Ipad Air 5th Gen M1 Hardware properties compared to Intel i5-7200U CPU

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the comparison between the iPad Air 5th Gen equipped with the M1 chip and a computer running an Intel i5-7200U CPU. Participants highlight that the M1 chip offers superior performance due to its RISC architecture, which cannot be directly compared to the CISC architecture of the i5-7200U. While the iPad is powerful, coding on it, particularly in Python, presents challenges, and its utility as a laptop replacement depends on specific use cases such as note-taking or reading PDFs. Overall, the iPad Air 5th Gen is deemed a strong choice for users focused on portability and basic tasks.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of CPU architectures: RISC vs. CISC
  • Familiarity with the M1 chip specifications
  • Basic knowledge of coding environments on iOS
  • Awareness of productivity applications available on iPadOS
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the performance benchmarks of the M1 chip compared to Intel CPUs
  • Explore coding options for Python on iPad, including apps and cloud-based solutions
  • Investigate productivity apps for note-taking and PDF management on iPadOS
  • Learn about the limitations of using iPads for gaming and spreadsheet applications
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for prospective iPad buyers, tech enthusiasts comparing CPU performance, and users considering the iPad as a laptop alternative for tasks such as coding, note-taking, and document management.

Arman777
Insights Author
Gold Member
Messages
2,163
Reaction score
191
Hey all,

I want to buy Ipad Air 5th Gen Tablet. Currently My computer has this specs:

Code: 
CPU(s):                  4
  On-line CPU(s) list:   0-3
Vendor ID:               GenuineIntel
  Model name:            Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7200U CPU @ 2.50GHz
    CPU family:          6
    Model:               142
    Thread(s) per core:  2
    Core(s) per socket:  2
    Socket(s):           1
    Stepping:            9
    CPU max MHz:         3100.0000
    CPU min MHz:         400.0000
    BogoMIPS:            5399.81
Caches (sum of all):    
  L1d:                   64 KiB (2 instances)
  L1i:                   64 KiB (2 instances)
  L2:                    512 KiB (2 instances)
  L3:                    3 MiB (1 instance)
NUMA:                  
  NUMA node(s):          1
  NUMA node0 CPU(s):     0-3

from this site https://www.apple.com/ipad-air/specs/ there's some specs given for M1 chip but I don't see much about detail. Can someone point on these informations for ipad air 5.th gen's M1 chip ? I have found out this site but I am not sure every M1 chip is the same or not ?
https://cpufun.substack.com/p/more-m1-fun-hardware-information?s=r

It seems like with M1 I am buying an really powerful tablet (kind of a computer actually) which is much much powerful than my computer. Also is it easy to code in Ipad (such as python). I also kind of want to use it as laptop.

Thanks
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
It is pointless comparing numbers of cores and clock rates between a RISC processor like an M1 with a modern CISC processor like an i5; the latter's performance comes from pipelining and cacheing optimizations that do not show up in these figures.

There are a few options for coding in Python on an iPad but each has compromises and I wouldn't call any of them "easy". For most other languages your only option is to connect to a (remote or local) server and use your iPad as a really expensive dumb terminal.

For "use as a laptop" it depends what you use your laptop for. Apart from coding I use mine mainly for spreadsheets and games: both are useless on an iPad.
 
pbuk said:
It is pointless comparing numbers of cores and clock rates between a RISC processor like an M1 with a modern CISC processor like an i5; the latter's performance comes from pipelining and cacheing optimizations that do not show up in these figures.
Oh I see I was not aware of that processor types...
pbuk said:
There are a few options for coding in Python on an iPad but each has compromises and I wouldn't call any of them "easy". For most other languages your only option is to connect to a (remote or local) server and use your iPad as a really expensive dumb terminal.
I have heard google colab..but ofc coding is not necessary...
pbuk said:
For "use as a laptop" it depends what you use your laptop for. Apart from coding I use mine mainly for spreadsheets and games: both are useless on an iPad.
I wlll mainy use for note-taking, reading pdfs etc...I guess I don't need M1 for that..
 
Arman777 said:
I wlll mainy use for note-taking, reading pdfs etc...I guess I don't need M1 for that..
An iPad is great for that - it's what I use my ancient iPad Air 2 for.