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9.7 inch iPad Pro includes 2 GB RAM, slightly slower CPU than 12.9 inch iPad Pro

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 17.49.31

Although the new 9.7 inch iPad Pro is superior to the 2015 12 inch iteration in some regards, including better cameras and display, it appears the raw processor is not as identical as Apple implied in its presentation. Although both models have an A9X processor, the 9.7 inch version actually has half the RAM and a slightly-lower clock speed CPU (via @panzer). Whilst the big iPad Pro has 4 GB RAM, the 9.7 inch iPad Pro has just 2 GB like the iPhone 6s.

As shown in the tweet, Geekbench reports 2 GB RAM and marginally slower clock speed. This results in a Geekbench score of 3022, consequently lower than what the 12.9 inch iPad Pro achieves on average.

Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief, has also confirmed that the iPhone SE also features 2 GB RAM. This is largely unsurprisingly and matches expectations that the A9 chip in the SE mirrors the iPhone 6s internals.

The 2 GB RAM technical specs for the iPad Pro may disappoint some people. The 9.7 inch iPad Pro does better the 12 inch version in some respects. It features a 12-megapixel rear camera, 5 megapixel front camera, 4K video recording and Live Photos. The 12.9 inch iPad Pro includes inferior camera components.

Check our full comparison between the two iPad Pro sizes here. Interested customers can order the new iPad from Thursday, with prices starting from $599.

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Comments

  1. cameroncovington - 8 years ago

    Here I was thinking I got cheated on the 12.9 inch iPad Pro because I thought the 9.7 inch was better in pretty much every respect. I can’t believe they only included 2GB of RAM. So, they’re charging a $100 premium over the Air 2 for Pencil support and a better camera, with no extra power? That’s crazy.

    • rogifan - 8 years ago

      Huh? Pro ha A9Xc chip. Air 2 does not. But only 2GB RAM makes it a no sell. I’m glad I got the 12.9″ instead. I don’t use my iPad to take photos and the display is just fine.

      • verizon2828 - 8 years ago

        Best thing I love about my Pro is actual usability of splitscreen. I didn’t think I’d use it as much as I actually do and it’s a great feature. Like when I’m watching a movie or surfing the web but also texting someone. I’ll use splitscreen to keep both things running. It’s awesome.

        The new display tech on the 9.7″ Pro is nice but I don’t feel slighted on my larger Pro. And I am NOT one of those people who uses their iPad to take photos. HA!

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      Now, it is a $200 premium since they dropped the Air 2 to $399,Four speakers and a better FaceTime camera for me is not worth the extra money, since I wouldn’t be using a keyboard on the 9.7″ model.

      • Hax Hakeem - 8 years ago

        it’s got 32GB minimum, rather than 16GB – and the reduced ram is likely because it can’t fit 2 full sized ipad apps on the same screen like the bigger one, so there’s no need right now to have more than 2GB ram

    • dcj001 - 8 years ago

      The amount of RAM is irrelevant. Apple engineers know what they are doing.

      The 9.7″ iPad Pro has a CPU and graphics that are about 72% faster than the CPU and graphics that are found in the iPad Air 2.

      The 9.7″ iPad Pro is significantly faster.

      • John Gibson - 8 years ago

        dcj001, Correction… Apple marketers know what they are doing… iPad upgrades have slowed but their most dedicated customers are going to want smart connector and pencil support. By artificially limiting the first iteration of the 9.7″ ipad they can get those users to buy again next year to get an “upgraded” one that has enough ram. It’s the iPad 3 playbook all over again.

  2. iali87 - 8 years ago

    Apple lost their mind.
    So this is not a pro device anymore. I don’t know what Apple is thinking, so charging an extra $100 for what!!!!!!!!!
    This guy called Tim is ruining the company.

  3. Ouch. Only 2gb of RAM? Okay now it’s officially not worth upgrading to from an iPad Air 2.

    • dcj001 - 8 years ago

      The 9.7″ iPad Pro has a CPU and graphics that are about 72% faster than the CPU and graphics that are found in the iPad Air 2.

