Apple introduces M4 chip

- Yeah weird shilling hardware power at this point into tech cycle.. short of ML/AI work loads for GPUs, we have enough power for every day shit.
  We need better software products to utilize them but all we got is fucking ad laden trash and spyware with every app.
  Big tech lost their fucking minds.
  
  We need better software products to utilize them
  100%.. for example.. they used Diablo Immortal as the example for the new ray tracing capabilities LOL
  Common iPadOS L
  
  I'm starting to wonder if the real reason the push for bigger screens caught on wasn't just because of the basic psychology of "bigger = better" but so they could shove more ads on screen, and now it's more processing power so those ads won't lock up the browser for a whole second while loading some bullshit questionnaire like "are you adult, child or gamer on iOS"
  EDIT: So many downvotes lol are silicon valley tech bros mad?
- Same thing with my 2018 iPad Pro honestly. More ram and a better display? Maybe, but other than that it’s completely software limited
- As a developer, I find it pretty frustrating having to deal with constant hardware updates. By the time you get something released that takes advantage of the hardware you have, you're already at least a generation or two behind.
- Hell, I have an A12Z-based one and I don't think I've ever maxed out the processor outside of playing games. Occasionally moonlight will drop frames and I'll have to close some background apps or reboot for it to stream perfectly, but I'm also running it with 2388x1668@120hz 150mbps HEVC so I can kind of forgive that. It says quite a lot that my most common use for the thing these days is a very expensive (and very good) wireless monitor.
  I was so excited when they announced Logic Pro, and equally as disappointed when it turned out to be Garageband+

I love how microchips look like really well-organized Factorio maps
- That's because that's exactly what they are.
  
  It's all ~~ones and zeroes~~ factorio once you get to the bottom.
- My CPU needs more iron
- All must be fed to the god factory!
- You'll be surprised once you'll see what living beings is consist of on micro and nano level

That M4 and OLED screen is gonna display the SHIT out of some sheet music for me.
- I get the sarcasm, but isn't that exactly what E-Paper tablets are really good at?
  
  isn't that exactly what E-Paper tablets are really good at?
  I would love to use an e-Ink screen, because they play much better with stage lighting.
  However, I’ve yet to see one that can do what I want the iPad to do, sheet-music-wise. I don’t only want to see it, I want to be able to make markings, scan scores, act as a pitch pipe and metronome, have an onscreen keyboard to plunk out the part I’m singing if I’m struggling to read it, etc.
  Edit: Realistically, I could use my phone for the scanning, pitch, metronome, and keyboard. But I want to be able to quickly make markings and the iPad shines at this, especially with the app forScore.
  (That also isn’t the only thing I use my iPad for, just the main excuse I have for owning one. I actually probably will buy the M4 Pro, but mainly because I already have a buyer for my current iPad and because it’s so much lighter.)

the M1 is still overkill for 99% of ends user tasks.
- The primary benefit for the average consumer tends to be longer battery life due to the same task using less power, in theory anyway.
  
  Sure but I already charge my iPad about once a week and it's never flat - 13 hours for video playback if you watch one or two TV episodes a day goes a long way.
  I guess they could add a smaller battery, but I don't think that would reduce the weight by much — it's pretty small.
  What iPads really need is better software. Safari, for example, is vastly inferior to the Mac version. And don't even get me started with how window management works on an iPad. It's total garbage.
  Maybe with better software, I'd use it for something more computationally demanding than watching TV.
  
  Yes. And instead of taking advantage of that they shrunk the battery to have thinner tablet instead of better battery life.
  
  The primary benefit is they can now include RAM and GPU on die to increase the SKU cost for consumers.
- More powerful hardware makes tasks that were previously not considered end-user tasks feasible for end-users, just give it some time.
- Agreed! My trusty little M1 air has been my absolute favorite computer I've ever owned. It's just so darned capable and entirely silent. It does everything I need it to do and then some. I'll upgrade sometime, but for now long live the wedge!

