Apple’s A9X Chip in the New 9.7-Inch iPad Pro is Underclocked Compared to 12.9-Inch Model

BY Evan Selleck

Published 22 Mar 2016

Chip-A9X-iPad-Pro

The most obvious difference between the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro and the larger 12.9-inch model is the screen size, but there are some other, perhaps more subtle changes, too.

And it turns out there is a bit of a difference in processing power, as revealed by Apple itself, and dug up by AppleInsider. Apple was proud to announce that the smaller iPad Pro does indeed feature the A9X chip that the company initially launched within the 12.9-inch iPad Pro months ago, but there is a difference worth noting, at least on paper.

According to Apple, when compared to the A7 processor (which is installed in the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 2 and mini 3), the A9X processor in the 9.7-inch iPad Pro offers a 2.4x faster CPU, and 4.3x faster graphics. However, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro offers 2.5x faster CPU, and 5x faster graphics.

Apple A chips comparison

That means the A9X processor in the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is technically slightly underclocked when compared to the A9X processor in the 12.9-inch model. That isn’t too surprising, though, considering Apple has done the same thing with other smaller variants of its devices. For instance, the A7 processor used in the iPad Air and iPad mini 2 were the same chip, but Apple underclocked the mini 2’s processor to 1.3GHz, compared to the Air’s 1.4GHz.

The underclocked processor hasn’t made a big impact in real world usage, if the hands-on time with the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro are any indicator. And with only a slight tweak, it shouldn’t be noticeable for the people out there who buy the tablet and start using it. Still, worth noting, at least.

[via AppleInsider]