iPad Pro's M4 Chip Outperforms M3 by Up to 25%

Benchmarks for the new M4 iPad Pro models have popped up on Geekbench, giving us an idea of how much faster Apple's second-generation 3-nanometer chips are compared to the M3, M2, and other prior-generation Apple silicon chips.

iPad Pro M4 Silver and Space Black Feature Purple
The 10-core variant of the M4 chip earned an average single-core score of 3,695 and an average multi-core score of 14,550 across 10 benchmarks. When it comes to single-core performance, the M4 is faster than the M3 Max MacBook Pro, and it's comparable to the ‌M2‌ Max in multi-core performance.

For context, here are the single-core and multi-core scores of prior chips (all max CPU/GPU variants):

  • M4 - 3,695/14,550
  • A17 Pro - 2,908/7,234
  • M2 - 2,540/9,360
  • M2 Pro - 2,651/14,295
  • M2 Max - 2,802/14,800
  • M1 - 2,272/8,208
  • M3 - 3,087/11,702
  • M3 Pro - 3,112/15,286
  • M3 Max - 3,128/20,957

Compared to the ‌M2‌ in the prior version of the ‌iPad Pro‌, the M4 is 46 percent faster when it comes to single-core performance, and 55 percent faster in multi-core performance. Apple didn't use the M3 in an iPad, but it is up to 24 percent faster than the M3.

Apple said that the M4 delivers up to 1.5x faster CPU performance than the ‌M2‌ in the prior-generation ‌iPad Pro‌, which is accurate based on the benchmarks we've seen so far.

Apple plans to bring the M4 chip family to all of its products across 2024 and 2025, with the first M4 Macs slated for later this year.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Caution)

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

iamgalt Avatar
13 months ago
Cue all the "it's too much power for such a limited OS" comments.
Score: 54 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DHagan4755 Avatar
13 months ago
Just imagine M4 Pro, M4 Max, and M4 Ultra benchmarks.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FocusAndEarnIt Avatar
13 months ago



* M4 - 3,695/14,550
* A17 Pro - 2,908/7,234
* M2 - 2,540/9,360
* M2 Pro - 2,651/14,295
* M2 Max - 2,802/14,800
* M1 - 2,272/8,208
* M3 - 3,087/11,702
* M3 Pro - 3,112/15,286
* M3 Max - 3,128/20,957

@MacRumors/@jclo, friendly suggestion- your list of benchmark data is fairly hard to appreciate. A horizontal bar graph in a more logical order makes more sense (why is M1 right in the middle of the data, M4 at the top, M3 at the bottom?, A17 Pro second?)
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
13 months ago

Guess my M3 Pro MacBook Pro I just got is obsolete already.
It can’t run iPadOS, so it was obsolete from the start.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dandy1117 Avatar
13 months ago

All that power in the engine of the car and the wheels are elliptical. Next design should be a headless MacBook and and iPad attachment. Attach the iPad for macOS and remove for iPadOS. Even if it’s expensive I’d buy one. But for now having many iPad pros and MacBooks I’ll still use my MacBook all the time. And yes Apple is still the best products period. Just that the iPadOS is really pathetic when it comes to that last 10% of real work being done on it.
I understand that my continuous effort to share my point of view as a B2B app developer may seem pointless, but I believe it's crucial to remind people on forums that many industries rely on iPad Pro as a computer and do not consider it a limited device. It's important to understand that it's a tablet computer and not a less capable version of a laptop.

Our company developed a custom iPad app for a medium-sized real estate firm. This app allows their staff to perform various tasks in the field, such as uploading property pictures, editing the inventory database, scanning and marking-up documents, and conducting video tours and conferences using the front and rear cameras simultaneously. Additionally, they can use the iPad to watch videos or television shows, such as ESPN, while waiting for clients. (shhhh!??) We recently implemented augmented reality (AR) functionality, which will allow the staff to do virtual staging based on the potential buyers’ style or corporate branding theme. We also plan to use LiDAR technology to automatically update and measure the floor plan. The staff considers the iPad the most powerful computer they’ve ever used because it significantly improves their professional workflow with a device and form factor that surpasses traditional mobile laptops.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MJaP Avatar
13 months ago
Pity there really isn't anything to take advantage of all that power on the iPad "Pro" that you don't have to pay a subscription for.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)