      The 9.7″ iPad Pro is significantly faster.

      • Correct but I don’t think there’s software, outside of some games, that exploit all that power. For many people iPad Air 2 suffices.

    • irelandjnr - 8 years ago

      The iPad Air 2 has an A8x chip (not A9x), 16GB base storage (not 32GB), a significantly lower quality camera (with no flash), 2 speakers (not 4), no Pencil support. The 9.7″ iPad Pro is a way better product.

      • Louie Perez - 7 years ago

        I have the iPad Air and it sucks when compared to the iPad Pro 9.7 inch. I tried the pencil and I thought it was a pleasure to sketch with. Some videos look crappy on a 4K screen. Not enough content in 4K. Camera is amazing, that is a plus. As a graphic designer, I found the speed just fine. But too small for designing for sketching. When compared to the iPad Air, the Adonis Pixel stylus is slow and inaccurate. I have not tried the iPad Pro 12.9 inch… but I bet it is phenomenal! I am salivating just thinking about it.

  4. viciosodiego - 8 years ago

    ugh.
    I can already see the complaints.
    WAAAAAAAAAAAAH
    Apple is sooooo bad.
    I’m so upset at apple for only including 2gb of ram, even tho I know its not going to bother me.
    Good job, apple, this is a decent upgrade from my iPad 2.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      With iOS 10 around the corner, powering the ambient sensing display, shooting 4K video, using Pencil and keyboard the ram might become an issue.

      I for one had 10 plus ram crashes a day with the 1 GB of ram on the original Air and was luckily on AT&T Next plan when you could update every 12 months. The extra 1 GB of ram was a God send for me and needed since, I was having all those crashes.

      • Ana Kakulia - 8 years ago

        I really expected to see 4 gb ram and it sucks but I don’t really have any crushes even on my ipad 4 even though I not that “basic” user, it’s gonna be a great upgrade, 4 is pretty outdated… hope 2gb won’t be a “bottleneck” for ios10

  5. Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

    Yeah, 2GB is a little disappointing. For my needs, it may not be that big of a deal, but for some it will.

    • dcj001 - 8 years ago

      The amount of RAM is irrelevant. Apple engineers know what they are doing.

      The 9.7″ iPad Pro has a CPU and graphics that are about 72% faster than the CPU and graphics that are found in the iPad Air 2.

      The 9.7″ iPad Pro is significantly faster.

      • I call BS. I had an iPad Air 1 that crashed so frequently with out of memory errors it was worthless to me. The Air 2 gets by with 2GB — but try running anything serious and it chokes (e.g. larger 3d modeling, design apps, etc.). The 4GB in a usable form factor WAS the selling point for me. For someone using it to do basic web browsing and reading, I’m sure it’s fine. For some power users, this will be a deal breaker.

      • irelandjnr - 8 years ago

        If the amount of RAM is irrelevant iPads would have no RAM. No doubt Apple is the best in the business for managing RAM, but if it didn’t matter the RAM of these devices wouldn’t increase every few years. You can see Safari tests on YouTube show iPhone 6s holding web pages for much longer than iPhone 6 thanks in large part to its RAM doubling. That said given that iPad Pro 12.9″ has far more pixels to push an argument could be made. But Apple should not have skimped here—even if to just shut up grumblers and to push sales higher.

  6. applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

    I was planning to buy a 9.7 inch pro. I won’t do that because it only has 2 gb ram. Bad apple!

  7. Neil Quinn (@neilq5) - 8 years ago

    Only 2GB of RAM kind of sucks. That’s made me doubt upgrading a little bit. Although near anything will be a substantial upgrade form my 16GB iPad 3 right now.

    • Derexed - 8 years ago

      Same situation here. My iPad 3 it’s almost useless right now, so I don’t really have a choice…

    • dcj001 - 8 years ago

      The amount of RAM is irrelevant. Apple engineers know what they are doing.

