LightBlog

samedi 19 mars 2022

Interview: Arm SVP talks about Windows on Arm, competing with Apple, and making more powerful devices

Anyone that knows me knows that if you put me in a room with someone to talk about Windows on Arm, or computing on Arm processors in general, I can talk until the sun goes down. When Arm reached out and asked if I wanted to speak to Paul Williamson, its SVP and General Manager of Client Line of Business, I knew it would be the highlight of my Mobile World Congress.

There was only one Windows-powered Arm device announced at the show, and that was the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s. There was a Chrome OS tablet as well though. Still, the first thing that I wanted to talk about was Apple. While I’ve had several interviews with Qualcomm on the subject, discussing it with someone from Arm is a bit different, because MacBooks are using Apple Silicon, which is based on Arm. Apple is just designing its own chips that use the Arm instruction set, rather than licensing Arm’s designs.

However, this isn’t new to the computing market. Apple has been building custom Arm processors for over a decade, and those have been outperforming the chips that go in Android phones for a while too. So the biggest question on my mind was, why are Apple’s Arm processors better than the ones that are actually designed by Arm?

Comparing Arms to Apples

Front view of 24-inch iMac in green with keyboard and trackpad

24-inch Apple iMac using M1 processor

Rich: The first thing I want to ask about is why Windows on Arm PCs can’t match Apple’s performance. Qualcomm’s chips use Arm’s designs, while Apple uses its own. Why are Apple’s Arm processors better than Arm’s?

Paul: If you’re looking for ultimate performance for laptop class, in the past, you would take a specific implementation of the Arm architecture, and it will target a certain performance point. You’ll see us do implementations at different sizes. So you’ll see our ultra cores, our X-series, the big cores (7 series), and small cores (5 series). Put those into a cluster and optimize for performance.

When you’re targeting laptops, you take a different approach to mobile because the tradeoffs are slightly different. You’ll have a different power envelope, so you can afford to have more bigger cores. If the price of the silicon is higher – you can put down bigger caches and more layers to increase the frequency of what you’re doing, because the power, the thermals, and the price allow you to do that. So, I think part of the headache for performance in the laptop space is that we are yet to see the max on what is possible with that.

When we announced our X2 series last year, we made a big point of saying this can be configured to be top-end performance if you put down the right frequency, if you put down the right cache sizes, if you put low enough latency path to memory, you can deliver really, really premium performance.

So, you can get there with Arm’s implementation IP. The question is, when you’re into a market, making that investment in premium silicon when you can’t guarantee the volume is a big challenge for some of our silicon partners.

Rich: Well there’s only one silicon partner right now.

Paul: It depends how you look at it, because you’ve got Qualcomm in the Windows space but you’ve also got MediaTek with their Kompanio chips for Chromebooks.

Rich: MediaTek also even said that they’re planning to enter the Windows space, whenever that exclusivity deal between Qualcomm and Microsoft ends.


The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 uses Cortex-X1 while the Snapdragon 8 uses Cortex-X2, but there’s an actual reason for that

One concern that I have about Windows on Arm in general is that the PC market is slow. You might recall that Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 at the same time. But while the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 has Cortex-X1 cores, the Snapdragon 8 has the newer Cortex-X2 cores.

That’s an issue that’s directly related to how the PC market operates. OEMs operate slowly, and they like to have a new CPU in hand a good year to 18 months out. Unless Qualcomm wants to announce a chip and say devices will be out in a year – something that it actively tried to change when it announced the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 with almost no changes – it has to use the previous generation of Arm’s cores.

Person using Snapdragon 8cx Reference Design

Snapdragon 8cx Reference Design

Rich: Also, since you mentioned the X2 design – obviously Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 uses X1 – the way I understand it is that this is a problem less with Qualcomm’s chip and more with the PC market. The PC market moves so slowly that these OEMs want this chip in their hands 12 to 18 months out from when the product is released. So, Qualcomm’s release is always going to be a year behind what Arm is putting out, because they don’t want to announce their chip in December and say the products will be out in 16 months.

Paul: I think some of that is absolutely the case. There is definitely a longer development cycle in the PC industry. We’ve seen that the development cycle compresses in the smartphone industry. OEMs working with silicon partners have squeezed that timeframe.

Rich: Do you think they’ll squeeze it in the PC industry?

Paul: I think it’s entirely possible. It takes that ambition.

Rich: It’s a fundamental problem with the way it’s set up. When you’re Apple, everything is in-house and you can do it. When you’re Intel, you’re developing the chip in-house, so you own that roadmap. When you’re Qualcomm, you have to wait for Arm, they put out the design, then you put out the chip after the fact.

Paul: If you look at the mobile device timeframe, there’s no reason that you couldn’t match that with Arm’s IP timeframe. We work really early with the silicon partners.

Rich: But now you’re asking the PC market to shift.

Paul: To meet that ambition, it would be Microsoft on the software platform and it would be the silicon partners to condense their timeframe for development, and that is not what they’ve done historically.

Rich: This is an industry that is built around Intel. So, it’s like trying to disrupt from multiple angles, which is tough. You’re asking consumers to buy into it, you’re asking Microsoft to develop for it, and you’re asking OEMs to build faster. So it can’t be easy.

Do you ever try to think of ways that you can work better with them and make it happen?

Paul: Totally. We are working closely with our silicon partners, with the OEMs directly, and with Microsoft to ensure that the software ecosystem is there for a smoother transition. One of the other things that becomes beneficial is things like where we’re talking about Total Compute. Because Arm can offer consistency in the underlying approach toward building an SoC, it means a developer is building a game on one platform, you can just take it from mobile to tablet, and on one of our booth demos at MWC, we’re showing it on the front screen of a fridge. The compute capabilities are consistent to the developer and you can take it anywhere you like. Similarly, if we can do that so that the PC SoC has a similar level of portability and similarity, you’ll get a much more rapid cycle where you don’t have to validate a completely new platform every generation. So, we think the scope to bring the mobile SoC approach to the world of the PC. But many of the things you say are challenges.

