A new report from Counterpoint Research says that one in five iPads sold next year will sport an Apple developed M.x processor. The 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which should start arriving soon, was the first table to sport such a processor (the M1).
Counterpoint says that by using the M1 chipset in the iPad Pro, Apple is showcasing the ARM-based SoC’s scalability across different form factors – be it laptops, personal computers or tablets. This means it can power a portfolio of offerings even across different price points, right from a US$699 Mac mini, a $799 iPad Pro and a $999 MacBook Air to a $1,299 iMac.
Upcoming iPads could also pack 16GB of DRAM, as does the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Counterpoint Research says having more RAM will not only speed up tasks like video post-processing and loading large files in apps like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Procreate, but also make the tablet future-proof for the next few years.
Counterpoint Research Associate Siddharth Bhatla had this to say: The 16GB RAM in iPad is a big jump from its 6GB predecessor, signaling a major overhaul, either in the iPad apps or the iPadOS altogether. The larger RAM paves the way for bringing full pro-grade desktop apps into the iPad ecosystem and facilitate in a better way the multi-tasking needed in typical professional use cases. Video-editing apps like Final Cut Pro need large swathes of RAM for editing videos. As the videography is transitioning to 8K HDR, processing high bit-rate files will be a whole lot smoother with ample RAM. Beefy 3D simulation tools like ANSYS currently depend on the cloud to render frames, but a powerful processor like the M1 creates room for moderate simulation rendering on iPad.
The iPad has traditionally been a media consumption device, whereas the iPad Pro is positioned towards the content creators and users looking for a highly portable but powerful device on the go. With this massive RAM upgrade, Apple has given wings to the app developer community for bringing the best out of iPads. With the upgrade to the 40Gbps Thunderbolt port, the new iPad Pro has to power to drive a 6K XDR display and support massive data-transfer rates, both of which can be a boon to the content creators. Apple Pencil on iPads further unlocks multiple use-cases which are not ideally convenient on most PC form-factors.
