Almost zero use case except in 1 game or 2. I know you can use upwards of 14.9GB in RE 4 Village. But that’s it. Shame on Apple. Pro in the name should be for a ‘singular’ pro gamer for RE 4 Village - iPad version. SMH
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iPad 8GB vs 16GB RAM M4 iPad Pro
- Thread starter seasurfer
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The article seems to be from iPadOS 15 and the memory swap was introduced with 16... Anyway, maybe some developers has more precise information...
Same here 8GB for M1 was because of cost and because I have several devices. Also because I have come to realize that buying extremely expensive iPads ($2000+) in order to keep them for 7-10 years as the main iPad is not worth it, since after a few years I want to have a newer device anyway to take advantage of new hardware or software features (I don't need the M4 but I want it, will probably not buy it, but I know I'll buy a new iPad pro before my M1 becomes a poor experience, which will probably be because of battery life anyway rather than RAM or CPU not being enough).
com.apple.developer.kernel.increased-memory-limit | Apple Developer Documentation
A Boolean value that indicates whether core features of your app may perform better with a higher memory limit on supported devices.developer.apple.com
I wonder how well it works real world, and with which apps.
I'm gonna go with 8 GB, mainly because of the cost, and also because I'm not a heavy iPad user. I really just want the OLED display, lighter weight, and landscape camera, etc. However, if the memory weren't tied to storage, I would have considered 16 GB.
I don't have a 16GB device to test. I have done tests between 4, 6 and 8GB RAM devices and the results are than 6 is much closer to 8 than to 4. And I have also heard, but not tested personally, that 16GB reload similarly to 8GB devices....
Oops. Oh I misunderstood the link. That entitlement is for raising the memory cap.
At least for me, I bought $2000 iPad Pros because the Pro used to be the only option (apart from buying older model refurb/used) for 1TB storage.
With 1TB now available on the Air, it's now a valid option for me. I'm just hoping FaceID makes its way to the iPad Air before I need to replace my 11" and 13" M1 Pros. I'm happy to stick with LCD anyway (PWM sensitivity).
The way I figure it, if I get my gift card prediction right, my iPad Pro will effectively cost US$803 before taxes:
iPad Pro 11" 256 GB edu - CA$1249 / US$913
Edu promotion gift card - CA$150 / US$110
Effective price incl. GC - CA$1099 / US$803
To get 16 GB RAM would be crazy:
iPad Pro 11" 1 TB edu - CA$2079 / US$1520
Edu promotion gift card - CA$150 / US$110
Effective price incl. GC - CA$1929 / US$1410
I'm happy to "save" the US$607.
Coincidentally, $1099 is exactly what I paid for M1 Mac mini 16 GB / 1 TB, but I got it used in 2022. I lucked out though since it turns out it only had less than 1 week of power on time on it.
iPad Pro 11" 256 GB edu - CA$1249 / US$913
Edu promotion gift card - CA$150 / US$110
Effective price incl. GC - CA$1099 / US$803
To get 16 GB RAM would be crazy:
iPad Pro 11" 1 TB edu - CA$2079 / US$1520
Edu promotion gift card - CA$150 / US$110
Effective price incl. GC - CA$1929 / US$1410
I'm happy to "save" the US$607.
Coincidentally, $1099 is exactly what I paid for M1 Mac mini 16 GB / 1 TB, but I got it used in 2022. I lucked out though since it turns out it only had less than 1 week of power on time on it.
Well, these iPads will be quite outdated in 7 years, and I actually think both 8 and 16Gb models will behave similarly (iPads will be so much better 7 years from now). Just the nature of iPad use.
Honestly, while having more RAM is cool and all, this forum does tend to vastly overestimate how much is needed. And in general, I saw people buying 32+ GB RAM for light usage "just because they want to keep their system for 5 years", and that was like 10 years ago.
I'm not saying it's not cool to have more, your iPad will load apps less and it will perform better (if you can afford it - go for it by all means!), but keeping it for 5-7 years shouldn't be a reason to get it. In fact, I'd argue that you could buy the base model now, take the $600 difference, sell it 2-3 years from now and combine it with that difference to buy a new iPad which will certainly perform better and with a fresh battery.
It's not a Mac, so 8GB should be fine. Adding 8GB from base spec massively increases the price. Just buy another one in a few years.
Agreed, while I tend to keep devices for many years, at some point they become secondary devices or I sell them since I'll buy a new one anyway for the new features after a couple of years.
