Apple has engineered the iPad mini 4's version of the A8 processor to make it slightly faster than the original chip used in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, a report said on Tuesday.
The Mini 4's processor runs at about 1.5 gigahertz, just over the 1.4 gigahertz possible with Apple's 2014 iPhones, ArsTechnica noted. Geekbench testing shows that while the tablet is only marginally faster than the iPhone 6, and much slower than the iPad Air 2, it's also roughly 20 percent faster than the Mini 2 and 3, which each use an A7.
The Mini 4 also benefits from having 2 gigabytes of RAM, double the amount in previous Minis and iPhones.
The Air 2 likewise has 2 gigabytes of RAM and a 1.5-gigahertz processor, but with an additional core, which makes it about 46 percent faster than the Mini 4.
Only the Air 2, Mini 4, and iPad Pro will be able to take full advantage of iOS 9's multitasking features via Split View. Because of hardware constraints, earlier iPads will only have access to Slide Over and/or Picture-in-Picture options.
The Mini 4 was announced just last Wednesday, and starts at $399.
36 Comments
And yet a regression in memory performance over the iPhone 6? (The Air 2 is high because it has a double wide 128-bit bus)
Higher clocked.
And yet a regression in memory performance over the iPhone 6?
Unclear that there is one. It's down by 5%. These tech sites are completely unscientific about their numbers, otherwise they'd run it multiple times and show error bars.
Not enough A9s to go around. Or they're waiting for the Air to upgrade to the A9 before moving the mini over. I want to upgrade my mini but I think I may still hold off until the next update.
[quote name="Suddenly Newton" url="/t/188250/ipad-mini-4-uses-overclocked-a8-processor-faster-than-2014-iphones#post_2776769"]Higher clocked.[/quote] Yeah I don't like the terminology used in the article either. "Overclocked" sounds like some hackers approach to higher performance. Nobody really knows what the maximum clock rates are on Apples various A series chips is. Apples primary concerns are likely yields and thermals not clock rate.