The new iPad Pro has surprisingly introduced the next-generation M4 chip, which Apple is bringing to the market just six months after the debut of the M3 processor last October. For the first, Apple is bringing different configurations of its chips to the iPad, with the M4 available in two different CPU tiers depending on the iPad Pro’s storage capacity.
While Apple markets the M4 chip as having a new 10-core CPU with four high-performance cores and six high-efficiency cores, the company is also offering a lower-end tier with 9 CPU cores in total. Per the iPad Pro’s tech specs page, the 9-core configuration is coupled with the 256GB and 512GB storage options. Users who seek the full 10-core performance of the M4 chip will have to shell out for the pricier 1TB and 2TB options, which also come with double the amount of memory at 16GB.
The practice of offering different CPU core configurations is known as “binning,” where manufacturers disable certain cores that did not pass final verification testing before the chip is assembled on the intended device. Rather than discarding the entire processor away due to a malfunctioning core, it is simply disabled as the rest of the chip is perfectly functional.
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Binning allows manufacturers to improve the yield of silicon wafers while reducing costs as defect cores are disabled rather than throwing the entire chip away. Apple has always offered different binned chips as options on the Mac, but they are now making their way to the iPad for the first time. Unlike the Mac, binned chip configurations on the iPad Pro are tied to storage capacities, with no option as of today to mix and match storage, processor, and memory.
Here’s the amount of RAM and M4 CPU configuration you get with the new iPad Pro depending on storage tiers:
- 256GB and 512GB: 9-core M4 chip with 3 high-performance cores and 6 high-efficiency cores, 8GB RAM
- 1TB and 2TB: 10-core M4 chip with 4 high-performance cores and 6 high-efficiency cores, 16GB RAM
Specs and performance disparity are not new to the iPad, as Apple has similarly been offering different RAM capacities that are also tied to storage options. Thankfully, The M4’s GPU configuration is standard across all iPad Pro tiers, as Apple offers a single 10-core GPU option no matter what storage capacity you go with.