      The 9.7″ iPad Pro has a CPU and graphics that are about 72% faster than the CPU and graphics that are found in the iPad Air 2.

      The 9.7″ iPad Pro is significantly faster.

      • iali87 - 8 years ago

        No they don’t for one reason, charging and extra $100 for improvements that was supposed to happen anyways. This is not a pro device and so, charing an extra $100 is nothing more than being greedy for cash.

  8. mad1at35 - 8 years ago

    Unsurprising that they downclocked the CPU and slightly the clocked the GPU. Smaller chassis and thermal overhead in a similar vein to MacBooks.

    I think Apple are trying to make A9 series SOC’s run with minimal throttling. It’s still very fast and with less pixels (2.5 million less) to push than the 12.7″ the onscreen graphic benchmarks will be excellent.

    Slightly disappointed with less RAM. They obviously did that for two reasons, profit and battery life. In real life it probably won’t make that much difference. I’ve used iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4 and they are very responsive and fast with 2gb. Also the smaller screen has less pixels to push and IMHO running two apps side by side is an inferior compromise of an experience on the smaller screen compared to the 12.7″. Of course the next iPad Pro 9.7″ in 18 months will have 4GB probably.

    • mirkogolino - 8 years ago

      In italy it costs 689€ with 32 gb. The ipad air 2 costs 439€ with 16gb. I sold my ipad 4 because it was too slow and now i don’t know which ipad i am going to buy. Do you have any suggests, please? I don’t want to have an old device in one year but, as you can see, the difference in term of price is important. Furthermore I am not going to use the keyboard and the apple pencil.
      Sorry for my bad english.

      • mad1at35 - 8 years ago

        A big part of buying the Pro is the pencil and smart keyboard. Save money and buy a 64gb Air 2.

        Although the pro is faster, has better speakers, and a slightly better screen, the Air 2 is s great iPad anyway. It will be relevant for a long time because iPads are getting updated at a slower rate. It’s still 64bit, has 2gb RAM, and Touch ID. You won’t be disappointed.

        I want Apple Pencil so I’m stuck choosing which Pro to buy.

      • mad1at35 - 8 years ago

        Going from 1GB to 2GB RAM makes the biggest difference on iOS. Any more is only really useful if you are running more demanding apps or split screen demanding apps.

      • Derexed - 8 years ago

        Ero nella tua stessa situazione, ho preso un Air 2 da 64 GB da Media World a 485,10€. Se le differenze di prestazioni sono così piccole, non valeva proprio la pena spendere 200 e passa euro in più per caratteristiche che non avrei mai usato!

      • verizon2828 - 8 years ago

        Once you start using the larger 12.9″ iPad Pro screen, you’ll wonder how you ever looked at the “tiny” 9.7″ screen. HA! I love the larger screen real estate, splitscreen is easier to use since the splits are larger, the speakers rock, and the 4GB of RAM makes this thing run super smooth. I haven’t had any issues with my Pro at all…no crashes or bugs, Safari works great (which I can’t say on my iPhone 6S Plus), and the Logitech Create keyboard makes it very useful as a portable laptop. It’s not a replacement for a laptop yet…but it’ll do 95% of what a laptop can do for me.

      • mirkogolino - 8 years ago

        I bought an ipad air 2 with 16 gb only wifi for 395 euros. 16gb are enough for me because i use only safari, watch netflix and read books. Only wifi because i use my iphone as hotspot. I hope it will be usefull at least 2 years. Thank you for the suggests.

  9. Jonny - 8 years ago

    So what I’m seeing here is that we are more concerned with the tech spec checklist than the impact of the specs. Got it.

    • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

      The original Air for me was having double digit ram crashes daily and is why I am glad I was on AT&T next, so I could update to the Air 2 and get the extra 1 GB of ram. Just that extra GB of ram made a night a day difference for me,

      Who know if 1 or 2 GB of extra ram would be trivial or not with the new 9.7″ model. I don’t see harm in being a little future proof with giving extra ram. Multi tasking will probably gain more features and be more important with iOS 10 and will change resources needed. With al the updates like ambient light changing display, improved from and back cameras, smart connector and Pencil support usage and ram demands will change and most likely increase,People might use 2 Adobe or other creative apps at once, Add features and you most likely will change how people use the device. Just because the 2 GB of ram on the Air 2 work smoothly for me it does not mean it would on the new Pro.