Rich: They’re roadblocks. When the 8cx Gen 3 was announced, and I’m a big Windows on Arm fan, so I’m not knocking it, but some people were surprised that the chip was X1 based when X2 is the thing. X2 is in the Snapdragon 8. As a writer, I have to explain why it’s still X1.

Paul: I genuinely think that this will get better. With the right level of investment from the silicon partner side, they can be sampling silicon at the same time as their mobile silicon. So, this can definitely improve.


Custom silicon, Linux on Arm, and more powerful tiers of Arm processors that compete with Apple’s M1 series

Front view of Lenovo ThinkPad laptop

Lenovo ThinkPad X13s, using Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3

Rich: I know Qualcomm wants it to improve too. But now, they’re working on custom silicon too; they’re trying to go the Apple route.

Paul: Right, so they’re hiring their own team and they’re looking at building their own cores.

Rich: Where does that leave the Arm implementation IP?

Paul: We’re fully committed to an Arm implementation roadmap that will happen year after year. We’ve got hundreds of partners that use that technology, and we offer a business model that means people can build their own implementations.

Rich: I’m excited to see more competitiveness in the Arm chip space for PCs.

Paul: I’m loving some of the other trends we’ve seen in the industry. If you look at Google coming in to build their own silicon, it shows that people are taking the Arm implementation CPUs and bringing in custom accelerators like Tensor and making genuinely innovative steps. If we can bring that kind of mobile innovation to the PC platform I think it’s going to be really exciting.

Rich: What do you guys think about different tiers of Arm chips? In the PC space, we’ve had this focus on thin and light. The focus is in comparing with the Intel U-series. Qualcomm has compared the Snapdragon 8cx to a U-series Core i5. What do you think about gaming? Creator laptops? Stuff that competes with Intel’s H-series with dedicated graphics or even an M1 Max?

Paul: I think that’s an exciting prospect. There are different approaches and I think we will see discrete graphics with Arm. That will be exciting. It’s going to be interesting to see how the market evolves and how the disruption of Arm might influence that. There’s definitely an increased focus on that MacBook Air form factor and price point.

Rich: I asked Qualcomm three years ago if they were interested in gaming or creator laptops, and they told me it wasn’t happening. Then Apple switched to Arm and legitimized it. It’s good for everyone in the space. Do you think we’ll see designs like that?

Paul: I think it’s possible to see Arm packages with discrete graphics, and I’m really excited about Linux on Arm. I know the focus is Windows, but for developers that are developing for the cloud on Arm, they’re looking for Linux on Arm-based machines to do that development on. They want big rigs where they can do Linux on Arm development on. That’s an area where we’ll see some innovation as well.

Rich: I’d like to see some Linux on Arm laptops ship, because I don’t think they do. There’s some confusion, because you can’t download an ISO for Windows 11 on Arm. I know Microsoft will change this at some point.

What do you think are the key value propositions of using an Arm processor in a PC? I know what Qualcomm tells people and I want to know if it’s the same. Because it’s different with Apple.

Paul: There are a couple of really interesting factors that are playing out. One is people taking a mobile SoC approach to the design, so we’re seeing a lot more dedicated accelerators for certain use cases, for improved audio, better face recognition, more AI-type accelerators built-in, which really makes a big difference. Obviously, there’s thermal efficiency and the power envelope that you can achieve. That Lenovo device with 28 hours battery life is showing you can do that with Windows.

Rich: Well, I’ll believe the battery life when I see it. I feel like the Arm promises of battery life on laptops has not lived up to the promise.

Paul: I’m very keen to try the X13s to check it out.

Rich: Apple’s Arm laptops have great battery life, so I blame Microsoft at this point. I wonder how hard they’re working to optimize Windows for Arm. I know they’re focusing more on Arm now because Apple legitimized it but the reason they got involved in Arm was to light a fire under Intel.

Paul: I think the best thing for us to do is see what Microsoft says next. Build should be coming up soon. That’ll be the time for us to see what they say next. The devices are coming together and now it’s time to see the software support.


There’s a lot going on here, and this all turned out to be super interesting. It seems like Arm is poised to take over the entire world of computing. Whether it’s Windows or Linux PCs getting Arm Cortex-based processors or Apple getting custom Arm chips, the platform seems to be everywhere.

But Intel is still an incumbent in the Windows space. In fact, Intel actually says that it plans to retake the lead in performance-per-watt by 2025. To do that, it would have to try and make its chips more like Arm’s, something that it’s already doing with its new hybrid architecture.

The post Interview: Arm SVP talks about Windows on Arm, competing with Apple, and making more powerful devices appeared first on xda-developers.



from xda-developers https://ift.tt/7O6MzVj
via IFTTT

Interview: Arm SVP talks about Windows on Arm, competing with Apple, and making more powerful devices

Anyone that knows me knows that if you put me in a room with someone to talk about Windows on Arm, or computing on Arm processors in general, I can talk until the sun goes down. When Arm reached out and asked if I wanted to speak to Paul Williamson, its SVP and General Manager of Client Line of Business, I knew it would be the highlight of my Mobile World Congress.

There was only one Windows-powered Arm device announced at the show, and that was the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s. There was a Chrome OS tablet as well though. Still, the first thing that I wanted to talk about was Apple. While I’ve had several interviews with Qualcomm on the subject, discussing it with someone from Arm is a bit different, because MacBooks are using Apple Silicon, which is based on Arm. Apple is just designing its own chips that use the Arm instruction set, rather than licensing Arm’s designs.

However, this isn’t new to the computing market. Apple has been building custom Arm processors for over a decade, and those have been outperforming the chips that go in Android phones for a while too. So the biggest question on my mind was, why are Apple’s Arm processors better than the ones that are actually designed by Arm?

