The new iPad Pro is slower than its larger sibling

9.7-inch iPad Pro iOS tablet slower than 12.9-inch iPad Pro — 9.7-inch iPad Pro

Although the two iPad Pro tablets share the same processor, the smaller one is also slower since it has less memory and the processor is slightly underclocked.

Codrut Nistor, 03/23/2016

Although both iPad Pro tablets that Apple unveiled so far use the same A9X chip, it looks like the recently announced 9.7-inch model is slower than the 12.9-inch one. Unfortunately, this does not happen only due to the fact it has just 2 GB of memory, but also because its processor is slightly underclocked.

According to TechCrunch, the review unit they received has a processor clocked at 2.16 GHz, while the A9X SoC inside the 12.9-inch iPad Pro runs at 2.24 GHz. As expected, the GeekBench scores show a difference in performance (2977 single core and 5577 multi-core vs. 3231 single core and 5482 multi-core). However, the smaller iPad Pro also has a smaller battery, so underclocking its processor to increase its autonomy seems like a not-so-bad choice, especially since the impact on the performance of the device is minimal.

While the 9.7-inch iPad Pro does not support USB 3.0 speeds via its Lightning connector, it also offers a better camera and a better display, as well as an integrated Apple SIM.