Apple's brand new M4 iPad Pro was unveiled at the company's May 7 Let Loose event this week, and that new chip was, of course, center stage. Yet a key detail in the iPad's specs means that not everyone will get access to the full-bore M4 chip, with its best configuration reserved for those who spend extra on a 1TB or 2TB storage option.
The detail is strangely absent from the iPad Pro's pre-order page (unless you click on the 'What storage means' section), which only gives users information about the size, color, and storage of their device, as well as the option to choose a cellular model and that new nano-texture glass option. This means that unless you've stopped by the iPad's tech specs page before buying, you wouldn't have any idea that the two cheaper storage options come with a dumbed-down M4 chip.
Don't choose the wrong M4
As per the iPad Pro's tech specs page, M4 iPad Pro models with 256GB or 512GB of storage only come with a 9-core CPU version of the M4 chip, featuring six efficiency cores and three performance cores. This model also only ships with 8GB of Unified Memory.
If you want the 10-core CPU model Apple advertised during its event, you have to get the 1TB or 2TB storage options, which come with the four performance core-version of the M4 chip. While this variant also features 16GB of RAM, the 1TB and 2TB storage versions start at $1,599 and $1,999 respectively, making it a pretty expensive upgrade.
All of that will be hard to stomach for prospective customers who are already absorbing a $200 price increase across the board for Apple's new best iPad, which costs $999 or $1,299 for the 11-inch and 13-inch models, up from $799 and $999 in the previous line. Those price increase reflect the new chip and the all-new Ultra Retina Display XDR, a tandem stack of OLED panels that provides the most advanced tablet display tech ever put in an iPad. It's impressive for sure, but that sneaky M4 chip quirk might give users some pause before buying.
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