Comparing Arms to Apples

Front view of 24-inch iMac in green with keyboard and trackpad

24-inch Apple iMac using M1 processor

Rich: The first thing I want to ask about is why Windows on Arm PCs can’t match Apple’s performance. Qualcomm’s chips use Arm’s designs, while Apple uses its own. Why are Apple’s Arm processors better than Arm’s?

Paul: If you’re looking for ultimate performance for laptop class, in the past, you would take a specific implementation of the Arm architecture, and it will target a certain performance point. You’ll see us do implementations at different sizes. So you’ll see our ultra cores, our X-series, the big cores (7 series), and small cores (5 series). Put those into a cluster and optimize for performance.

When you’re targeting laptops, you take a different approach to mobile because the tradeoffs are slightly different. You’ll have a different power envelope, so you can afford to have more bigger cores. If the price of the silicon is higher – you can put down bigger caches and more layers to increase the frequency of what you’re doing, because the power, the thermals, and the price allow you to do that. So, I think part of the headache for performance in the laptop space is that we are yet to see the max on what is possible with that.

When we announced our X2 series last year, we made a big point of saying this can be configured to be top-end performance if you put down the right frequency, if you put down the right cache sizes, if you put low enough latency path to memory, you can deliver really, really premium performance.

So, you can get there with Arm’s implementation IP. The question is, when you’re into a market, making that investment in premium silicon when you can’t guarantee the volume is a big challenge for some of our silicon partners.

Rich: Well there’s only one silicon partner right now.

Paul: It depends how you look at it, because you’ve got Qualcomm in the Windows space but you’ve also got MediaTek with their Kompanio chips for Chromebooks.

Rich: MediaTek also even said that they’re planning to enter the Windows space, whenever that exclusivity deal between Qualcomm and Microsoft ends.


The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 uses Cortex-X1 while the Snapdragon 8 uses Cortex-X2, but there’s an actual reason for that

One concern that I have about Windows on Arm in general is that the PC market is slow. You might recall that Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 at the same time. But while the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 has Cortex-X1 cores, the Snapdragon 8 has the newer Cortex-X2 cores.

That’s an issue that’s directly related to how the PC market operates. OEMs operate slowly, and they like to have a new CPU in hand a good year to 18 months out. Unless Qualcomm wants to announce a chip and say devices will be out in a year – something that it actively tried to change when it announced the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 with almost no changes – it has to use the previous generation of Arm’s cores.

Person using Snapdragon 8cx Reference Design

Snapdragon 8cx Reference Design

Rich: Also, since you mentioned the X2 design – obviously Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 uses X1 – the way I understand it is that this is a problem less with Qualcomm’s chip and more with the PC market. The PC market moves so slowly that these OEMs want this chip in their hands 12 to 18 months out from when the product is released. So, Qualcomm’s release is always going to be a year behind what Arm is putting out, because they don’t want to announce their chip in December and say the products will be out in 16 months.

Paul: I think some of that is absolutely the case. There is definitely a longer development cycle in the PC industry. We’ve seen that the development cycle compresses in the smartphone industry. OEMs working with silicon partners have squeezed that timeframe.

Rich: Do you think they’ll squeeze it in the PC industry?

Paul: I think it’s entirely possible. It takes that ambition.

Rich: It’s a fundamental problem with the way it’s set up. When you’re Apple, everything is in-house and you can do it. When you’re Intel, you’re developing the chip in-house, so you own that roadmap. When you’re Qualcomm, you have to wait for Arm, they put out the design, then you put out the chip after the fact.

Paul: If you look at the mobile device timeframe, there’s no reason that you couldn’t match that with Arm’s IP timeframe. We work really early with the silicon partners.

Rich: But now you’re asking the PC market to shift.

Paul: To meet that ambition, it would be Microsoft on the software platform and it would be the silicon partners to condense their timeframe for development, and that is not what they’ve done historically.

Rich: This is an industry that is built around Intel. So, it’s like trying to disrupt from multiple angles, which is tough. You’re asking consumers to buy into it, you’re asking Microsoft to develop for it, and you’re asking OEMs to build faster. So it can’t be easy.

Do you ever try to think of ways that you can work better with them and make it happen?

Paul: Totally. We are working closely with our silicon partners, with the OEMs directly, and with Microsoft to ensure that the software ecosystem is there for a smoother transition. One of the other things that becomes beneficial is things like where we’re talking about Total Compute. Because Arm can offer consistency in the underlying approach toward building an SoC, it means a developer is building a game on one platform, you can just take it from mobile to tablet, and on one of our booth demos at MWC, we’re showing it on the front screen of a fridge. The compute capabilities are consistent to the developer and you can take it anywhere you like. Similarly, if we can do that so that the PC SoC has a similar level of portability and similarity, you’ll get a much more rapid cycle where you don’t have to validate a completely new platform every generation. So, we think the scope to bring the mobile SoC approach to the world of the PC. But many of the things you say are challenges.

Rich: They’re roadblocks. When the 8cx Gen 3 was announced, and I’m a big Windows on Arm fan, so I’m not knocking it, but some people were surprised that the chip was X1 based when X2 is the thing. X2 is in the Snapdragon 8. As a writer, I have to explain why it’s still X1.

Paul: I genuinely think that this will get better. With the right level of investment from the silicon partner side, they can be sampling silicon at the same time as their mobile silicon. So, this can definitely improve.


Custom silicon, Linux on Arm, and more powerful tiers of Arm processors that compete with Apple’s M1 series

Front view of Lenovo ThinkPad laptop

Lenovo ThinkPad X13s, using Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3

Rich: I know Qualcomm wants it to improve too. But now, they’re working on custom silicon too; they’re trying to go the Apple route.

Paul: Right, so they’re hiring their own team and they’re looking at building their own cores.

Rich: Where does that leave the Arm implementation IP?

