Will the New iPad Pro Really Have the M4 Chip?

[Viper2005]

If this is true, having an m4 with the fancy two layer oled screen, is going to make this the most expensive iPad Pro ever. $2999 for a top spec ipad?

 

[theLedger]

There has got to be something interesting for Apple to host an event like this. Just upgrading the iPad to the M4 or a new stylus is not enough. Will we see a bigger iPad? Is there some unique hardware design that is coming? Will the iPad line be streamlined? Is a camera for landscape FaceTime coming to all iPads?

 

[Antony Newman]

<snip>. In other words, the M3 may pick up the (trailing) CPU from the A16 AND the (leading) GPU from the A17. Or the equivalent for the ISP, the media blocks, the ANE, etc.

<snip> Likewise the somewhat disappointing (ie basically none-existent) IPC bump for the M3, even though it definitely has 9-wide (rather than 8-wide) functionality, and probably has somewhat boosted branch prediction

Apple has used billions of additional transistors to hardware accelerate functions needed in it’s vertically designed systems.

With transistor density reducing in N3E, and Apple needing more AI ‘TOPS’ for on device real-time inference of ‘low memory footprint LLMs’ perhaps Apple have chosen this non-shrinking process to switch to ARMs AI-Focused v9 ISP for an architectural IPC jump? A greased up the memory/cache subsystem to get the LLM latency low enough for seamless ‘on edge’ processing might also be on order.

What else is there that iPad users can throw all that hardware at on their iPadOS device? Are there any Apps that actually push the M2s?

 

[wbeasley]

Maybe “Let Loose” refers to fully opening up the OS to be the Apple Android ****fest so many on here seem to want.

 

[sos47]

“let loose” sounds like they get rid of iPadOS

 

[bushman4]

Don't really know what 'Let Loose' exactly means But I do know that this upcoming iPad Pro better have some good features and Bells and Whistles if Apple wants it to be a hit

 

[Tagbert]

What I care about most is actually… idle battery use. My A12z iPad Pro is dead within a week of non-use, especially with the Magic Keyboard attached. I want the old experience of picking up my iPad after 3 days and seeing it only lost 1%, not 55%.
More battery life! Stop the leakage! I don’t need more power…

What does that phrase mean “a week of non-use”? I can’t make any sense of such a statement. 😁

 

[RedWeasel]

I've called it elsewhere already, but I am predicting that "Let Loose" is not referring to speed but to them finally enabling Mac OS on an extremely powerful iPad (M4 or M3X). I know, I know, it's wishful thinking.

This is the one reason why I‘m holding off buying a Surface Pro until the Apple event.

 

[jayb3]

My guess is that they will now offer the M3 Pro chip as an option for IPad Pros. My dream is for it to be able to run MacOS as well as IPadOS.

 

[Surf Monkey]

There have been rumors that Apple is developing a streamlined version of Mac OS specifically for the iPad Pro. This adaptation seems necessary to manage the significant battery drain and overheating issues that the full version would likely cause on a tablet.

Interestingly, there’s also been a leak about a trademark for a keyboard that could potentially allow the iPad to run Mac OS when connected, akin to how Samsung's DeX works.

^^^

Exactly what I want and have described as an ideal for iPad many many times.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Bad news: Apple is supposedly making the iPads thinner, so it's possible battery life will just remain the same.

Thinner would be better on the 12.9 in my opinion. It’s quite a bulky device right now. It will be interesting to see what the battery life is.

 

[NewOldStock]

 

[adonalsium]

New iPad needs a new chip capable of running LLMs locally

 

[EntropyQ3]

If this is true, having an m4 with the fancy two layer oled screen, is going to make this the most expensive iPad Pro ever. $2999 for a top spec ipad?

The M4 chip is presumably produced on the new TSMC N3E node, and may well be cheaper to produce than the M3. And it would be sensible to design for that process version, since it allows for easier carry-over to new N3 generation process tweaks. It makes sense for both Apple and TSMC to move on from the first N3 version.