So investing a ton of money on a single iPad does not make sense. I got the maxed out cellular 1TB 2018 only because I found it half price in 2020. For the M1 I got the base model since I know I'll be getting the M4 or M5 at some point when prices make sense. And at that point the specs on a secondary machine become less important, or if you sell it or trade in (I don't trade in) you lose way more on high tier model
For me an iPad with the same RAM as a base Mac is fine for its full life. In the past iPads used to have less than that. The 2018 one had a measily 4GB in a world where 8 was the baseline. Today that world hasn't changed much but we have 8GB iPads (other than the base and mini, which are underspecced in terms of RAM and already suffer and will suffer even more in the future).
8GB should be ok for this decade on iPadOS. If someone get 1TB because they want the storage or the nano display, that's a different story.
The additional core will make no difference on iPadOS.
Exactly. I think you should choose based on your storage (and maaaaybe nanotexture) requirements primarily.
It would be almost 500€ jump from 512GB -> 1TB model which seems crazymoney if you are only interested to get the 16GB RAM.
iPad Pro would be my most powerful computer, at least for year or two (considering to upgrading my M1 Mini to Mac Studio at some point in the future). I'm planning to move my Final Cut Pro workflow from Mac Mini to iPad Pro (using external display) and thinking if 16GB would be beneficial. I don't really need 1TB storage as FCP on iPad now supports external drives.
Future proofing is nice to consider too (my 7 year old iPad Pro is still functional, but I do feel that 4GB RAM when using Safari with multiple tabs).
iPad Pro would be my most powerful computer, at least for year or two (considering to upgrading my M1 Mini to Mac Studio at some point in the future). I'm planning to move my Final Cut Pro workflow from Mac Mini to iPad Pro (using external display) and thinking if 16GB would be beneficial. I don't really need 1TB storage as FCP on iPad now supports external drives.
Future proofing is nice to consider too (my 7 year old iPad Pro is still functional, but I do feel that 4GB RAM when using Safari with multiple tabs).
I have a similar dilemma. Last week right after the announcement I ordered the 512GB 11" iPad Pro but I am thinking the 1TB might be a better deal especially because of the updated RAM for the long run. I am an avid photographer/traveler and I travel 6-10 times a year, I usually bring an iPad mini along with a 13" M2 MacBook Air when I travel.
I do have other iPads including a 2021 iPad Pro that I am trading in for the new iPad Pro and a 22 iPad Air (I basically keep one near everyplace I sit in my home).
I'm thinking if I got the 1TB for $400 more I could leave the MacBook Air home most of the time...hmm...
I do have other iPads including a 2021 iPad Pro that I am trading in for the new iPad Pro and a 22 iPad Air (I basically keep one near everyplace I sit in my home).
I'm thinking if I got the 1TB for $400 more I could leave the MacBook Air home most of the time...hmm...
Barely more for trade in value. The most can get right now is 580 for 13. Huge loss for most recent release. Ymmv.
Out dated in 7 years? I doubt it. With the industry approaching thermal limitations and the limitations of physics, these iPads should last beyond 7 years. My 10.5 Pro is very much super and snappy. So you’re going to have to clarify what you mean because compute-wise this M4 iPad will be a beast for 7 years plus.
16gb is the future for these. But us 8gb'ers can squeak by for now, I think 
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Outdated doesn’t necessarily mean “slow”, but technology will advance tremendously in 7 years. And you will have to replace battery at least once to get good performance out of it.
Either way, we don’t know what’s coming and we can’t say if 8 vs 16Gb will be important compared to, say, advancements in Neural Engine or something else. Saving money now, then selling your iPad and buying a new one in a few years is a better strategy for longevity. If you need 16Gb today, however, that’s a different story - it’s certainly a nice thing to have.
16gb is the future for these. But us 8gb'ers can squeak by for now, I think
8Gb models will be performant for years to come.
Thinking to finally upgrade from my 2018 IPP but I’m going to wait for WWDC and iPadOS feature announcements. For the way I use my iPad, 8GB of memory is 100% plenty and I think will remain so for 99% of iPad use cases for the next 6 years. That said, if there are some special features coming to iPadOS that finally let us utilize these things to their full potential, that might be a reason to go 1TB/16GB w/ unbinned chip.
The "AAA games (e.g. RE4) would benefit from the 16GB" thought briefly crossed my mind.
Then I realized the upgrade would cost like a whole PS5.
Then I realized the upgrade would cost like a whole PS5.
It’s hard to use PS5 on an airplane. The $400 would pay for a Steam Deck or open-box Asus ROG Ally though.
Now, I’m actually curious which offers better graphics: RDNA2/3 or Apple M-series. When I played FF7 Remake on Steam Deck and ROG Ally, I pretty much had to use low graphics settings.