How fast is the original iPad Pro compared to the iPad Air? How fast is the iPad Pro compared to the MacBook?

In the corporate press releases for the first generation 9.7" iPad Pro and 12.9" iPad Pro alike, Apple boasted that the devices provide performance that rivals "most portable PCs."

Elsewhere, Apple more directly claims that the Apple A9X processor in the 12.9" iPad Pro models -- the 12.9" iPad Pro (Wi-Fi) and 12.9" iPad Pro (Wi-Fi/Cellular) -- have 2.5 times faster processing power and 5 times faster graphics processing power than the Apple A7 processor, but the Apple A7 processor is in the original iPad Air, not the much faster iPad Air 2.

The 9.7" iPad Pro models -- the 9.7" iPad Pro (Wi-Fi) and 9.7" iPad Pro (Wi-Fi/Cellular) -- have the same processor as the larger models, but it is slightly downclocked. Performance is quite similar, just about 3% slower than their big siblings.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (iPad Pro)

Independent benchmarks and real-world testing can confirm whether or not Apple's boast of the iPad Pro rivaling portable PCs is true as well as directly compare the iPad Pro to the latest iPad Air rather than a slower, older model.

Performance Overview

For a solid general overview of the performance differences between the 9.7" iPad Pro, 12.9" iPad Pro, and iPad Air -- as well as notebooks like the MacBook and MacBook Air -- Everyi.com's own Ultimate iComparison makes it quick to compare side-by-side Geekbench benchmark averages for each device.

According to Geekbench 3.0, in single core and multicore tasks, the 12.9" iPad Pro models are the following percentages faster or slower than the compared device:

	Processor	Single	Multicore
9.7" iPad Pro	2.1 GHz Apple A9X	+3%	+3%
iPad Air	1.4 GHz Apple A7	+115%	+103%
iPad Air 2	1.5 GHz Apple A8X	+76%	+23%
iPad mini 4	1.5 GHz Apple A8	+85%	+75%
iPhone 6s	1.5 GHz Apple A8	+26%	+25%
MacBook (2015)	1.1 GHz Core M	+35%	+20%
MacBook (2016)	1.1 GHz Core m3	+25%	+8%
MacBook Air	1.6 GHz Core i5	+10%	-6%
13" MacBook Pro	2.7 GHz Core i5	-3%	-22%
15" MacBook Pro	2.2 GHz Core i7	-7%	-59%

As you can see, the 12.9" iPad Pro has no problem trouncing the iPad Air and iPad mini models as well as the iPhone 6s and MacBook. It holds its own against the entry-level MacBook Air, but it is slower than the MacBook Pro models, even if not much slower in single core tasks. Certainly impressive.

Independent Tests

Geekbench can be great for the overall performance difference between iPad models as well as Macs, but other benchmarks can be useful, particularly for graphics performance.

In its customary review, ArsTechnica reported that for graphics performance:

The OpenGL version of the GFXBench test shows the A9X beating not just every previous iDevice, but every Intel GPU up to and including the [low-end integrated] Intel Iris Pro 5200 in the 15-inch MacBook Pro.

John Gruber of DaringFireball evaluated the 12.9" iPad Pro with Mozilla's Kraken and Google's Octane 2 (as well as Geekbench 3.0) and found that it was "only a hair slower than my year-old 13-inch MacBook Pro in single-core measurements" in each benchmark.

AnandTech also evaluated the 12.9" iPad Pro and found it to outperform all other iPhone and iPad models in the WebXPRT 2013 and Basemark OS II 2.0 benchmarks.

No matter which benchmark you choose to use, the iPad Pro pops out impressive results.

Performance Video

Benchmarks and commentary can be quite helpful, but a side-by-side video can be particularly useful for perspective, particularly for gaming.

This video from Apple Reviews PL compares the 12.9" iPad Pro and the iPad Air 2 in a variety of day-to-day tasks, benchmarks, and the Asphalt 8: Airborne game:

Performance Summary

Ultimately, Apple's boast that the 9.7" and 12.9" iPad Pro models have performance that is competitive with portable PCs, including its own, is quite reasonable. The iPad Pro smokes all earlier iPad models, too.

In fact, with Apple able to obtain performance from its own line of processors that is so close to Intel's processors, Intel's days may be numbered for Macs, as well.