 

[EntropyQ3]

With transistor density reducing in N3E, and Apple needing more AI ‘TOPS’ for on device real-time inference of ‘low memory footprint LLMs’ perhaps Apple have chosen this non-shrinking process to switch to ARMs AI-Focused v9 ISP for an architectural IPC jump? A greased up the memory/cache subsystem to get the LLM latency low enough for seamless ‘on edge’ processing might also be on order.

Re:density, the differences are really small, and I’d say negligeable compared to other aspects of chip design. FinFlex/layout/process experience… (And density improvements isn’t something you’ll see much of going forward, even IMECs 20 year roadmap/forcast is very modest in that respect. And it’s the job of IMEC to be optimistic….)

 

[throAU]

Depends how well apple are doing with the M4. M3 came out nearly a year ago and if the M4 is on a more efficient TSMC process and yielding well - its not impossible.

 

[throAU]

“let loose” sounds like they get rid of iPadOS

Or at least some of the restrictions inside of it regarding running macOS applications.

 

[throAU]

The M4 chip is presumably produced on the new TSMC N3E node, and may well be cheaper to produce than the M3. And it would be sensible to design for that process version, since it allows for easier carry-over to new N3 generation process tweaks. It makes sense for both Apple and TSMC to move on from the first N3 version.

Agreed. The way node shrinks worth, if TSMC is ahead of schedule it may well be cheaper and better to put the m4 in the high end iPads already.

 

[MacsRgr8]

So, basically we will now start debating the naming of the new Apple Silicon….
When is something an M4? M3 + AI? M3 + AI + more performance cores? Etc.

 

[throAU]

So, basically we will now start debating the naming of the new Apple Silicon….
When is something an M4? M3 + AI? M3 + AI + more performance cores? Etc.

Its just a name, its an m4 if apple sell it as an m4

 

[Isengardtom]

M4 sounds unlikely but the iPad Pro is the device where Apple often introduces upgrades to technology in its lineup.


- promotion : first introduced to iPad Pro in 2017
- mini LED : first introduced to iPad Pro in 2021
- OLED on a big screen also coming to iPad before Macs

 

[picpicmac]

There has got to be something interesting for Apple to host an event like this.

It's just going to be a recorded bit... probably less than 30 minutes. There appears to be a few people who will gather for a touch-and-feel, not unlike the MacBook Pro intros last fall.

 

[picpicmac]

Don't really know what 'Let Loose' exactly means

Well, if you ever have a colonoscopy then you'll know what "prep" means and that means...

 

[AlexESP]

I always wondered why iPads started out with iOS then started to run iPadOS and lost some possibilities? Now we have iPhone 16 Max supposedly 6.9" in size. The iPad mini is 8.3" somewhat bigger yet while it can run iPadOS it can't directly access Cellular Voice or Messaging features because of some agreement with Cellular providers only utilize DataSIM with access IP-data services?

You can see at some point in the future iPhones could be like iPads, yet iOS doesn't allow iOS apps to mimic desktop usage as iPadOS does?

I keep wondering when these limitations will cease and Apple bridges the two with a scalable OS that recognized the screen size instead of two separate OS's for particular screen resolutions?

If Apple wants to gain marketshare they have to start thinking ahead about this? Obviously Apple has its hands full with a foldable or collapsible iPhone in the future where screen resolutions can be enlarged or shrunk. Or visa versa a normal size tablet that collapsed is the size of a iPhone Max.

non-Apple examples

5 tablets with phone functionality

There aren't as many options as there were a few years back, but if you're searching for the best recent tablets that can make phone calls – we have them listed right here for you.

www.phonearena.com

Comparing diagonals is not a good way to know how much bigger a display is. 8.3” and 6.7” might seem close, but the iPad mini screen is 84% larger than the iPhone’s.

 

[tobybrut]

If this is true, having an m4 with the fancy two layer oled screen, is going to make this the most expensive iPad Pro ever. $2999 for a top spec ipad?

Not necessarily. The N3E process is allegedly cheaper to produce because of much higher yields than the N3B process, so a more powerful M4 might actually cost Apple less to make than the M3 even if it has a higher transistor count.