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The new iPads are honest about their RAM... and they have lots of it! What is Apple cooking?

Published: Apr 21, 2021, 7:09 AM

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The new iPads are honest about their RAM... and they have lots of it! What is Apple cooking?

So, Apple just announced the new iPad Pros and kind of floored everybody with the reveal of the chip inside — instead of being an Apple A14X or something of the sort, the new iPad Pros have the same processor that powers the newest MacBook Airs, Pros, Mac minis, and the new iMacs. The Apple M1!

That’s a huge deal — true desktop-class CPU in a mobile device. OK, Apple, we are listening.

Now, the first thing that comes to mind is that the power of this M1 chip will go to waste. iPadOS has made some strides in recent years to become somewhat of a multi-tasking operating system that allows you to have some sort of a laptop-like experience on an iPad. But the general consensus is that it just doesn’t do enough to beat a good ol’ computer.

But I think there’s a good chance this would change very, very soon. In fact, it’s possible that the next iPadOS update will introduce yet another big leap to the user interface. Also, rumors about Final Cut Pro coming to the iPad have resurfaced. You wanna know why?

Apple openly announced the RAM amount in the iPad Pro (2021) line

"What? That’s a big deal? How so?"

Well, consider this. For the past 14 years of iPhones and iPads, Apple has never, ever talked about RAM and battery capacity on its mobile devices. Not once. It’s always “run all your apps effortlessly” and “all-day battery life”. Usually, we have to wait for teardowns or benchmark listings to get the full specs.

Even now, if you go to the Apple website and look at the iPad (2020) or iPad Air (2020) specs, you will not find a single line about RAM.

But the new iPad Pro (2021) line? It is very openly said —

128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB iPad Pros get 8 GB of RAM
1 TB and 2 TB iPad Pros get 16 GB of RAM

So, that’s article number 1 — Apple is actually treating the iPad Pro (2021) like it does the MacBooks, revealing the amount of RAM and being a lot more open about the chipset specs. Meaning, it no longer considers it to be a device that’s strictly in its “mobile” lineup.

It's a small thing, I admit. But Apple isn't a company that typically breaks tradition for no reason whatsoever.

It’s actually a significant upgrade

The second thing worth mentioning is that this leap to 16 GB is actually pretty huge. The iPad Pro (2020) line has 6 GB of RAM. That’s it — across all sizes and storage tiers, it’s a 6 GB chip.

Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (2020)

Display

11.0 inches
2388 x 1668 pixels

Camera

12 MP (Dual camera)
7 MP front

Hardware

Apple A12Z Bionic
6GB RAM

Storage

128GB, not expandable

Battery

7538 mAh

iPadOS 13.x

View full specs

Buy at Amazon

While the base 8 GB RAM on the new iPad Pros doesn’t look like that much of a jump, it’s the 16 GB upgrade that has us scratching our heads. That’s a significant bump in hardware, could it be in preparation for a major software upgrade?

The Internet certainly seems to think so. Rumors about Final Cut Pro actually being released for the iPad Pro have resurfaced. We’ve heard this rumor before in 2020, now it’s back with full force and people are quoting sources inside Apple, pretty confident that this will happen at some point in 2021.

The original tweet was deleted, so we opted for a censored screenshot

I am still curious how that would work — will Final Cut Pro only be available for the Pro iPads? Will the 2018 iPad Pro line and 2020 iPad Pro line suffer because they only have 4 GB and 6 GB RAM, respectively? Will pro users be forced to upgrade much sooner than they planned to?

My best guess is no — a potential Final Cut Pro for mobile will probably be perfectly operable on at least the iPad Pro (2020) line, though it’ll most likely be slower than on the new iPad Pros. After all, that M1 chip is wiping the floor with the A12Z silicon, according to Apple’s own numbers.

Is that all? Just Final Cut Pro on iPad Pro?

Most likely not. If this turns out to be true, then it will very probably be just one of many desktop / laptop pro-grade apps to come to the iPad.

But iPadOS also needs a refresh — it’s very possible that its multi-tasking capabilities will be updated yet again, which might warrant the need for the RAM bump that the new iPad Pros received.

I’m an iPad devoted user saying this:

If your iPad is as powerful as your Mac, but continues to only be able to do iPad things, then what’s the point? If it’ll only run the same app a second faster than the $329 iPad, where’s your money’s worth?
— Jaime Rivera (@Jaime_Rivera) April 21, 2021

In any case, WWDC 2021 is probably going to be a very, very interesting event.

At this point, you might be wondering —

When is Apple’s WWDC 2021?

The event will kick off on the 7th of June and run through the 11th. As always, we will get all the exciting news about new iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS on the first day. Hyped?

View Full Bio

Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.