In iPad OS 16, Apple has brought a number of unique new features to the iPad based on the M1 chip, such as the Stage Manager function for running Windows applications, and implemented virtual memory swapping on iOS devices for the first time. Interestingly, although according to Apple, memory swapping is necessary to support the front-end scheduling feature, the fact is that the lowest-end iPad Air 5 does not support virtual memory swapping.
Virtual memory swapping is a feature often used by computers to reallocate some storage as virtual memory when the computer’s real memory has been fully utilized by the system and applications. Macs also support memory swapping, which is now also supported in iPadOS 16 for the first time.
According to Apple, iPadOS 16 allows apps to use up to 16GB of storage as temporary memory. As to why the pre-stage scheduling function is only available for iPad models with M1 chips, Apple said that running iPad applications in windows requires ultra-fast virtual memory swapping, which is theoretically only possible with M1 chips.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of software engineering, said in a recent interview: “Only the iPad with M1 can combine high-capacity DRAM with very high-capacity, high-performance NAND to enable our virtual memory Swapping is super fast.” Federighi emphasizes that front-end scheduling is possible because of virtual memory swapping.
But developer Steve Troughton-Smith pointed out on Twitter that the minimum model of the iPad Air 5 does not support virtual memory swapping. This may be because the 64GB of internal storage is not enough for memory swapping. Apple also pointed out on its website that the memory swap feature on the iPad requires at least 128GB of storage space in addition to the M1.
Now the question is, why does Apple keep saying that virtual memory swapping is necessary for pre-stage scheduling, but the 64GB iPad Air 5, which supports pre-stage scheduling, doesn’t.
Since the iPadOS 16, many users have criticized Apple’s decision to limit front-end scheduling to iPads with M1 chips. Apple’s PR team was quick to get company executives to speak publicly about how the feature would require more powerful hardware, but some owners of previous-generation iPad Pros remain skeptical of those demands.
Front Desk Scheduling allows users to run up to eight applications simultaneously on the iPad. There is also support for an external display, which can also be used to interact with multiple applications in the window. The M1 chip requirement for the front-end deployment is somewhat understandable, but it seems like Apple could have worked hard to bring this feature to other iPads somehow, but they didn’t.
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