When Apple introduced the iPad Air, they claimed it has ‘desktop class’ architecture, offering ‘up to two times faster CPU and graphics performance than its predecessor’.
But does it really deliver the bang for musicians?
Yes, according to iOS developer Don Fletcher (Symphonix Evolution – an orchestral notation app).
“We’ve now had a chance to play with the new iPad Air and were very impressed with the new form factor and processing power,” notes Fletcher. “The iPad is now approaching laptop performance levels.”
He adds that, on the iPad Air, you can now run the Virtual Synth in Symphonix Evolution with 256 voices of polyphony, with Reverb On, Chorus On & Full Instrument Mode On. By comparison, the iPad 4 could only handle 128 voices of polyphony.
“As a result of the increased polyphony,” says Fletcher, “the app’s internal synth was able to handle any MIDI files we could throw at it, including some rather intense orchestral pieces, without dropping any notes or stuttering. This is the first time that we’ve been able to do this on the iPad.”
He adds, “Astonishingly, the average CPU load during our tests was about 30%.”
Fletcher notes that the main limitation for music developers with the iPads is RAM – the iPad Air still only has 1GB of memory to work in.
If you’ve used the iPad Air, let us know what you think of the performance it offers with music apps!
