O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: Geekbench

  • Apple cites six additional improvements to be found in the M5 iPad Pro

    Apple cites six additional improvements to be found in the M5 iPad Pro

    While the upcoming iPad Pro’s headline feature is its M5 chip, Apple has included a number of other upgrades, including its new N1 and C1X chips as well as faster storage speeds.

    Per the mighty Geekbench, the M5 chip offers a 20 percent faster CPU and up to a 40 percent faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip. The 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU, while 1TB and 2TB configurations have a full 10-core CPU.

    Here are six other upgrades:

    • An increased 12GB of RAM for models with 256GB or 512GB of storage. 1TB and 2TB configurations still have 16GB of RAM.
    • Apple’s custom N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. However, the chip only supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the standard’s 320 MHz maximum. Apple says the chip also improves the overall performance and reliability of features like AirDrop and Personal Hotspot.
    • Apple’s custom C1X chip for cellular configurations. With this modem, Apple says the new iPad Pro achieves up to 50 percent faster cellular data performance than its predecessor, and power efficiency is also improved.
    • Apple says the new iPad Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD read and write speeds compared to the previous generation.
    • The new iPad Pro can drive external displays at up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and Adaptive Sync is now supported, resulting in smoother scrolling and gameplay with lower latency on the external display.
    • The new iPad Pro supports fast charging. Apple says up to a 50 percent charge can be reached in around 30 minutes for the 11-inch model, and in around 35 minutes for the 13-inch model. Apple has not shared similar figures for previous iPad Pro models, so it is unclear how much of an improvement this is.

    Apple’s tech specs report has also indicated that the M5 iPad Pro can drop down as far as 1 nit of display brightness, which can come in handy in environments such as a bedroom at night. Apple’s previous tech specs did not list this ability for previous iPad Pro models.

    The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models are available to pre-order now, and the devices will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Wednesday.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors, Geekbench, and Apple

  • Leaked Geebench results offer an idea of what to expect from the forthcoming M4 MacBook Air

    Leaked Geebench results offer an idea of what to expect from the forthcoming M4 MacBook Air

    A series of Geekbench specs for Apple’s yet-to-be-announced M4 MacBook Air notebooks have surfaced, offering an idea of how much faster the GPU component of Apple’s second-generation 3-nanometer chips is compared to the existing M3 models.

    The Geekbench 6 result for a “Mac16,12” was recorded on February 23. The specs for the device include a 10-core chip with 24GB of RAM. The machine is running a special 24C2101 build of macOS Sequoia 15.2 – the same version that Apple accidentally released back in December that originally confirmed the existence of next-generation 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models, which hints that the leak might be legitimate.

    The machine in question scores a Metal score of 55,516, wherein scores for the existing 13-inch M4 iPad Pro are in the same ballpark, as expected. For added context, the existing M3 MacBook Air averages a Metal score of around 48-49,000.

    Both the MacBook Air and iPad Pro lack fans for thermal management, and there may be little if any difference between the chips’ graphics performance.

    Per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is prepping its marketing, sales, and retail teams for a March launch of new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models. Gurman has previously said the new models will be released “within weeks.” Beyond the new M4 chip, no other significant revisions are expected.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors, Geekbench, and Bloomberg

  • Geekbench specs confirm 8GB of RAM, other details for the iPhone 16e

    Geekbench specs confirm 8GB of RAM, other details for the iPhone 16e

    The first benchmarks have surfaced for Apple’s recently-announced iPhone 16e, confirming the processor speeds and the expected amount of RAM.

    Per the Geekbench specs, the handset contains 8GB of RAM, which is required for Apple Intelligence. The new Geekbench listing, which describes the model as the “iPhone 17,5” does not as yet show the full single- and multi-core speed scores. The tests show that the iPhone 16e scored 24,188 in Geekbench’s metal tests. This is fractionally lower than the 27,669 of the iPhone 16 in the same graphics category., given that the A18 in the iPhone 16 features five GPU cores, while the iPhone 16e has only four.

    While this difference in graphics cores produces a noticeable drop in the Geekbench results, it’s not a significant one for users. The iPhone 16e is unlikely to appear slower than the iPhone 16 in real-world use.

