With Apple's new devices fully unveiled to the public, comparisons and tests involving the iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro have begun. While the iPhone SE does seem to be a smaller version of the iPhone 6S, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro seems to be a bit underpowered compared to its larger sibling.
Apple was quick to point out during the device's unveiling that the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is, from top to bottom, deserving of the "Pro" title. After all, the device does carry the same processor as its larger sibling, as well as most of its predecessor's bells and whistles.
In fact, there were even areas where the newer, smaller iPad Pro exceeded the 12.9-inch Apple tablet, such as the smaller device's display, which features True Tone technology. The smaller device's camera also beats out its larger sibling's, featuring an upgraded rear-facing shooter that is equipped with flash.
As it turns out, however, there are other pertinent areas where the larger iPad Pro beats out its siblings, as well. From the company's comparison page alone, one could see that the 9.7-inch tablet is underclocked compared to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Though the two devices use the same A9X chip, the processor on the 12.9-inch model listed a CPU that is 2.5x faster and graphics capabilities that are 5x faster when compared to the company's A7 chip. On the other hand, the 9.7-inch's A9X processor was listed as a CPU that is 2.4x faster with graphics that are 4.3x faster than the A7.
This is not the first time that Apple has opted to underclock a smaller device that uses the same chip. Previously, the same strategy was done on the iPad Air and the iPad Mini 2, both of which used the same A7 chip. While the Air clocked in at 1.4Ghz, the Mini 2 ran at just 1.3Ghz.
Apart from the underclocked A9X chip, the 9.7-inch device was also found to have half the RAM of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Compared to the original iPad Pro's 4GB RAM, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro has been found to only be equipped with 2GB RAM, similar to the amount of RAM featured in the device's spiritual predecessor, the iPad Air 2.
With half the amount of RAM on the device, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro would probably not perform as well as the larger Pro in multitasking. After all, RAM plays a very significant role in having multiple apps running satisfactorily in the background.
Nevertheless, Apple has been known to make the most out of its devices. While the 9.7-inch iPad Pro underperforms in paper compared to its larger sibling, real-world tests might tell a very different story.
