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 M1 on 2021 iPad Pros?
- Thread starter blurryvision
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I doubt they’ll use the m chips, being clearly Mac specific. I’m unsure as to where they’ll continue with the AX/Z designation for iPads or go for a new iPad specific name, but I imagine they’ll stick with the macos/ios separation rather than max/iPad/iPhone. At least for now.
I took the “M” in M1 to mean Mac. More specifically, Mac version 1.
I could see the iPad Pro getting the m1 or a chip more specialised to the iPad Pro. I still stand behind a previous comment I made in these forums that the m1 was being designed for the iPad Pro and Intel buggered up. Apple having this chip in the works let them ditch Intel.
Agree that the M chip is Mac designated.
I agree as well, but wondering if theres any point on the separate naming system other than the specifications of devices. It seems like the M1 is basically an A14X?
Only asking because even though the M1 may be specified for Macs, it feels redundant to give the same chip two different names.
Wouldn’t be too surprised if they go with the M1’s in the next Pros. Especially since iPadOS applications will be cross compatible... and it’ll say a lot about the direction they’re heading with the iPads.
Maybe we’ll see a different chip though, who knows.
Attachments
I just want to know what happens when we get to M7, given previous M-series co-processors.
Maybe they'll integrate the motion co-processor into the main processor by then?
I think the bigger question is whether or not we'll ever have a reason to get an M1 on the iPad.
They've wrapped up yet another announcement season and once again there's nothing but overpowered Apple iPad hardware with none of the corresponding Apple software. No major OS advancements. No software updates. No Pro apps. Not even a gimmicky LiDAR demo. Just more RAM, faster chips and the same old reliance on 3rd party software that makes no distinction between a $299 Basic and a $1299 Pro.
I absolutely love the iPad as a platform, but at some point it would be nice to have this amazing hardware get pushed just a little bit because I really dont want to buy Macs anymore.
They've wrapped up yet another announcement season and once again there's nothing but overpowered Apple iPad hardware with none of the corresponding Apple software. No major OS advancements. No software updates. No Pro apps. Not even a gimmicky LiDAR demo. Just more RAM, faster chips and the same old reliance on 3rd party software that makes no distinction between a $299 Basic and a $1299 Pro.
I absolutely love the iPad as a platform, but at some point it would be nice to have this amazing hardware get pushed just a little bit because I really dont want to buy Macs anymore.
Do we know the full A14X specs yet? The M1 comes with even more transistors than the A14,are we sure the A14X won’t be just a A14 with a few more GPU cores but maybe not a many as the M1? Seems to be a lot of variables at play.
They already have integrated the M-series motion co-processors into the A-series chips. My point is that there already is an M7 and it's a motion co-processor. So Apple is going to have a weird time naming these things once they get past M6.
As already mentioned, I don’t particularly care what the chip is called that they put in it.
Hardware on the iPad isn’t really a problem at the moment, even if they put the M1 in the next pros it means absolutely nothing if they still run the current version of iPadOS.
If by having M1, that means I can run MacOS on it, then now we are talking and yes please. They’ll never do it though.
For me at the moment:
Mac: Great software, hardware from a design perspective is feeling a bit dated. 720p cameras, no new form factors in what feels like a decade(?), no Face ID etc etc
iPad: Great hardware, lacking severely in what you can do with its operating system.
It’s frustrating that they have pretty much everything they need if they would just merge, but they won’t. So will have to wait until they decide to improve/change one of the product lines
The M1 may be a giant leap for the Mac, but what’s frustrating for me with Apple is that somethings take giant leaps, and others, like iPadOS, feel like they move slower than a sloth...
Hardware on the iPad isn’t really a problem at the moment, even if they put the M1 in the next pros it means absolutely nothing if they still run the current version of iPadOS.
If by having M1, that means I can run MacOS on it, then now we are talking and yes please. They’ll never do it though.
For me at the moment:
Mac: Great software, hardware from a design perspective is feeling a bit dated. 720p cameras, no new form factors in what feels like a decade(?), no Face ID etc etc
iPad: Great hardware, lacking severely in what you can do with its operating system.
It’s frustrating that they have pretty much everything they need if they would just merge, but they won’t. So will have to wait until they decide to improve/change one of the product lines
The M1 may be a giant leap for the Mac, but what’s frustrating for me with Apple is that somethings take giant leaps, and others, like iPadOS, feel like they move slower than a sloth...
1000% Yes.
The A12X is a 15w chip Vs. the M1 is a 10w chip that’s 5 less Watts that’s huge.
This is why I’m holding Off on the M1 chip I don’t need it, my iPAd pro 11” does everything I need and more. Just Edited 4K HDR footage RAW footage for fun.
But the MacBook Air is just a 13” iPad Pro without the 120hz Promotion Touch screen.
that being said the next iPad Pro needs to have a 120hz OLED display or MiniLED display.
processor wise Intel 10th Gen, or A12X is plenty fast. What matters is the Display
I think they have interest in keeping the A for iPads and the M for Macs.
I think there is definately potential for the M1 to be in the iPad Pro’s only.
That could potentially be the reason why they released the 2020 pro with the A12Z rather than an A13X or wait until late 2020 and release it alongside the air with the A14X.