Paul: We’re fully committed to an Arm implementation roadmap that will happen year after year. We’ve got hundreds of partners that use that technology, and we offer a business model that means people can build their own implementations.

Rich: I’m excited to see more competitiveness in the Arm chip space for PCs.

Paul: I’m loving some of the other trends we’ve seen in the industry. If you look at Google coming in to build their own silicon, it shows that people are taking the Arm implementation CPUs and bringing in custom accelerators like Tensor and making genuinely innovative steps. If we can bring that kind of mobile innovation to the PC platform I think it’s going to be really exciting.

Rich: What do you guys think about different tiers of Arm chips? In the PC space, we’ve had this focus on thin and light. The focus is in comparing with the Intel U-series. Qualcomm has compared the Snapdragon 8cx to a U-series Core i5. What do you think about gaming? Creator laptops? Stuff that competes with Intel’s H-series with dedicated graphics or even an M1 Max?

Paul: I think that’s an exciting prospect. There are different approaches and I think we will see discrete graphics with Arm. That will be exciting. It’s going to be interesting to see how the market evolves and how the disruption of Arm might influence that. There’s definitely an increased focus on that MacBook Air form factor and price point.

Rich: I asked Qualcomm three years ago if they were interested in gaming or creator laptops, and they told me it wasn’t happening. Then Apple switched to Arm and legitimized it. It’s good for everyone in the space. Do you think we’ll see designs like that?

Paul: I think it’s possible to see Arm packages with discrete graphics, and I’m really excited about Linux on Arm. I know the focus is Windows, but for developers that are developing for the cloud on Arm, they’re looking for Linux on Arm-based machines to do that development on. They want big rigs where they can do Linux on Arm development on. That’s an area where we’ll see some innovation as well.

Rich: I’d like to see some Linux on Arm laptops ship, because I don’t think they do. There’s some confusion, because you can’t download an ISO for Windows 11 on Arm. I know Microsoft will change this at some point.

What do you think are the key value propositions of using an Arm processor in a PC? I know what Qualcomm tells people and I want to know if it’s the same. Because it’s different with Apple.

Paul: There are a couple of really interesting factors that are playing out. One is people taking a mobile SoC approach to the design, so we’re seeing a lot more dedicated accelerators for certain use cases, for improved audio, better face recognition, more AI-type accelerators built-in, which really makes a big difference. Obviously, there’s thermal efficiency and the power envelope that you can achieve. That Lenovo device with 28 hours battery life is showing you can do that with Windows.

Rich: Well, I’ll believe the battery life when I see it. I feel like the Arm promises of battery life on laptops has not lived up to the promise.

Paul: I’m very keen to try the X13s to check it out.

Rich: Apple’s Arm laptops have great battery life, so I blame Microsoft at this point. I wonder how hard they’re working to optimize Windows for Arm. I know they’re focusing more on Arm now because Apple legitimized it but the reason they got involved in Arm was to light a fire under Intel.

Paul: I think the best thing for us to do is see what Microsoft says next. Build should be coming up soon. That’ll be the time for us to see what they say next. The devices are coming together and now it’s time to see the software support.


There’s a lot going on here, and this all turned out to be super interesting. It seems like Arm is poised to take over the entire world of computing. Whether it’s Windows or Linux PCs getting Arm Cortex-based processors or Apple getting custom Arm chips, the platform seems to be everywhere.

But Intel is still an incumbent in the Windows space. In fact, Intel actually says that it plans to retake the lead in performance-per-watt by 2025. To do that, it would have to try and make its chips more like Arm’s, something that it’s already doing with its new hybrid architecture.

The post Interview: Arm SVP talks about Windows on Arm, competing with Apple, and making more powerful devices appeared first on xda-developers.



from xda-developers https://ift.tt/7O6MzVj
via IFTTT

Apple iPad Air 5 (2022) Review: The best tablet option for just about everyone

When Apple announced it would be building its own silicon to replace Intel processors a couple of years ago, the tech industry didn’t know what to expect. Intel’s processors had been so dominant for so long, that even the most diehard Apple fans weren’t sure Apple silicon could truly power laptops.

XDA Best Award
And then not only did the Apple M1 deliver — garnering critical acclaim and immediately making Intel-powered Macs lose most of their resale value — Apple is now working towards democratizing the chip to make it available in nearly everything but iPhones (and who knows what will happen there eventually?). With the announcement of the new M1-powered iPad Air 5 (2022), Apple’s silicon is now powering everything from a tablet to a 24-inch desk-bound iMac. The fact that an iPad Air technically packs the same processing power as an iMac is bonkers — but yet here we are.

I already reviewed the M1-powered iPad Pro last year and absolutely loved that tablet. The iPad Air offers more of the same, but in a more affordable package. This is the iPad most people should buy, which means it’s the tablet most people should buy.

    Apple iPad Air (2022)
      The new iPad Air with M1 brings iPad Pro level performance to a more affordable, smaller, iPad.

        Pros:

        Cons:

    iPad Air (2022): Price and Availability

    The iPad Air (2022) is available on sale now on Apple’s website, Apple Stores, or anywhere else that sells Apple products. The base model with 64GB of storage retails for $599, while the 256GB model is priced at $749.

    iPad Air 2022

    iPad Air 5 (2022): Specifications

    Specification Apple iPad Air 5 (2022)
    Build
    • Glass front
    • Aluminum frame
    Dimensions & Weight
    • 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm
    • 461g
    Display
    • 10.9-inch LCD
    • 60Hz
    • 1640 x 2360
    SoC
    • Apple M1
    RAM & Storage
    • 64/256GB storage
    • 8GB
    Battery & Charging
    • Battery size not disclosed
    • Wired charging up to 45W
    • 20W charging brick included
    Security Touch ID fingerprint sensor
    Rear Camera(s) 12MP, f/1.8
    Front Camera(s) 12MP, ultra-wide, f/2.4
    Port(s) USB-C
    Audio Dual Stereo Speakers
    Connectivity
    • 5G
    • Bluetooth 5.0
    • Wi-Fi 6
    Software  iPadOS 15.4
    Other Features  Compatibility with Apple Pencil (gen 2) and Magic Keyboard

    About this review: Apple provided me with an iPad Air (2022) to test. Apple did not have input in this article.


