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Best iPad for StaffPad in 2021?

Regarding RAM, any recent iPad Pro will be fine for StaffPad - as Apple caps RAM-per-app anyway. For example, on the new M1 iPad Pro 12.9 (8GB RAM variants), iPadOS only allows an app to use a max of 5GB RAM. Which is even more eye-opening when you consider there are more expensive variants of the M1 iPad Pro with 16GB RAM.

Hopefully Apple relaxes these constraints, but Apple being Apple, who knows.
Following up on this topic, Apple has opened the door to developers to request more RAM exceeding the RAM-per-app limit, exactly because of the complains of 16GB RAM Ipad buyers, no surprise

https://9to5mac.com/2021/06/25/apps...lement-exceeding-normal-system-memory-limits/

It would be interesting to know:

- Is StaffPad already planning to use this IOS feature?
- How much RAM are we talking about? (hopefully all the exceeding RAM after a multitasking threshold)

any following news on that will be appreciated, let's see how events unfold
 
Looks like the new 5th gen iPad Air is making the iPad Pro 2021 unnecessary for anyone who doesn't get the Pro with the top specs with 16 GB of RAM. Hope someone gets it and can see how well StaffPad runs on it.
 
I have an older last version ipad mini (version 5) and a new ipad pro 12.9 with the m1. I find that there is very little difference in terms of how well either of them run Staffpad. The ipad pro seems a bit more stable and maybe a bit quicker to respond but not some huge jump in performance like you might expect.

At this point it doesn't look like the Staffpad developers are taking advantage of the extra memory capability or m1 chipsets in the newer ipads. That is great news for owners of older or less expensive ipads but in my case it is a bit of a disapointment as I thought the new ipad pro would make a world of difference and it doesn't really appear to matter a whole lot.

That being said the new 5th gen ipad air will run Staffpad just as well as an ipad pro until the Staffpad developers start taking advantage of the new m1 chipset and the additional memory available in the ipad pro.
 
I have an older last version ipad mini (version 5) and a new ipad pro 12.9 with the m1. I find that there is very little difference in terms of how well either of them run Staffpad. The ipad pro seems a bit more stable and maybe a bit quicker to respond but not some huge jump in performance like you might expect.

At this point it doesn't look like the Staffpad developers are taking advantage of the extra memory capability or m1 chipsets in the newer ipads. That is great news for owners of older or less expensive ipads but in my case it is a bit of a disapointment as I thought the new ipad pro would make a world of difference and it doesn't really appear to matter a whole lot.

That being said the new 5th gen ipad air will run Staffpad just as well as an ipad pro until the Staffpad developers start taking advantage of the new m1 chipset and the additional memory available in the ipad pro.
are you finding the m1 struggles? I can't get it to struggle no matter how many staffs I throw at it. never heard my M1 dropout.... so it seems a bit irrelevant if they support the extra ram or not - it just doesn't seem to need it..

maybe the new Air does make the iPad Pro a bit redundant. that said... the larger screen of the iPad Pro and the fast refresh rate are brilliant.
 
I am fairly certain that where you will begin to encounter limitations is with piece length. I have a 2020 iPad Pro, and I have never hit a limit with the number of instruments I can run. This includes a full romantic orchestra with huge percussion, choir, and three string sections. Where I hit the limitation is when the piece starts to get too long. Then it begins to struggle. I don't know whether this limitation is due to the RAM or the chip.
 
I am fairly certain that where you will begin to encounter limitations is with piece length. I have a 2020 iPad Pro, and I have never hit a limit with the number of instruments I can run. This includes a full romantic orchestra with huge percussion, choir, and three string sections. Where I hit the limitation is when the piece starts to get too long. Then it begins to struggle. I don't know whether this limitation is due to the RAM or the chip.
oh that's interesting -- how long is "long"... so to speak? I've done pieces around 5-6 minutes long and it was ok...
 
oh that's interesting -- how long is "long"... so to speak? I've done pieces around 5-6 minutes long and it was ok...
I have no way to estimate this scientifically because there are too many variables, but the stumbling block seems to surface in the 10-12 minute range.
 
Just bought the iPad Air with M1 the other day, and StaffPad works tremendously well, if anyone wonders. 64gb seemed enough for me since StaffPad projects usually tops 20mb and the app supports cloud saving.
 
Just bought the iPad Air with M1 the other day, and StaffPad works tremendously well, if anyone wonders. 64gb seemed enough for me since StaffPad projects usually tops 20mb and the app supports cloud saving.
Am planning to buy the Ipad air 64, is it still the better choice then ipad pro in you opinion?
 
Am planning to buy the Ipad air 64, is it still the better choice then ipad pro in you opinion?
I think the Pros have more RAM. I started with an Air3 in 2020 and within a couple of months, I sold it and upgraded to a 2020 Pro 11" with 128bg of ram. Much more stable.
 
The new Air should be functionally identical to the Pro with any storage configuration below 1 TB. They have the exact same chip.
 
Am planning to buy the Ipad air 64, is it still the better choice then ipad pro in you opinion?
It's going AWESOME! I'm toying with other Music stuff with it, and apart from there's no fully-featured DAW, it has AUv3 support which means there are plugins galore!

I think the Pros have more RAM.
That's incorrect. Both Air 5 and latest Pro has same amount of RAM and CPU power. There are other differences, like better camera and more pro (?) screen with Pro model. If you're not doing visual stuff like video editing, those doesn't make up the price difference.
 
It's going AWESOME! I'm toying with other Music stuff with it, and apart from there's no fully-featured DAW, it has AUv3 support which means there are plugins galore!


That's incorrect. Both Air 5 and latest Pro has same amount of RAM and CPU power. There are other differences, like better camera and more pro (?) screen with Pro model. If you're not doing visual stuff like video editing, those doesn't make up the price difference.
I’m pretty sure the Pro 12” w. 1TB has 16gb of Ram. The lower Pro models have 6 or 8. Apple is not great with sharing their specs on the iPad Pro unfortunately
 
I'm thinking to a new iPad, and was tempted by the iPad Pro 13” for its wider screen space (slightly smaller than an A4/US Letter). But then, I’m also thinking that, in any case, the iPad space is limited, and you mostly work on details, not on the full page. So, the 11” (noticeably larger than an A5/Half Letter) starts to become the most interesting one, due to its easier handling and portability.

If the 11” is fine for StaffPad (and Dorico), the iPad Air with 256GB of storage looks nice, being just slightly less powerful than the Pro, and lacking features that might not interest me (speakers adaptable to the portrait or landscape mode, hover for the pencil, faster video compression).

And you can also have it in Barbie Pink!

Paolo
 
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I suppose if you have any interest in reading Staffpad-generated PDFs off the screen, then the largest iPad you can get is most practical. That was really the only reason why I chose the larger model rather than the 11". Also, I can take advantage of the size to read other PDF sheet music as well.
 
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