The 4-inch iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro premiered at Apple's March event just recently, revealing that the two have something more in common aside from sporting smaller form factors: their RAM.
Right off the bat, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Matthew Panzarino discovered the intriguing bit of news, sharing his findings on Twitter.
Both iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7" appear to have 2GB of RAM. pic.twitter.com/M20ie0rLH7
— Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) March 22, 2016
Before the updated iPad Pro's hardware specifications came to light, it was believed that it would more or less offer the same experience as the full-sized iPad Pro, just in a smaller package. Considering that it has been reported to house the same top-of-the-line A9X, that was pretty much expected. However, the 9.7-inch slab apparently has an underclocked, toned-down version of the Apple processor, delivering only 2 GB worth of RAM — that's half of what its predecessor brought to the table.
As mentioned earlier, the iPhone SE also packs in 2 GB of RAM. No complaints there, as that's quite enough for a handset, but when it comes to a tablet touted as a "super computer" of sorts, the same can't exactly be said, especially in the case of power users who are looking for the whole Pro experience.
With that said, there shouldn't be a big difference in terms of everyday use compared to the original iPad Pro, though. In other words, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is still a noteworthy addition in the Cupertino brand's arsenal, even though 2 GB of RAM is only somewhat capable of meeting the Pro users' needs.
The bottom line is that it comes off as a little odd that Apple had to cut back in the component department to dish out a smaller version of the iPad Pro. Perhaps the company thought that 2 GB of RAM is more than enough for the consumers to make the most out of the Pro tablet.
Of course, the RAM and screen size are not the only factors to consider in choosing between the 12.9-inch and the 9.7-inch iPad Pros. First things first, the former is fitted with a USB 3.0 Lightning connector port, while the latter has an improved 12-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front snapper, not to mention that it also offers the True Tone technology of Apple that can "dynamically adjust white balance." Read more about the differences between the two iPad Pro models in our earlier coverage.
One last thing to take note of on this front is the price, as the 32 GB model of the 9.7-inch version starts at a more affordable point of $599, whereas the 12.9-inch starts at $799. The new, smaller variant is expected to hit the shelves on March 31, but preorders will be accepted from March 24 onward.