    Apple iPad Air 5 (2022): Design and Hardware

    Just like the iPhone SE 3 that was launched at the same event, the 2022 edition of the iPad Air brings back the exact same design from the previous 2020 model, save for some new flashy colors like blue or purple. The dimensions are exactly the same, so all accessories that worked with the 2020 iPad Air will work here, including the pricey but excellent Magic Keyboard.

    In fact, there are really only three hardware changes: the new 2022 iPad Air sees its RAM doubled to 8GB this time, the front-facing camera is now a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and the most important update: the processor got bumped up to M1. Everything else, from display size (10.9-inches) to display technology (2,360 x 1,640 LCD panel with 60Hz refresh rate) to the rear camera hardware are identical.

    iPad Air 2022 in blue

    This isn’t a bad thing — the iPad’s modern industrial redesign, which first debuted in 2018’s iPad Pro, looks and feels great, without any controversial/divisive decisions like a notch. At 6.1mm, it’s relatively thin (though not as thin as the Galaxy Tab S8 series), and the 1 pound weight is light enough for one-hand carry.

    iPad Air 2022 from the side

    The display at just 60Hz is disappointing

    The display, at just 60Hz, is disappointing; I’ve been using both the iPad Pro and Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra (both with 120Hz panels), and the scrolling animations here in the iPad Air are noticeably not as smooth. Like the 2020 model, there’s a fingerprint scanner located in the power button and it works perfectly fine.

    How does the iPad Air (2022) differ from the iPad Pro (2021), also with M1?

    With the addition of the M1 chip, the gap between the new iPad Air and the 2021 iPad Pro narrows further, particularly with the smaller 11-inch iPad Pro, which has dimensions very similar to the iPad Air. I, however, only have the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro model on hand for comparison. But still, other than screen size, the 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro are identical.

    iPad Air 2022 and iPad Pro 2021

    Here are all the differences between the 2022 iPad Air and 2021 iPad Pro

    • The iPad Pro has a better display panel, it uses Mini LED technology that produces deeper blacks, has a higher refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and it also gets noticeably brighter than the iPad Air’s 60Hz LCD screen
    • The iPad Pro houses a Face ID scanning system inside the bezels, while the iPad Air uses Touch ID that’s part of the power button
    • The iPad Pro packs a quad-speaker system that pumps out louder and fuller audio than the iPad Air’s dual speaker array
    • The iPad Pro’s rear camera system has an extra ultra-wide camera and LIDAR scanner (for AR apps)
    • The iPad Pro can have RAM up to 16GB and storage up to 2TB; the iPad Air is stuck at 8GB RAM and either 64GB or 256GB or storage

    Everything else is identical: the iPad Air’s front-facing and rear main camera are the same as the iPad Pro’s; they run on the same software; support the same Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard.

    iPad Air 2022 and iPad Pro 2021

    Performance between the two is also really similar, despite the fact I’m testing a 16GB RAM iPad Pro against the 8GB RAM iPad Air. I exported a seven and a half minute 4K/60 footage in LumaFusion on both iPads, and they rendered and exported at the exact same pace (took about eight minutes). Geekbench numbers are very similar, with the iPad Pro winning slightly in multi-core. The only test the iPad Pro shows a conclusive victory is in 3DMark’s Wild Life graphic test. The iPad Pro was able to sustain a higher frame rate throughout the test, due to the combination of the iPad Pro having more RAM and a larger body for better heat dissipation.

    iPad Air (2022) Geekbench score iPad Pro (2021) Geekbench score iPad Air (2022) 3DMark Wild Life score iPad Pro (2022) 3DMark Wild Life score

    If you read my review of the 2021 iPad Pro, I called the M1 chip overkill, as it was far too powerful a chip for “just” an iPad; on the iPad Air, it’s even more overkill. This is a small, $600 machine with more raw processing power than most laptops or Android devices costing two or three times as much. There’s more power here than what the average user needs or knows what to do with.

    There's more power here than what the average user needs or knows what to do with


    Apple iPad Air 5 (2022): Software, Performance, Battery Life

    The iPad Air (2022) runs on iPadOS 15.4, a fork of iOS that is better suited for the large screen. The most notable deviation from iOS is the ability to run two apps at once in split-screen mode. While this process was tedious in iPadOS 13 and 14, requiring several swipes, it’s now much easier on iPadOS 15, with the addition of a multi-tasking menu (in the form of three dots) that is constantly showing in the top middle of most apps. Tapping on the three dots open up the options to either go split-screen, float the window, or go back to full screen (if you were already in the previous two state).

    When I use the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, being able to just open two apps at once (technically you can do three, with two in split-screen and one in floating mode, the floating app covers a chunk of one of the split apps) feels limiting; I wish Apple would give us a three-app grid or let us resize the floating windows.

    iPadOS iPadOS iPadOS

    But on the smaller 10.9-inch iPad Air, I don’t mind the two-screen limit, as it seems ideal for the screen size. Still, this doesn’t let Apple off the hook — iPadOS could and should do better in terms of multi-tasking anyway.

    Overall software behavior and performance work the same here on the iPad Air as the iPad Pro or the older 2020 iPad Air. The animations here obviously aren’t as fluid as the ProMotion iPad Pro, but I saw no animation stutters, or app freezes, everything works.

    The iPad Air 2022 offers solid battery life — for productivity use (word processing with some Spotify streaming and video watching), the machine can last a full nine, ten-hour workday and finish with 20% battery left still. If I’m editing videos or using AR apps, then obviously there’s a bigger battery drain at up to 10-12% per hour. Charging is done via USB-C and — surprise, surprise! — there’s a 20W USB-C charging brick included with the packaging.

