On raw performance might, the M4 really does live up to Apple’s promises, should deliver. Single core is up about 20% compared to all M3 chips and more than 40% compared to M2. The generational computational leap from the previous M2 iPad Pro is at least a 42% jump on single-core and multi-core.
It’s a waste of computing power, though.
I have an M1 MacBook Air and barely ever actually used the CPU. Putting these chips in iPads, which are mostly used for drawing at most, is just a waste, and one of the reasons they’re so incredibly expensive. Apple could have just kept producing M1s and putting those in current iPads.
The reality is, there’s zero innovation in Apple products. The switch to M1 was really great, but everything since then was just “more M is more better”, utility stayed the same, price went up. Awesome.
It’s not a waste at all. The extra computing power allows them to get much better performance than previous model OR the same performance with half the power use. That’s pretty important in a mobile device.