In the newly released iPad Air 5, Apple has adopted the mature M1 chip to replace the A-series chip, which brings a huge improvement in performance and at the same time we can’t help but think about such a question, why did Apple make such a decision? In response, a reporter said a large part of this was due to supply constraints.
The reporter said that if there are no supply chain problems, the iPad Air 5 may be launched in September this year (similar to the release date of the iPad Air 4), and use the A16 Bionic chip. In the latest memo, Mr. Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max launched this year will be equipped with the A16 Bionic chip, but the two standard iPhone 14s will use the current-generation A15 chip, but the performance will be different. There is a slight enhancement. Later, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (Mark Gurman) agreed with this statement.
Gurman believes that the new iPad Air uses the M1 chip because the chip is currently insufficient supply. So far, the A16 Bionic chip is said to have been designed and will soon be mass-produced on TSMC’s 4nm node, possibly in limited supply and at a higher price. The current situation looks so bad that Apple is rumored to not allow the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max to get its latest chips, only reserved for the “Pro” models.
On the bright side, at least the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will get the A15 Bionic with a 5-core GPU, the same parts that are currently in the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. According to the latest rumors, Apple may rename this version of the A15 Bionic processor as the A15X Bionic processor. As for the latest iPad Air, Apple’s decision turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as not only did it arrive early for customers, but it boasted performance equivalent to the more expensive iPad Pro line.
Leaked benchmarks show that the M1 iPad Air, without the downclocked chip, offers the same performance as the iPad Pro. Upon further investigation, this chip was found to be a higher-divided variant with 8 GPU cores instead of 7 like on some Mac products. Even so, Apple hasn’t raised the starting price, keeping the base model at $599, the same price as its predecessor, while giving it a 5G upgrade. Sadly, there are no changes to the design, manufacturing materials, and display.