Ah again. One more moving target to chase for the nice AsahiLinux project.
- That just means asahi linux not gonna die and will be really long lived project because it have a clear purpose, well, it is if we try to have positive outlook on situation
- It isn't all that different than the M3
- I love it on my M2 Mac mini. Useless with macos because it needs more than 8gb of ram just to start without loading anything but Asahi turns it into a fantastic ARM server. I just wish GPU team had more resources to finish the driver. M2 is absolute shit at transcoding on CPU. I mean it's also terrible on GPU, but I can't complain considering how little power it consumes.
  
  AsahiLina was at it yesterday, ultimately chasing Vulkan compatibility:
  https://vt.social/@lina/112371925319342726

Will the M4 be used in new MacBook Airs, or is that a completely separate SoC? I’m not familiar with Apple’s hardware anymore.
- One BILLION dollars for 32 gigs of ram.
  
  Prices have dropped then!
  
  Going from 1 TB to 2 TB SSD on this iPad is somehow $400? That is a clown price but it is a 50% discount on going from 512 GB to 1 TB. What the actual fuck?
- Yeah it’ll come to the Air’s and the Mac Mini at some point. I suspect it’s actually cheaper to make on the new process node (it’s the second generation of TSMC’s 3nm process), so maybe it won’t be too far off.
  
  Any idea how long it usually takes for a new SoC to reach the Airs? Assuming they follow a pattern with each now generation.
  Just wondering whether to buy an M3 Air or wait for the M4 version.

The iPad Pro screen looks pretty good, but don't need all that processing power to just watch videos and browse websites.
Was really hoping they would upgrade the iPad Mini.
- ipad pro is specifically marketed for artists and their software actually needs power and speed. Having OLED on mini would be great. It’s one of my most beloved devices.
  
  It's a really good point though, it is a bit of an odd device with all that power and the significant limitations in software. Yeah it's marked at artists, but if you're talking about drawing with pen input, it's actually pretty overpowered. There's Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro but they benefit a lot less from a touch screen, and there's a bunch of workflow issues due to iOS' lack of a file system.
  I really wish Apple would add some kind of "windowed mode" like Samsung Dex or the Surface Tablets. A $2.5k super high-powered device that can't even open two Excel sheets side by side is quite strange.
- Sounds like they are using it to reduce the size of the battery.

Top sku iPad pros with the keyboard case cost more than some MacBooks and people try and use them like MacBooks, which is crazy to me given the severe limitations of iPadOS compared to macOS.
- Sigh... My school forces me to use an iPad

Does M3/M4 support AV1 encoding?
- The "bento box" graphic during the presentation yesterday said AV1. From the press release:
  The Media Engine of M4 is the most advanced to come to iPad. In addition to supporting the most popular video codecs, like H.264, HEVC, and ProRes, it brings hardware acceleration for AV1 to iPad for the first time. This provides more power-efficient playback of high-resolution video experiences from streaming services.

Does any one care?
There was so much hype on this generation of silicon and the landing has seemed extremely flat to me, largely because Apple.
- I like keeping tabs on it, as they're really the only ones pushing mainstream high end ARM chips at the moment.
  
  Don't forget about the new Snapdragon X series. I heard they were pretty good, on par and better than M3s.
- Advances in Arm chips make the journey of porting software look better for devs, once a project starts porting it gets easier for other architectures (like riscv).
  That and silicon competition is good. Keeps them forced to produce better or cheaper products to compete.
- Do you just mean M4? Or all Apple Silicon?
  
  Everything since the M1. Mind blowing hype, graphs that seem shocking at announcement. Data that comes in below these graphs, then owing to the extremely high walls of the garden, a sigh and shoulder shrug at what you can do with the technology, because although cool and seemingly very powerful, you just can't do much with it because of apples buisness philosophy.

I have recently bought older generation 12.9" iPad Pro and an M2 MBP through Backmarket at a fraction of the price. I'm primarily a Linux user but I bought the iPad for the screen and the MBP for music production. Even though they are years old, they still have more processing power than I need.
- I just finished the full soundtrack of a theatre play using AsahiLinux on my M2pro mbp. I resorted to macos only to render some heavy video tracks.
  
  Wow is the first time I heard about linux on iPad. Which guide did you use?