet?) ‘cause my iPhone Pro 14 with 6 GB of RAM reloads way less…

Are you using Stage Manager? I’ve noticed Stage Manager is heavier on RAM than split view. On the flip side, it seems better at keeping active state for foreground apps.

My Air 5 with 8GB RAM doesn’t reload that much unless the other app has been in the background for a while.

 

[ipaddaro]

Are you using Stage Manager? I’ve noticed Stage Manager is heavier on RAM than split view. On the flip side, it seems better at keeping active state for foreground apps.

My Air 5 with 8GB RAM doesn’t reload that much unless the other app has been in the background for a while.

no, I don’t use stage manager

 

[AppleFeller]

Waiting for WWDC to see what they are presenting there. But I don't think so, it's mostly placebo right now. These local AI language models love memory and will make everybody upgrade their devices.

There is no way Apple has an OS feature they segment to devices with the higher ram amount. at least not on a flagship pro iPad that came out a month before announcing said feature.

 

[aevan]

Waiting for WWDC to see what they are presenting there. But I don't think so, it's mostly placebo right now. These local AI language models love memory and will make everybody upgrade their devices.

They are not going to design it around the baseline which are 8gb iPhones, MacBook Airs and iPad Airs.