New Ipad Pro has Xbox One S like performance?

I HATE when mobile devices do this shit.

Now, to be fair, I don't actually know WHAT this is actually supposed to mean. And, while it would be impressive, it isn't necessarily as momentous as it sounds.

My points here are as follows:

• Theoretical performance VS. actual performance.
• Effective performance VS. real performance.
• The benchmark is dated.

Point, the first; are they talking about theoretical performance or real world performance? And, under what circumstances? The problem with comparing to something like an Xbox One S, is that this is a complex system consisting of a desktop class processor, desktop class RAM, desktop class drives, and of course a gaming class GPU. And each of these components are complex in their own right.

Under the right circumstances an Xbox One (non S) can be faster than a PS4. It had some specialized memory, which if utilized correctly could make certain tasks quicker  than the original PS4. And, while the tech is very similar, there are differences and games can be optimized around those.

So, the first question would have to be, is the performance comparable in terms of raw numbers? Or does it require heavy optimizations and specialized hardware like the original Xbox One? As many argued when the Xbox One first came out, and mostly ended up being right about; raw performance is more valuable than specialized tweaks. Developers are more likely to port to new hardware if there is less of a learning curve. Optimizing around niche aspects of the architecture requires a lot of buy-in. And, while Apple may be a major eco-system, they are non-existent in the realm of games which actually require that level performance. Major game studios aren't going to take advantage of this any time soon in any volume.

The next question is, whether the performance is raw or a little more specialized, how long can it maintain that level of graphics performance? An Xbox One S can play Xbox One S games all day long. But, it is also much larger with a lot of space heat dissipating technologies. An iPad Pro is thin and small. If this device cannot maintain that performance for more than a few seconds or minutes before the performance needs to be throttled to save the hardware, then it isn't REALLY providing Xbox One S class performance.

The second argument is effective vs. real performance. And this is talking about the claims we've seen for years now about NVidia processors and others claiming gaming like graphics. But, nice looking games have only really been achievable when render distances are dropped, and poly counts are dropped (perhaps due to fewer things on screen rather than lower quality objects necessarily) or shadows are simplified or non-existent. You can get some REALLY high quality live renders at great FPS on a mobile device. But, not with all of the same bells and whistles as a console or a desktop PC.

Given screen real estate, and the types of games people tend to play on phones and tablets this hasn't really mattered much. But, even still, the quality of the average game is rather poor, as is the performance. And that leads me to believe that achieving these claims requires a LOT niche work, and probably still falls FAR short.

The last point is a simple one. The Xbox One S, plays the same games as the original Xbox One, it doesn't have access to the advanced graphical assets of the One X. And most of the improvements are around upscaling rather than improving raw performance metrics. Which means, they comparing to what is now a rather old console. In other words, even if the claims are true, they are deceptive. They've chosen the One S because it is newer. But it isn't really any better than the original Xbox One. 

Now, I don't want to seem like an out and out hater. If they've REALLY pulled this off. It is VERY impressive. But, it is precisely how impressive the feat is that makes me skeptical.

While Apple has been making processors for some time now, there are a few things to consider. Firstly, they AREN'T actually a processor manufacturer. The manufacturing is done by other companies in China. This doesn't mean that they can't produce better chips than their competition. But, it does mean that this isn't really their bread and butter.

They also aren't the most mature company in this fashion. AMD, Intel, NVidia, Qualcomm and MANY others have been at the game for years longer than Apple. And some of those are FAR more focused on graphics performance. NVidia jumps to mind.

Again, not a guarantee that Apple can't get ahead of them. But, also again, it isn't that Apple is claiming to be ahead of them. It is how FAR ahead of them they are claiming to be.

Nvidia makes the processors in the Nintendo Switch. And that device is thicker than iPad Pro and has both active and passive cooling. And the design of the system was done by Nintendo, one of the oldest surviving console gaming companies in the industry. This is a partnership between two veterans of the industry to effectively make a gaming device out of a tablet. It is NOWHERE near the Xbox One S in terms of performance. 

Apple leap frogging both Nintendo and NVidia by such a margin? Would be pretty darn incredible. GPU's are NVidia's bread and butter and gaming is Nintendo's.

If such a massive leap were truly to happen, one would expect it from one of NVidia's competitors or from NVidia themselves. And one would also expect the victory to be short lived.

Consider AMD vs. Intel. Intel dominates the desktop processor landscape. They can generally stay safely ahead of AMD. AMD does, on occasion surpass Intel. But, the gains are marginal and the victories are always incredibly short lived. And even though Intel is dominant, they never get all that far ahead either. These are two massive companies who live and die by the "die" (processor die, that is). They are both big into graphics and gaming. In fact, AMD provides the SoC for the Xbox One S. Making processors is WHAT THEY DO. 

You can think of Apple as AMD (or Intel, doesn't really matter) with NVidia or Qualcomm as the other side of the competition.

Given how far it appears that NVidia and Qualcomm are away from true Xbox One S level performance in a thin passively cooled device of any size, it basically seems like Apple is claiming to have leap-frogged their competition by several hardware generations. Beating them soundly at their own game.

Upsets like that simply don't happen. Not that they are impossible. Just, unlikely on a statistical level that money and power have no influence.