    Using the iPad Air (2022) as a machine for fun

    The iPad Air’s lighter weight and smaller size is more ideal as a portable hand-held tablet than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro in my opinion. At 10.9-inches, the display is large enough to offer more immersion than a phone screen (or even a foldable phone screen), but it’s not so large that it becomes unwieldy to hold like the larger iPad Pro or Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.

    I do miss the iPad Pro’s speakers, which are the best in any handheld machine. The iPad Air’s speakers are fine, but the iPad Pro’s speakers can fill an entire room.

    Gaming on iPad Air 2022 iPad Air 2022

    Using the iPad Air (2022) as a work machine

    To do this you would very likely need a keyboard, which Apple will gladly sell you at a very high price. Still, if you can afford it, the Magic Keyboard is excellent. It provides protection for the iPad Air and also lifts the tablet slightly off the table or lap for a slightly more ergonomic angle, but more importantly, it has backlit keys with good key travel and an uncannily accurate trackpad. Apple’s trackpads (for iPad keyboards or Macs) in my opinion, the best in the business by far. Despite the fact the iPad Air Magic Keyboard’s trackpad is so small in size, I can move the mouse cursor perfectly fine, without accidental taps or the slippery feeling that I get from many other non Apple trackpads. I’m not just talking about tablets here, even the trackpad on Windows laptops (at least the ones I’ve tested, from the likes of Lenovo and Huawei) don’t work as well as Apple’s trackpads. And yes, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra keyboard’s significantly larger trackpad doesn’t work as well as the iPad Air’s tiny trackpad too.

    iPad Air with Magic Keyboard The Magic Keyboard trackpad

    The ability to run only two apps at the same time will be too limiting for some, but it could be acceptable for others. For me, whose work includes writing/reading words and editing photos/videos, I can, in fact, do all my work on an iPad (in 2018 I did not own a laptop and worked almost exclusively off an iPad Pro, including producing written and video content while covering trade shows in Barcelona and Berlin). I’d prefer to edit videos on Final Cut Pro these days, but LumaFusion is excellent (far more powerful than any video app in Android tablets) and can handle a 4K/30 timeline with ease.

    There’s also support for the Apple Pencil, which creatives find very handy. But ultimately, the reason iPads can do all this is the superior processor (even before the M1, the A series chips could do the job), and a superior app ecosystem. LumaFusion, as I said, is the best tablet video editing app and is only available on iOS/iPadOS. Adobe Lightroom works better on iPadOS than on Android.

    The Magic Keyboard

    I think Android fans who just read the above several paragraphs are probably rolling their eyes, assuming I’m just the typical Apple fanboy. I am not — I carry an Android phone most of the year and my Twitter feed is full of snarky jokes about how much I don’t like the iPhone 13 Pro’s cameras or form factor. Apple’s iPad is just more polished than other rival tablets, with only the Galaxy Tab S8 series even being able to compete.


    Who should buy the iPad Air 5 (2022)?

    The iPad Air (2022) is the iPad that makes the most sense for most people, which means it’s the tablet that makes the most sense for most people. While the iPad Pro brings a superior screen, speakers, and comes in a larger screen size that’s more suitable for real work, it is perhaps too pricey and too big for some people.

    The iPad Air with M1 is basically giving you iPad Pro level performance for less

    The iPad Mini, meanwhile, is ultra-portable and the most affordable of all the modern iPads (not counting the entry-level one with the physical home button), but it’s likely too small to get any real work done. The iPad Air, then, is the happy medium. It’s neither too big nor too small and its starting price of $599 is reasonable, especially since you’re getting the all-powerful M1 chip (that’s overkill on an iPad).

    iPad Air 2022

    However, as is usual with Apple products, you will likely pay way more than the base retail price to get the full experience. The $599 model of the iPad Air comes in just 64GB of storage, which is really low in 2022 standards. The next (and only) option up is 256GB, whose price jumps to $749. Then you may want a keyboard or Apple Pencil to take advantage of the awesome capabilities of the iPad Air. Adding both will run your cost closer to $1,000. There are third-party options for keyboards, but not the Apple Pencil.

    Despite that, I still think the iPad Air is worth it. I have long said Apple’s best products — the one product that in my opinion deserves the hype — is the iPad Pro. This iPad Air, with M1, is basically giving you iPad Pro-level performance for less. And that’s an absolute win.

      Apple iPad Air (2022)
      The iPad Air (2022) brings iPad Pro level performance to a more affordable and smaller iPad

    The post Apple iPad Air 5 (2022) Review: The best tablet option for just about everyone appeared first on xda-developers.



    from xda-developers https://ift.tt/QX7rBl0
    via IFTTT

    Apple iPad Air 5 (2022) Review: The best tablet option for just about everyone

    When Apple announced it would be building its own silicon to replace Intel processors a couple of years ago, the tech industry didn’t know what to expect. Intel’s processors had been so dominant for so long, that even the most diehard Apple fans weren’t sure Apple silicon could truly power laptops.

    XDA Best Award
    And then not only did the Apple M1 deliver — garnering critical acclaim and immediately making Intel-powered Macs lose most of their resale value — Apple is now working towards democratizing the chip to make it available in nearly everything but iPhones (and who knows what will happen there eventually?). With the announcement of the new M1-powered iPad Air 5 (2022), Apple’s silicon is now powering everything from a tablet to a 24-inch desk-bound iMac. The fact that an iPad Air technically packs the same processing power as an iMac is bonkers — but yet here we are.

    I already reviewed the M1-powered iPad Pro last year and absolutely loved that tablet. The iPad Air offers more of the same, but in a more affordable package. This is the iPad most people should buy, which means it’s the tablet most people should buy.

