Update: Apple posted a note claiming to have fixed a error in promotional material. According to the company, however, the error does not change the performance of the device. This is the full text sent to 9to5mac via a spokesperson:
“We are updating Apple.com to correct the M2 iPad Air’s GPU core count. All performance claims for the M2 iPad Air remain accurate, but are based on a 9-core GPU.”
The second part is fundamental. Apple is saying that all performance claims made about the iPad Air’s M2 chip are correct, despite the discrepancy between 9-core GPU and 10-core GPU. For example, Apple’s claim that the M2 iPad Air is nearly 50% faster than the M1 model still stands. Now that it is confirmed that this is an error, however, the problem of misleading advertising remains, given that some users may have been encouraged to purchase by the number of GPU cores.
Original news: In recent weeks, iPad Air has been updated alongside the “Pro” model, with a new 13-inch variant that is establishing itself as a valid economical replacement for the much more expensive iPad Pro M4. To confirm the quality of the device’s specifications, at the time of launch Apple stated that theiPad Air M2 it houses a powerful 10-core GPU. Too bad that, apparently, it wasn’t true. Or at least, today it isn’t anymore.
iPad Air M2
The iPad Air houses the same M2 chip as last generation iPad Pro models, and after pre-orders for the iPad Air went live last month, the company shared the device’s technical specifications on its official website. At the time, the M2 chip was joined by an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. However, it has now been discovered by 9to5mac that the company has reduced the GPU cores from 10 to 9.
Apple’s spec change may be false advertising as it claimed a certain level of performance and then trimmed the GPU core. We also don’t know why the company feels it’s necessary to make the change. However, some regional Apple store web pages still show the device with a 10-core GPU, and it’s possible that the company will update these pages as well. You can then find traces of the old specifications of the device in our news announcing the opening of pre-orders for the iPad Air M2 on Amazon Italy.
Even more interesting is that this is the first time Apple has sold an M2 chip with a 9-core GPU in any device. For example, the M2 MacBook Air is available with 8-core and 10-core GPU variants. This suggests that the M2 chip used in the iPad Air is a “nerved-down” version of the 10-core version. Among the possibilities, in fact, it cannot be excluded that Apple did not have enough chips with GPUs running on 10 cores and therefore started selling models with one core disabled.
Most iPad Air M2 users won’t notice any difference between a 9-core and a 10-core GPU, but it would still be nice to get an explanation from Apple on what exactly happened. However, at the moment the Cupertino company has not yet commented on the matter.
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