My current iPad is the iPad Air 3 (the one with the backlight issue that's never been acknowledged, to my understanding.)

Can someone explain to me why an iPad at all, let alone an iPad Air, needs as powerful a processor as a M4? That's stronger than my laptop (a M2) where I run multiple VMs and more.

The newer CPUs are more efficient and faster. In a mobile format you want the CPU to process everything as fast as possible and then return to a low power mode for battery life.

Apple re-uses the same core across their lineup because it’s cheaper to build 100 million of the same core than to design and maintain two separate CPUs that go into 50 million devices each.

I have an iPad Pro (2018) with A12X processor which at one point was a "holy crap this this is incredibly fast for how thin it is" device.

8 years later the local apps still run fast, but it struggles with web browsing.

Which is to say, you need a fast processor or web developers will out-bloat your device capabilities in a few years.

I have an iPad for the purpose of 3D modeling in Nomad Sculpt and Shapr3D. It’s an M2 Air, it’s still way overkill, and I’m regularly frustrated at how limited every piece of iPadOS software is compared to the hardware. The dichotomy of prioritizing iPad hardware but iPadOS being arguably their worst actively developed software is baffling.

Maybe there are people out there doing 8k video editing on their Pros, but I’ve yet to meet them.

It's Operations Management 101.

It's cheaper to use an old generation CPU, than the effort needed to design and manufacture a custom iPad-only chip.

Same reason why the Studio Display uses binned iPhone chips.

In theory it improves battery life by doing more for less power. It also future proofs it for future workloads giving it an extended lifespan. Also note that thermals will limit what this is capable of compared to your laptop.

There are some decently powerful apps available, like Final Cut Pro, and there is multi-window support including external displays.

I think the percentage of iPad users actually using this level of processing power is small, but there are some ways to do it.

I do really wish they would just allow running a VM on an iPad though at this point. Running a linux or even MacOS VM would be a nice escape valve for a lot of things that can't be done natively.

Can you explain, why not? If it’s easier for Apple to just maintain a fewer series of chips going forward, why not keep it up to date?

If your question is what do people use it for? Well thats different. iPads have a range of users from people who just browse the internet and will never stress this out, to people who do concept art and CAD who will appreciate the power.

But again, why do people always complain that a device got a spec bump?

I wonder if a big part of it is simplification at Apples end. It’s just easier and more cost effective to make more M4s regardless of where they end up?

Some creative workflows genuinely benefit from the tablet form factor. I often do serious photo editing on the iPad because I have access to Apple Pencil, and, somehow, holding the thing in my hands like an actual physical object activates some different more analog brain region for me than using a laptop / desktop, and it’s helpful to my creative process. Lightroom for iPad is quite capable but it requires some power.

And then visual artists are often using Procreate, and those files can get heavy as well.

Plus, it’s nice to carry my iPad around with me in a sling and work in a cafe whenever I feel like it. I wouldn’t want to do that with my 16” MBP.

Try running liuliu's 'Draw Things' app, or any other tool that generates AI images locally.

https://drawthings.ai/

In theory an iPad is a computer and then you could run whatever you want on it. So maybe the better question is, why can't you run whatever you want on it?

Photoshop and video editing. Until the M chips, the app options were slim, and now iPads get new M chips as they come out.

You might ask — doesn’t it suck to do either on an iPad? Yep, yet even on my iPhone, I use Photoshop all the time.

VMs are not very CPU demanding usually — usually more RAM demanding.

They don't need it. Apple is introducing new hardware for the sake of introducing new hardware.

Personally, they need to put the iPad on a two-year release cycle and focus on improving iPad OS.

I assume it's an economies of scale thing now.

It's not like Apple is putting any thought into either the UX or the engineering side of utilising the compute properly (except calculating those glass effects extra inefficiently).

Minimise SKUs and get some use out of the binned chips who have a few failed cores.

It doesn’t necessarily need it other than for niche use cases, but they can’t well have the SoCs stagnate for many years, because SoC updates drive upgrades, whether the buyers really need it or not.

Besides what the other commentators have said — if you're buying an iPad today, wouldn't you rather have the newest/best processor in it?

Poor software quality, especially websites

Now you can bring the power and convenience of your laptop to iPad with just a single VNC connection. Oh wait…

> Can someone explain to me why an iPad at all, let alone an iPad Air, needs as powerful a processor as a M4?

Because marketing? Seriously, the people I see using iPads in coffee shops are rich retired dudes looking at the news on it.

Pure marketing, in a couple years it will start lagging doing basic web surfing, like every other iOS device