It’s about time that the 2021 model “iPad Pro 12.9 inch” is starting to arrive at the hands of those who purchased it (although in order from the person who clicked in haste).
The 2021 model has many internal evolution points, such as a liquid crystal display using mini LEDs and a faster processor with the “M1”.
So, if you want to enjoy the evolution of the new iPad Pro, I would like to introduce the point that “look here” from the perspective of a human being who tried it a little earlier.
The dramatic evolution of performance is something that anyone can immediately experience.
First of all, from the evolution of the processor.
Let’s take a look at the results of “GeekBench 5” below. Well, this is just a “numerical value”. Only well-trained enthusiasts (including myself, of course) can be overwhelmed by the benchmarks, so be careful about that.
There are two points. The CPU speed is “honestly 40% faster”. Even with processing other than benchmarking, it is certainly about 40% faster.
Let’s compare the time it takes to export a 4K video edited in 2 minutes and 30 seconds with Adobe’s video editing software “Premiere Rush”. “Approximately 180 seconds” for the 2020 model. On the other hand, in the 2021 model, it was “about 113 seconds”.
Similarly, the time it takes to export 144 RAW format photos in JPEG with Lightroom was reduced from “about 152 seconds” for the 2020 model to “about 96 seconds” for the 2021 model. ing.
Both are calculated to save 37-38% of the time. I’m grateful that the time is simply shortened this much. In order to make the numerical values easier to understand, we have taken a rather long process as an example, but even if the process is completed in a short time, the point is that it is “faster in units of tens of percent instead of a few percent”, so the operation is sharp. Can be confirmed.
As expected, it is difficult to understand because it is comfortable to input characters and display on the web, but even at the level of “zipping the file” or “cutting the unnecessary part of the video and sending it to others”, the difference in speed is sufficient. You can experience it.
As a result of increasing the amount of main memory from 6GB to 8GB or 16GB (model with storage 1TB or more), the behavior when switching apps is more comfortable. This area will also be related to the “quickness of movement”.
Yet another. Processing around the GPU is also faster. This is also the value of “GeekBench 5”, but the difference is larger than the CPU.
I think there are many people who say, “I don’t know how GPU processing works except for 3D CG.” It’s actually hard to understand. However, I’ve been using it more and more when I take pictures and when I use AR apps.
For that reason, the iPad (actually the iPhone) is also prone to heat generation with a little processing. When using virtual backgrounds in video conferencing, the load is unexpectedly heavy.
At that time, what I feel after a short trial is that the fever is suppressed a little. For the iPad Pro, which has no fan, reducing the load on the processor helps reduce heat generation.
In the future, there may be apps that make use of the improved processing vertically and horizontally, but that is a little more future story. Now, the point is the comfort of “quite faster” and “a little less fever”. I think this change is easy to understand.
Improving the contrast of the mini LED increases the “three-dimensional effect” and “immersion” of the image.
By the way, the true hit of this evolution is probably the “mini LED”.
The change in image quality is quite large, and anyone can understand it by actually seeing it … I think, but on the other hand, the difference in image quality and sound quality is close to the so-called “Aha experience”.
It’s more obvious to those who understand it, and it can be painful to get it back to the wrong side, but if you don’t realize it, you may wonder, “Is this okay?”
In particular, the image quality of the old model is also good on an overall level, so people who haven’t seen the mini LED model are likely to think, “Isn’t it okay?”
So, I would like to show a comparative photo and explain the part “Look here”. Both are 2021 models with mini LEDs on the left and 2020 models on the right.
First of all, this photo in front of Tokyo station. What I want you to see is “building lighting” and “road surface”.
You can see that the lighting is bright, but this is closer to the actual appearance. You can feel the bright parts become brighter.
Next is the road surface. Not only is it bright, but the dark areas are also dark. Therefore, it is the 20201 model that feels the depth and stereoscopic effect even though it is a flat image in the same way.
Next, a picture of the statue. This is easy to understand if you pay attention to the statue.
If you compare the two, you can see that the 2021 model has a three-dimensional effect.
Let’s take another look at the scenery of the blue sky in the park. Here, “clouds” and “lawns” are the points of interest.
Looking at the clouds, the 2021 model is whiter. This will be largely due to the color development tendency of the liquid crystal and backlight. There is a part that I think that “the colors are different” so much in order to confirm the tendency of colors, but the 2021 model is closer to reality. And after all, the sense of depth becomes easier to feel.
The lawn is more distinct. The texture is completely different between the 2021 model and the 2020 model.
A display that is strong against HDR may have the image of being “bright.” It is not a mistake because it is easy to stand out in the case of lighting, but the essence is that “improvement in contrast makes it possible to feel the texture more accurately”, and as a result, “the stereoscopic effect of the image increases”.
Perhaps these samples make such a difference clear.
Such differences do not come to life only in video production and photo processing. Of course, it has a great effect when watching movies and dramas.
It’s easy to understand, but “improving color development and texture by improving contrast” is the slogan of high-end TVs that use organic EL and high-end LCDs. Naturally, it’s suitable for watching movies.
By the way, another one. In the 2021 model of the mini LED, black looks “really black”.
In movies, there is a “frame” part where the image is not shown, and that part is usually black. However, with a normal liquid crystal, black becomes slightly brighter, and there is a place where the immersive feeling is slightly reduced.
However, in the 2021 model, the “frame is also black”, so it can be said that it is a plus in terms of immersive feeling.
However, there are still issues with this mini LED.
When the bright part and the dark part are next to each other, “brightness exudes” even in the dark part. This is commonly referred to as “halo”.
It is unlikely to be a problem for displays such as organic EL that are close to “the number of pixels in the display = the number of light emitting pixels”, but it is likely to occur in liquid crystals that drive the backlight separately.
Even with the iPad Pro, even if there are 10,000 or more mini LEDs, the screen brightness is divided into “about 2500”, so there are some parts where the brightness of the backlight and the image do not match.
Halo can be reduced by image processing and backlight control, and TV makers are devising various ways. I think Apple will continue to refine these parts by accumulating OS updates and product updates.