    Still, the benchmark differences between the iPhone 16e and the third-generation iPhone SE are dramatic. Per mysmartprice, the benchmarks also confirm that the iPhone 16e has a 6-core CPU. The same source also cites a Chinese regulatory filing that says the iPhone 16e can support up to 29W charging. The benchmarks are unable to predict how long the iPhone 16e’s battery lasts under regular use. Apple has been promoting the unit’s battery as offering a significantly longer battery life than the third-gen iPhone SE.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and mysmartprice

  • Rumor: Apple could release M4-based MacBook Air notebooks ahead of next-gen iPads and iPhone SE 4 in 2025

    Rumor: Apple could release M4-based MacBook Air notebooks ahead of next-gen iPads and iPhone SE 4 in 2025

    With rumors flying as to Apple’s M4-based products en route for 2025, it’s hard to know which will arrive first.

    Per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is thought to be releasing the iPad 11, the iPhone SE 4, and updated iPad Air models in the spring. Notably, he said the updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip will be announced “earlier” than those other devices, but he did not provide a specific timeframe.

    This could indicate that the updated MacBook Air models will be announced via a press release on the Apple Newsroom website sometime between January and March, while the other devices could be announced at Apple’s usual spring event in March or April.

    Apple earlier this month released macOS 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models coming next year.

    The current word around the campfire is that the 2025 MacBook Air will receive only an M4 chip and other minor upgrades, albeit plausible new features could include a Center Stage camera, and an upgrade from Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 4 ports.

    Apple already updated the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini with M4 chip options a few months ago. Geekbench results showed that the M4 chip is up to around 25 percent faster than the M3 chip in terms of multi-core CPU performance.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and @markgurman

  • Rumor: Apple to announce/launch of M4-based MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro units in early to mid-2025

    Rumor: Apple to announce/launch of M4-based MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro units in early to mid-2025

    Apple announced its nifty M4-based iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro models, complete with variants of the chip. As exciting as these are, the rumor mill has begun speculating as to when users can expect the M4 versions of the MacBook Air, the Mac Studio, and the Mac Pro towers.

    Where notebooks are concerned, Apple launched its updated 13-inch and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air notebooks. Per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, an early 2025 launch seems likely. It’s thought that no new design changes hved been planned for the ‌MacBook Air‌ models, and the focus will be on the M4 chip, but the base model will arrive with at least 16GB of RAM, after Apple updated the base M3 model to 16GB, up from 8GB. An M4 MacBook Air could also feature a new 12MP Centre Stage camera with Desk View support, an improvement over the current 1080p FaceTime HD camera, given that both the new M4 iMac and M4 MacBook Pro models also debuted with the upgraded camera. It’s thought that the new ‌machines will arrive next year between January and March.

    Where the Mac Studio is concerned, Gurman has posited that the Mac Studio desktop will be released in early 2025 with either an M4 Ultra or M4 Max chip. Gurman has stated that the Mac Studio was on track to be updated alongside the M4 MacBook Air, but could see a refresh between March and June.

    The Mac Pro was last updated in June 2023, complete with an M2 chip, with Apple officially completing its transition away from Intel chips. Gurman has stated that Apple will refresh the Mac Studio in the summer of 2025. Like the Mac Studio, the next Mac Pro will skip the M3 series. Instead it will be equipped with the highest-end version of the M4 chip, codenamed “Hidra.” It’s rumored that this M4 could be positioned as an “Ultra” or “Extreme” chip. Gurman has posited that the next Based on the description of the chip, it could be positioned as anMac Pro will “probably” have up to a 32-core CPU and up to an 80-core GPU, which would be double the M4 Max’s up to 16-core CPU and up to 40-core GPU. It could also support up to 512GB of memory, and present a notable increase over the current 192GB limit.

    The M4 itself is built on a 3nm production process, albeit with enhancements from Apple supplier TSMC, which has worked in both performance and power efficiency enhancements. The M4 also features an improved Neural Engine that also fuels accelerated AI workloads, and Apple has stated that the Neural Engine is capable of 38 trillion operations per second.

    Per recent Geekbench 6 results, the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips in the new Mac min and MacBook Pro models have confirmed results wherein the chips proved 25 percent faster than the M2 Ultra in terms of peak multi-core CPU performance. Meanwhile, the M4 Max is up to 20 percent faster than the M4 Pro when it comes to peak multi-core CPU performance.

    In terms of graphics performance, Geekbench 6 results indicate that the M4 Pro and M4 Max are up to around 40 percent and 25 percent faster for graphics than the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips, respectively. Notably, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the highest-end M4 Max with a 40-core GPU has up to 85 percent as fast graphics as the Mac Studio with the highest-end M2 Ultra chip with a 76-core GPU, even though it has 36 fewer GPU cores.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors, Bloomberg, and Geekbench