When Apple unveiled the new iPad Pro M4 at its 'Let Loose' event on May 7, the company talked up the artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities of the M4 chip, saying it was more powerful than any neural processing unit (NPU). on any AI-enabled PC today. . Well, the M4's performance has apparently just leaked in a new set of Geekbench tests, and the results are fascinating from an AI perspective.
Compared to the previous generation iPad Pro M2, the latest model shows a modest improvement in performance. In Geekbench's ML 0.6.0 test, which measures machine learning capabilities, the new iPad Pro scored 9,234. That's about 23% higher than the iPad Pro M2's score of 7,511.
According to Tom's Hardware, the M4 iPad Pro improves the ML 0.6.0 performance of the M3 chip by about 10%. When it comes to measuring operations per second, the M4 clocks in around 5% faster than the M3 on the latest MacBook Pro when benchmarks are converted and equalized.
The Geekbench results did not explicitly say they were for the iPad Pro M4, but the listed specifications seem to suggest this, as the iPad being tested contains a 10-core ARM chip along with 16GB of memory. Those specifications are only available on the iPad Pro with the M4 chip. The device was also listed with iOS 18 (actually, it will be iPadOS 18), which is not yet available for any iPad, further suggesting that this is an unreleased product, almost certainly the iPad Pro M4.
What does all this mean to you?
Benchmarks and acronyms can be confusing, especially when you just want to know if the upgrade is worth your time and money. And at first glance, this modest improvement in AI performance may not seem like a big deal.
But it's also worth remembering that Apple's chips are already among the best on the market when it comes to combining power and efficiency. Apple wouldn't need to do much to keep that crown, as even an incremental improvement would only further widen its lead over its rivals, although Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon X Elite chip could prove a serious threat to Apple's throne.
Apple's chips already have enough power to perform AI operations at a high level, and the company's devices have been equipped with AI tools for years (the behind-the-scenes stuff that happens when you take a photo with an iPhone is a good example). ). What will make a real difference is the software, and we'll find out a lot more about that at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 10.
There, Apple is expected to unveil iOS 18, which could be the biggest overhaul iOS has ever seen. AI will be a major focus of the event, with machine learning integrated into almost every aspect of Apple devices. Those software updates, combined with the artificial intelligence of the M4 chip, could finally make Apple a true contender in the world of artificial intelligence.
