M1 iPad Pro vs Snapdragon 888 Tab S8: Apple's new tablet can potentially destroy the future Samsung slate in synthetic benchmark testing

Not too many were expecting Apple to fit the 2021 iPad Pro with an M1 SoC, the same chip that can be found in the 2020 MacBook Air laptop and 2020 Mac Mini desktop. The performance leap over the 2020 iPad Pro’s A12Z Bionic chip could be huge, with Apple stating on the product page that the M1 iPad Pro could offer “50% faster CPU performance” and “40% faster graphics”. With these percentages in mind, Max Tech went ahead and created some potential benchmark performance scenarios that would see the 2021 iPad Pro outfoxing the Samsung Tab S8 months before the latter is even expected to be released (August). Considering the estimates, it’s plain to see why the channel didn’t compare the figures with the already-released Tab S7 with Snapdragon 865+ chip.

Bearing in mind, the benchmarks are based on the presumption that the Samsung Tab S8 will sport a Snapdragon 888 chip…Apple just surprised everyone by putting an M1 SoC in the iPad Pro and it’s possible Samsung may also have a trick up its sleeve. The popular YouTube channel also pitted the M1 iPad Pro against the M1 MacBook Air, while also remembering that the tablet’s form factor would require a lower-voltage variant of the Apple Silicon. First up was Geekbench 5 multi-core, with the MacBook Air raking in 7,508 points and the iPad Pro’s estimate standing at 7,042 points. Our own test with the A12Z iPad Pro delivered 4,712 points, so with the claimed +50% gains this would result in a similar total of 7,068 points. The maximum score we have for a Snapdragon 888 is 3,810 points (Qualcomm SD888 test device).

Max Tech then moves on to Geekbench Metal, which tests the GPU part of the chipset, and the scores were: MacBook Air 18,815 points, iPad Pro 16,855 points. However, the most damning part for Samsung was offered up by a GFXBench 1440p Aztec Ruins (offscreen) run, with the MacBook Air managing around 69.85 fps and the M1 iPad Pro having an estimated result of 63.5 fps. These results were compared to the Snapdragon 888-powered Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which managed a measly 27 fps. Obviously the benchmarks have been carefully chosen to show the M1 Apple Silicon in its brightest light here, but beating a possible Samsung Tab S8 with Snapdragon 888 by over 2.3x would be a phenomenal result for the 2021 iPad Pro with M1 Apple Silicon.

Buy the M1 MacBook Air on Amazon