iPad Pro's M4 Chip Outperforms M3 by Up to 25% - MacRumors
Skip to Content

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 (Neutral)

Popular Stories

m5 ipad pro green 2

Apple Now Sells Refurbished M4 iPad Pro Models Starting at $759

Friday April 3, 2026 11:14 am PDT by
Apple is now selling M4 iPad Pro models in its online store for refurbished products, allowing customers to purchase like-new models at a discounted price. There are both ">11-inch and 13-inch options available, in multiple storage configurations. Apple is offering Wi-Fi and Cellular refurbished models, and silver and black color options. Pricing on the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro starts at $759, ...
macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

macOS 27 Will Mark the End of an Era

Saturday April 18, 2026 6:45 am PDT by
During its Platforms State of the Union segment at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe is the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs. The upcoming macOS 27 release will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. macOS 27 should be available...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple Says CarPlay Ultra is Coming to These Vehicle Brands

Saturday April 18, 2026 5:59 am PDT by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. CarPlay Ultra...

Top Rated Comments

iamgalt Avatar
26 months ago
Cue all the "it's too much power for such a limited OS" comments.
Score: 54 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DHagan4755 Avatar
26 months ago
Just imagine M4 Pro, M4 Max, and M4 Ultra benchmarks.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FocusAndEarnIt Avatar
26 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
26 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)
26 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)
26 months ago
Guess my M3 Pro MacBook Pro I just got is obsolete already.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)