      Apple iPad Air (2022)
        The new iPad Air with M1 brings iPad Pro level performance to a more affordable, smaller, iPad.

          Pros:

          Cons:

      iPad Air (2022): Price and Availability

      The iPad Air (2022) is available on sale now on Apple’s website, Apple Stores, or anywhere else that sells Apple products. The base model with 64GB of storage retails for $599, while the 256GB model is priced at $749.

      iPad Air 2022

      iPad Air 5 (2022): Specifications

      Specification Apple iPad Air 5 (2022)
      Build
      • Glass front
      • Aluminum frame
      Dimensions & Weight
      • 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1 mm
      • 461g
      Display
      • 10.9-inch LCD
      • 60Hz
      • 1640 x 2360
      SoC
      • Apple M1
      RAM & Storage
      • 64/256GB storage
      • 8GB
      Battery & Charging
      • Battery size not disclosed
      • Wired charging up to 45W
      • 20W charging brick included
      Security Touch ID fingerprint sensor
      Rear Camera(s) 12MP, f/1.8
      Front Camera(s) 12MP, ultra-wide, f/2.4
      Port(s) USB-C
      Audio Dual Stereo Speakers
      Connectivity
      • 5G
      • Bluetooth 5.0
      • Wi-Fi 6
      Software  iPadOS 15.4
      Other Features  Compatibility with Apple Pencil (gen 2) and Magic Keyboard

      About this review: Apple provided me with an iPad Air (2022) to test. Apple did not have input in this article.


      Apple iPad Air 5 (2022): Design and Hardware

      Just like the iPhone SE 3 that was launched at the same event, the 2022 edition of the iPad Air brings back the exact same design from the previous 2020 model, save for some new flashy colors like blue or purple. The dimensions are exactly the same, so all accessories that worked with the 2020 iPad Air will work here, including the pricey but excellent Magic Keyboard.

      In fact, there are really only three hardware changes: the new 2022 iPad Air sees its RAM doubled to 8GB this time, the front-facing camera is now a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and the most important update: the processor got bumped up to M1. Everything else, from display size (10.9-inches) to display technology (2,360 x 1,640 LCD panel with 60Hz refresh rate) to the rear camera hardware are identical.

      iPad Air 2022 in blue

      This isn’t a bad thing — the iPad’s modern industrial redesign, which first debuted in 2018’s iPad Pro, looks and feels great, without any controversial/divisive decisions like a notch. At 6.1mm, it’s relatively thin (though not as thin as the Galaxy Tab S8 series), and the 1 pound weight is light enough for one-hand carry.

      iPad Air 2022 from the side

      The display at just 60Hz is disappointing

      The display, at just 60Hz, is disappointing; I’ve been using both the iPad Pro and Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra (both with 120Hz panels), and the scrolling animations here in the iPad Air are noticeably not as smooth. Like the 2020 model, there’s a fingerprint scanner located in the power button and it works perfectly fine.

      How does the iPad Air (2022) differ from the iPad Pro (2021), also with M1?

      With the addition of the M1 chip, the gap between the new iPad Air and the 2021 iPad Pro narrows further, particularly with the smaller 11-inch iPad Pro, which has dimensions very similar to the iPad Air. I, however, only have the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro model on hand for comparison. But still, other than screen size, the 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro are identical.

      iPad Air 2022 and iPad Pro 2021

      Here are all the differences between the 2022 iPad Air and 2021 iPad Pro

      • The iPad Pro has a better display panel, it uses Mini LED technology that produces deeper blacks, has a higher refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and it also gets noticeably brighter than the iPad Air’s 60Hz LCD screen
      • The iPad Pro houses a Face ID scanning system inside the bezels, while the iPad Air uses Touch ID that’s part of the power button
      • The iPad Pro packs a quad-speaker system that pumps out louder and fuller audio than the iPad Air’s dual speaker array
      • The iPad Pro’s rear camera system has an extra ultra-wide camera and LIDAR scanner (for AR apps)
      • The iPad Pro can have RAM up to 16GB and storage up to 2TB; the iPad Air is stuck at 8GB RAM and either 64GB or 256GB or storage

      Everything else is identical: the iPad Air’s front-facing and rear main camera are the same as the iPad Pro’s; they run on the same software; support the same Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard.

      iPad Air 2022 and iPad Pro 2021

      Performance between the two is also really similar, despite the fact I’m testing a 16GB RAM iPad Pro against the 8GB RAM iPad Air. I exported a seven and a half minute 4K/60 footage in LumaFusion on both iPads, and they rendered and exported at the exact same pace (took about eight minutes). Geekbench numbers are very similar, with the iPad Pro winning slightly in multi-core. The only test the iPad Pro shows a conclusive victory is in 3DMark’s Wild Life graphic test. The iPad Pro was able to sustain a higher frame rate throughout the test, due to the combination of the iPad Pro having more RAM and a larger body for better heat dissipation.

      iPad Air (2022) Geekbench score iPad Pro (2021) Geekbench score iPad Air (2022) 3DMark Wild Life score iPad Pro (2022) 3DMark Wild Life score

      If you read my review of the 2021 iPad Pro, I called the M1 chip overkill, as it was far too powerful a chip for “just” an iPad; on the iPad Air, it’s even more overkill. This is a small, $600 machine with more raw processing power than most laptops or Android devices costing two or three times as much. There’s more power here than what the average user needs or knows what to do with.

      There's more power here than what the average user needs or knows what to do with


      Apple iPad Air 5 (2022): Software, Performance, Battery Life

      The iPad Air (2022) runs on iPadOS 15.4, a fork of iOS that is better suited for the large screen. The most notable deviation from iOS is the ability to run two apps at once in split-screen mode. While this process was tedious in iPadOS 13 and 14, requiring several swipes, it’s now much easier on iPadOS 15, with the addition of a multi-tasking menu (in the form of three dots) that is constantly showing in the top middle of most apps. Tapping on the three dots open up the options to either go split-screen, float the window, or go back to full screen (if you were already in the previous two state).

