Did they mention anything about RAM?
> faster memory bandwidth
The announcement video also highlighted "120 GB/s unified memory bandwidth". 8 GB/16 GB depending on model.
Apple introduces M4 chip
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Re: Apple introduces M4 chip
#122I'm extremely happy with my M1 iPad. The only real issue is aside from the screen eventually wearing out ( it already has a bit of flex), I can't imagine a reason to upgrade. It's powerful enough to do anything you'd use an iPad for. I primarily make music on mine, I've made full songs with vocals and everything ( although without any mastering - I think this is possible in Logic on iPad). It's really fun for quick j…
Any apps that work with MIDI controller on iPad?
Also, can't you just use a USB-C hub for like $10 from Amazon?
Re: Apple introduces M4 chip
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Potentially > 2x greater battery life for the same amount of compute! That is pretty crazy. Or am I missing something?
Wait a bit. M2 wasn't as good as the hype was.
That's because M2 was on the same TSMC process generation as M1. TSMC is the real hero here. M4 is the same generation as M3, which is why Apple's marketing here is comparing M4 vs M2 instead of M3.
Re: Apple introduces M4 chip
#124> M4 makes the new iPad Pro an outrageously powerful device for artificial intelligence. Isn’t there a ToS prohibition about “custom coding” in iOS? Like, the only way you can ever use that hardware directly is for developers who go through Apple Developer Program, which last time I heard was bitter lemon? Tell me if I’m wrong.
There's the potential option of Swift Playgrounds which would let you write / run code directly on the iPad without any involvement in the developer program.
Re: Apple introduces M4 chip
#125I always wonder how constraining it is to design these chips subject to thermal and energy limitations. I paid a lot of money for my hardware and I want it to go as fast as possible. I don't want my fans to be quiet, and I don't want my battery life to be 30 minutes longer, if it means I get more raw performance in return. But instead, Apple's engineers have unilaterally decided to handicap their own processors for n…
The reason is because battery life is more important to the vast majority of consumers.
Re: Apple introduces M4 chip
#126Seeing an M series chip launch first in an iPad must be result of some mad supply chain and manufacturing related hangovers from COVID. If the iPad had better software and could be considered a first class productivity machine then it would be less surprising but the one thing no one says about the iPads is “I wish this chip were faster”
Maybe they're clocking it way down. Same performance, double the battery life.
I very rarely wish the battery of my iPad Pro 2018 would last longer, as it's already so good, even considering the age factor.
Re: Apple introduces M4 chip
#127I’m far from an expert in Apple silicon, but this strikes me as having some conservative improvements. And in-depth info out there yet?
2x the performance per watt is a great improvement, though.
This claim can only be evaluated in the context of a specific operating point. I can 6x the performance per watt of the CPU in this machine I am using by running everything on the efficiency cores and clocking them down to 1100MHz. But performance per watt is not the only metric of interest.
Re: Apple introduces M4 chip
#128> M4 makes the new iPad Pro an outrageously powerful device for artificial intelligence. Isn’t there a ToS prohibition about “custom coding” in iOS? Like, the only way you can ever use that hardware directly is for developers who go through Apple Developer Program, which last time I heard was bitter lemon? Tell me if I’m wrong.
C'mon man, it's 2024, they can't just not mention AI in a press release.
Re: Apple introduces M4 chip
#129“The next-generation cores feature improved branch prediction, with wider decode and execution engines for the performance cores, and a deeper execution engine for the efficiency cores. And both types of cores also feature enhanced, next-generation ML accelerators.”
Fat decode pipelines have historically been a major reason for their performance lead. I'm all for improvements in that area.
Re: Apple introduces M4 chip
#130I love when Gruber is confidently wrong https://daringfireball.net/linked/2024/04/28/m4-ipad-pros-gu...