The 2020 iPad Pro is less than 1% faster than the previous model, according to a popular benchmarking test. The numbers appear to be the result of the new model not using Apple’s latest-generation processor.
The new tablet does offer improved graphics capabilities, however.
2020 iPad Pro benchmarks vs. 2018 iPad Pro
Apple doesn‘t announce the processor speeds for its tablets. It instead gives superlatives like “iPad Pro is so fast it outpaces most PC laptops available today.” Users only find out details by running benchmarking apps.
And while the iPad Pro announced Wednesday hasn’t yet reached customers’ hands, AnTuTu already ran these benchmarking tests on this computer, and published the results on its website. The 2020 iPad Pro got an overall score of 712,218, just a hair faster than the 705,585 score of the 2018 iPad Pro.
Apple chose to not put the A13 processor that debuted in the iPhone 11 in its latest tablet. Instead, it’s built around an A12Z. That’s a modified version of the A12X that’s in the 2018 iPad Pro. So it’s not surprising the new model has approximately the same performance as the earlier one.
While that’s likely to disappoint potential buyers of the computer, it’ll still be a very speedy computer. For comparison, the AnTuTu overall score for the iPhone 11 Pro Max is 546,948. That makes the 2020 iPad Pro 30% faster than Apple’s latest handset.
Improved AnTuTu graphics score
The new A12Z processor has an 8-core graphics processor, up from 7 cores in its predecessor. This appears to be the most significant difference between these chips.
And it’s reflected in the GPU score from Antutu’s benchmark test. The 2020 iPad Pro scored a 373,781, while the 2018 model scored 345,016. That makes the newer device 8% faster.
But there’s a RAM upgrade
AnTuTu was able to confirm an earlier report that the latest iPadOS device will come standard with 6GB of RAM, as its test device with 128GB of storage includes that much.
That’s an upgrade for most versions of the 2018 model. Apple took an unusual route with this tablet, giving 6GB of RAM to units configured with 1TB of internal storage, but all others have 4GB of RAM.