      When I use the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, being able to just open two apps at once (technically you can do three, with two in split-screen and one in floating mode, the floating app covers a chunk of one of the split apps) feels limiting; I wish Apple would give us a three-app grid or let us resize the floating windows.

      iPadOS iPadOS iPadOS

      But on the smaller 10.9-inch iPad Air, I don’t mind the two-screen limit, as it seems ideal for the screen size. Still, this doesn’t let Apple off the hook — iPadOS could and should do better in terms of multi-tasking anyway.

      Overall software behavior and performance work the same here on the iPad Air as the iPad Pro or the older 2020 iPad Air. The animations here obviously aren’t as fluid as the ProMotion iPad Pro, but I saw no animation stutters, or app freezes, everything works.

      The iPad Air 2022 offers solid battery life — for productivity use (word processing with some Spotify streaming and video watching), the machine can last a full nine, ten-hour workday and finish with 20% battery left still. If I’m editing videos or using AR apps, then obviously there’s a bigger battery drain at up to 10-12% per hour. Charging is done via USB-C and — surprise, surprise! — there’s a 20W USB-C charging brick included with the packaging.

      Using the iPad Air (2022) as a machine for fun

      The iPad Air’s lighter weight and smaller size is more ideal as a portable hand-held tablet than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro in my opinion. At 10.9-inches, the display is large enough to offer more immersion than a phone screen (or even a foldable phone screen), but it’s not so large that it becomes unwieldy to hold like the larger iPad Pro or Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.

      I do miss the iPad Pro’s speakers, which are the best in any handheld machine. The iPad Air’s speakers are fine, but the iPad Pro’s speakers can fill an entire room.

      Gaming on iPad Air 2022 iPad Air 2022

      Using the iPad Air (2022) as a work machine

      To do this you would very likely need a keyboard, which Apple will gladly sell you at a very high price. Still, if you can afford it, the Magic Keyboard is excellent. It provides protection for the iPad Air and also lifts the tablet slightly off the table or lap for a slightly more ergonomic angle, but more importantly, it has backlit keys with good key travel and an uncannily accurate trackpad. Apple’s trackpads (for iPad keyboards or Macs) in my opinion, the best in the business by far. Despite the fact the iPad Air Magic Keyboard’s trackpad is so small in size, I can move the mouse cursor perfectly fine, without accidental taps or the slippery feeling that I get from many other non Apple trackpads. I’m not just talking about tablets here, even the trackpad on Windows laptops (at least the ones I’ve tested, from the likes of Lenovo and Huawei) don’t work as well as Apple’s trackpads. And yes, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra keyboard’s significantly larger trackpad doesn’t work as well as the iPad Air’s tiny trackpad too.

      iPad Air with Magic Keyboard The Magic Keyboard trackpad

      The ability to run only two apps at the same time will be too limiting for some, but it could be acceptable for others. For me, whose work includes writing/reading words and editing photos/videos, I can, in fact, do all my work on an iPad (in 2018 I did not own a laptop and worked almost exclusively off an iPad Pro, including producing written and video content while covering trade shows in Barcelona and Berlin). I’d prefer to edit videos on Final Cut Pro these days, but LumaFusion is excellent (far more powerful than any video app in Android tablets) and can handle a 4K/30 timeline with ease.

      There’s also support for the Apple Pencil, which creatives find very handy. But ultimately, the reason iPads can do all this is the superior processor (even before the M1, the A series chips could do the job), and a superior app ecosystem. LumaFusion, as I said, is the best tablet video editing app and is only available on iOS/iPadOS. Adobe Lightroom works better on iPadOS than on Android.

      The Magic Keyboard

      I think Android fans who just read the above several paragraphs are probably rolling their eyes, assuming I’m just the typical Apple fanboy. I am not — I carry an Android phone most of the year and my Twitter feed is full of snarky jokes about how much I don’t like the iPhone 13 Pro’s cameras or form factor. Apple’s iPad is just more polished than other rival tablets, with only the Galaxy Tab S8 series even being able to compete.


      Who should buy the iPad Air 5 (2022)?

      The iPad Air (2022) is the iPad that makes the most sense for most people, which means it’s the tablet that makes the most sense for most people. While the iPad Pro brings a superior screen, speakers, and comes in a larger screen size that’s more suitable for real work, it is perhaps too pricey and too big for some people.

      The iPad Air with M1 is basically giving you iPad Pro level performance for less

      The iPad Mini, meanwhile, is ultra-portable and the most affordable of all the modern iPads (not counting the entry-level one with the physical home button), but it’s likely too small to get any real work done. The iPad Air, then, is the happy medium. It’s neither too big nor too small and its starting price of $599 is reasonable, especially since you’re getting the all-powerful M1 chip (that’s overkill on an iPad).

      iPad Air 2022

      However, as is usual with Apple products, you will likely pay way more than the base retail price to get the full experience. The $599 model of the iPad Air comes in just 64GB of storage, which is really low in 2022 standards. The next (and only) option up is 256GB, whose price jumps to $749. Then you may want a keyboard or Apple Pencil to take advantage of the awesome capabilities of the iPad Air. Adding both will run your cost closer to $1,000. There are third-party options for keyboards, but not the Apple Pencil.

      Despite that, I still think the iPad Air is worth it. I have long said Apple’s best products — the one product that in my opinion deserves the hype — is the iPad Pro. This iPad Air, with M1, is basically giving you iPad Pro-level performance for less. And that’s an absolute win.

        Apple iPad Air (2022)
        The iPad Air (2022) brings iPad Pro level performance to a more affordable and smaller iPad

      The post Apple iPad Air 5 (2022) Review: The best tablet option for just about everyone appeared first on xda-developers.



      from xda-developers https://ift.tt/QX7rBl0
      via IFTTT