    • chrisl84 - 8 years ago

      Or you know, people are concerned with their device not being underpowered laggy junk in 18 months…..I mean it is a PRO model and all

    • applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

      On iPad and iPhone, I have found the ram to be crucial. My iPad 4 can’t keep more than 2 apps in its memory. Sometimes even just 1 app… This is absolutely annoying, especially when it’s being advertised as a multitasking device. iPad Air 2 is much better with the 2GB ram but it’s still not enough for real multitasking.

      • dcj001 - 8 years ago

        The amount of RAM is irrelevant. Apple engineers know what they are doing.

        The 9.7″ iPad Pro has a CPU and graphics that are about 72% faster than the CPU and graphics that are found in the iPad Air 2.

        The 9.7″ iPad Pro is significantly faster.

      • taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

        the iPad Air i had says otherwise With double digit ram crashes every day the ram and software was not up to par, Apple is adding features to IOS and the new Pro that will consume more ram. People will want to use Apple pencil and have 2 Adobe or other creativity apps open and this will consume more memory. With added features some people will change how they use an iPad. @ GB of ram on the new Pro is not very future proof.

      • pdoobs - 8 years ago

        @Dcj001 you can’t possibly think that Apple engineers recommended this thing have 2gb of RAM. Unless of course it’s the engineers job to make sure people want to upgrade as often as possible…

  10. Paul Douglas - 8 years ago

    Well I was hoping for three, but I’m currently using the original Air so it’s still double the RAM coupled with a more powerful SOC so I’m sure I’ll be fine with it.

  11. jak24 - 8 years ago

    ok. now I am convinced I’ll wait for the second generation of the 12.9″ ipad pro …

    • friedmud1 - 8 years ago

      Just buy the current 12.9″ iPP… it’s phenomenal:.. Really!

  12. jak24 - 8 years ago

    arrgghhh …. I should have bought the 128GB ipad air 2 for 500 euro some weeks ago on ebay … special -10% offer

  13. pdoobs - 8 years ago

    this is iPad 3rd Gen all over again. it just feels like an additional upgrade is only 6-7 months out when the A10 or whatever is released with the iPhone 7. everyone saying 2gb is enough should go ask first gen air owners how great 1gb is treating them. iOS and it’s apps aren’t getting less complex, that 2gb isn’t going to be enough for long.

  14. tedouni - 8 years ago

    Okay, now I don’t feel bad about getting the 12.9″ iPad Pro.

  15. marclauer0920 - 8 years ago

    This was a bad decision on Apple’s part. Calling it a smaller 9.7 inch “pro” means that they shouldn’t have under clocked or put less ram in the smaller pro. They should have equal power and performance. Maybe not 4 gb of ram but at least 2.5 or 3 to differentiate it from the Air 2.

  16. Vladimír Nejedlý - 8 years ago

    I’m very dissapointed. Tim should leave.

  17. I have a galaxy note 10.1 2014 since Oct. 2013 which has 3 gigabyte of ram! I was so excited for an upgrade with ipad pro since there are no real competitors in tablet these days! But after hearing about the Ram amount I am so disappointed! I think I have no choice than waiting for 6 more months in a hope someone makes a powerful and complete tablet!

  18. another “premium” apple device with insufficient ram. im shocked.

  19. Doesnt apple realize its stinginess is annoying long time customers?

  20. Michial Brown - 8 years ago

    Does 2gb of ram really impede it? It seems for most it won’t at all. Its pushing 2 million fewer pixels.

  21. Rob Luce (@RobLuce328) - 8 years ago

    dcj001 was paid by Apple, don’t listen to his idiotic rant!

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Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.