I think the base iPad and iPad Air may stick with the A series chips, with the pros going with the M series, it would make sense when you think about it.
As personally I think Apple are trying to have 4 different ‘computer’ type devices.
iPad and iPad Air being primarily a tablet computer.
iPad Pro being a tablet/laptop computer combo.
MacBook being a laptop computer.
Mac being a desktop computer.
That could potentially be the reason why they released the 2020 pro with the A12Z rather than an A13X or wait until late 2020 and release it alongside the air with the A14X.
I think the base iPad and iPad Air may stick with the A series chips, with the pros going with the M series, it would make sense when you think about it.
As personally I think Apple are trying to have 4 different ‘computer’ type devices.
iPad and iPad Air being primarily a tablet computer.
iPad Pro being a tablet/laptop computer combo.
MacBook being a laptop computer.
Mac being a desktop computer.
Not arguing, but im not sure about that product breakdown. Every iPad has the EXACT same core functionality/accessories and no software exists that are exclusive to a specific model or spec. So a Pro isn't any more a "laptop" as an iPad/Air and the only real differentiators between models are “luxuries” and nothing more. The iPad clearly can (and should) do more but I dont think Apple wants it to.
With the ARM transition and so much excess power in even the most basic iPads then maybe it shouldn’t be a platform choice anymore, it should be a choice of form factor.
Last edited:
M1 is basically A14X and Apple is the last to care about redundancy when they put basically the same chip in 2 different generations of ipad pro and gave it a different name. So no problem giving it the A14X name and at best it having some minor differences with M1 (like some more or less cache etc. and it will probably be the 7-core GPU version of the base Macbook air rather than the 8-core version of the more expensive version and of the macbook pro and mini).
I think Apple will keep the current naming conventions for the iPhone and iPad, even if the M1 is just a rebadged version of the A14X/Z. As far as the Mac SoC’s are concerned, this is just the starting point, the differences will become more pronounced over time and I can understand why they would want to rename it.
I’m not sure how reliable the information is, but Geekbench is showing details for the M1. The A14X is now listed as having a 7-core GPU whereas last week it was shown as having 8-cores. The 7-core version, which presumably has 1-core disabled because it doesn’t meet the required standards, is available in the base Air. There doesn’t appear to be any other differences between the two SoC's, which would support the fact that the A14X is a version of the M1.
www.cpu-monkey.com
I wonder whether the new iPad Pros will use the 7-core or 8-core GPU. If they go with the 8-core version, presumably they should call it the A14Z.
I’m not sure how reliable the information is, but Geekbench is showing details for the M1. The A14X is now listed as having a 7-core GPU whereas last week it was shown as having 8-cores. The 7-core version, which presumably has 1-core disabled because it doesn’t meet the required standards, is available in the base Air. There doesn’t appear to be any other differences between the two SoC's, which would support the fact that the A14X is a version of the M1.
Apple M1 - Benchmark, Test and Specs
Apple M1 - Benchmark, Geekbench 5, Cinebench R20, Cinebench R23, Cinebench R15 and FP32 iGPU (GFLOPS) benchmark results
I wonder whether the new iPad Pros will use the 7-core or 8-core GPU. If they go with the 8-core version, presumably they should call it the A14Z.
Last edited:
Yes in the iPads current form yes they are all generally the same but I am talking about the future of iPad here, I can imagine the iPad Pro being differentiated more and more as time goes on from the standard iPad and iPad Air, both in terms of form factor, hardware and software capability.
The Pro will be differentiated for 2-3 years at a time since form factor, hardware, and software eventually trickles down to the rest of the iPads.
Only thing that hasn’t trickled down is the X/Z chips, but I guess they don’t need to do that because of the incremental updates that happen every two years. Based on pattern, seems like the A chips are equivalent in performance to the supercharged variants that were released 2 years before it. (A14//A12X, A12//A10X)
Last edited:
What you say makes sense IF AND ONLY IF Apple decides they want to wind down their Mac lines and I am not sure I see the logic in why they would want to do that.
Whatever they name it, I wonder if Apple is bringing a chip which will again make the iPad Pro more powerful than a Mac like it did in 2018. Although having the better form factor (in my opinion) than the Mac, it is limited by its size so I don’t know if it is possible. I also wonder if they bring the iPad Rosetta version which will translate the legacy apps on Mac so that we could use them on iPad. iPad certainly has the capability as we all found out with the release of M1 which basically is A14x, with added chores.
I don’t see why Apple cannot bring the Mac apps to the iPad OS. I hope Apple keeps the iPad the most advanced computer like it has been for the last 2 years until the Macs surpassed it basically with the iPad chip. Apple should bring the Final Cut full version to the iPad and also full external monitor. I personally hate the laptops that confine you to the monitor (keyboard attached screen, I mean). I think the whole thing is about bringing legacy apps to the iPad rather than turning Mac into an iPad.
I don’t see why Apple cannot bring the Mac apps to the iPad OS. I hope Apple keeps the iPad the most advanced computer like it has been for the last 2 years until the Macs surpassed it basically with the iPad chip. Apple should bring the Final Cut full version to the iPad and also full external monitor. I personally hate the laptops that confine you to the monitor (keyboard attached screen, I mean). I think the whole thing is about bringing legacy apps to the iPad rather than turning Mac into an iPad.
Last edited: