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M4 (iPad) vs M3 (iPad)

M4 (iPad)
VS
M3 (iPad)
M4 (iPad)
M3 (iPad)

We compared the 10-core Apple M4 (iPad) (custom) with the older 8-core M3 (iPad) (Apple M3 GPU) SoC. Here you will find the pros and cons of each chip, technical specs, and comprehensive tests in benchmarks, like AnTuTu and Geekbench.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Benchmarks
  4. AnTuTu v11
  5. GeekBench 6
  6. Specs
  7. Comments (5)

Review

General comparison of performance, power consumption, and other indicators
CPU Performance
Single and multi-core processor tests
Gaming Performance
GPU performance in games and OpenCL/Vulkan
Battery life
Efficiency of battery consumption
NanoReview Score
Overall chip score

Key Differences

Main differences and advantages of each chip
Pros of Apple M4 (iPad)
  • Has 2 more cores
  • Performs 18% better in floating-point computations
  • Supports 17% higher memory bandwidth (120 against 102.4 GB/s)
  • 9% higher CPU clock speed (4410 vs 4050 MHz)
  • Better instruction set architecture
  • Higher GPU frequency (~7%)
  • Shows better (up to 12%) AnTuTu 11 score – 3116K vs 2777K

Benchmarks

Performance tests in popular benchmarks
SoC:
M4 (iPad)
vs
M3 (iPad)

AnTuTu 11

The AnTuTu Benchmark measures CPU, GPU, RAM, and I/O performance in different scenarios
M4 (iPad) +12%
3116013
M3 (iPad)
2777287
CPU 915032 782907
GPU 1135331 1029236
Memory 349968 305749
UX 715682 659395
Total score 3116013 2777287
Samples [3 tests] [8 tests]
Submit your AnTuTu result

GeekBench 6

The GeekBench test shows raw single-threaded and multithreaded CPU performance
Single-Core Score
M4 (iPad) +18%
3683
M3 (iPad)
3113
Multi-Core Score
M4 (iPad) +14%
13402
M3 (iPad)
11795
Asset compression 501.5 MB/sec 458.1 MB/sec
HTML 5 Browser 305.6 pages/sec 270.6 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 317.1 Mpixels/sec 299.9 Mpixels/sec
Image detection 416.7 images/sec 287.2 images/sec
HDR 461.1 Mpixels/sec 422.1 Mpixels/sec
Background blur 54.3 images/sec 48.2 images/sec
Photo processing 139.8 images/sec 116.1 images/sec
Ray tracing 14.9 Mpixels/sec 13.4 Mpixels/sec
Samples 7 tests 4 tests
Compute Score (GPU)
M4 (iPad) +17%
53792
M3 (iPad)
46172
Background blur 103 images/sec 86.1 images/sec
Face detection 124.8 images/sec 108.3 images/sec
Horizon detection 1.7 Gpixels/sec 1.43 Gpixels/sec
Edge detection 2.32 Gpixels/sec 1.93 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian blur 2.8 Gpixels/sec 2.41 Gpixels/sec
Feature matching 0.73 Gpixels/sec 0.62 Gpixels/sec
Stereo matching 164.7 Gpixels/sec 128.9 Gpixels/sec
Particle physics 4657.1 FPS 4690 FPS
API Metal Metal
Samples 6 tests 3 tests

3DMark

A cross-platform benchmark that assesses graphics performance in Vulkan (Metal)
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
M4 (iPad) +29%
3477
M3 (iPad)
2695
Score 3477 2695
Stability 71% 70%
Graphics test 26 FPS 20 FPS
3DMark Solar Bay
M4 (iPad) +38%
14286
M3 (iPad)
10356
Score 14286 10356
Graphics test 54 FPS 39 FPS
Section 1 63 FPS 52 FPS
Section 2 56 FPS 38 FPS
Section 3 43 FPS 28 FPS

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple M4 (iPad)
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-07 (Lexapes)Geekbench 6 GPU57080
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-07 (Lexapes)Geekbench 6 CPU3907 / 15397
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-07 (Lexapes)AnTuTu 113396741
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-03 (Astreeek)AnTuTu 112940000
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-26 (BG-M4-User)Geekbench 6 GPU52952
Add View all (12)
Apple M3 (iPad)
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-17 (Jacob)AnTuTu 112015536
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-12 (Kaimen)AnTuTu 112811760
πŸ“˜ 2026-04-08 (Bearry)AnTuTu 112838721
πŸ“˜ 2026-03-22 (Noora)AnTuTu 112779459
πŸ“˜ 2026-03-21 (Noora)AnTuTu 112708158
Add View all (10)

Specifications

Full list of technical specifications of M4 (iPad) and M3 (iPad)

CPU

Architecture 4x 4.41 GHz –
6x 2.85 GHz – 		4x 4.05 GHz –
4x 2.75 GHz –
Cores 10 8
Frequency 4410 MHz 4050 MHz
Instruction set ARMv9.2-A ARMv8.6-A
L1 cache 192 KB 256 KB
L2 cache 16 MB 16 MB
Process 3 nanometers 3 nanometers
Transistor count 28 billion 25 billion
TDP (Sustained Power Limit) - 20 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC

Graphics

GPU name - Apple M3 GPU
Architecture - Apple GPU
GPU frequency 1470 MHz 1380 MHz
Pipelines - 9
Shading units - 128
Total shaders - 1152
FLOPS 3763.2 Gigaflops 3179.5 Gigaflops

AI Accelerator

Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
NPU theoretical performance 38 TOPS 18 TOPS

Memory

Memory type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory frequency 7500 MHz 3200 MHz
Bus 8x 16 Bit 8x 16 Bit
Max bandwidth 120 Gb/s 102.4 Gb/s
Max size 24 GB 24 GB

Multimedia (ISP)

Storage type NVMe NVMe
Max display resolution 2752 x 2064 2732 x 2048
Max camera resolution - 1x 48MP
Video capture 4K at 60FPS 4K at 60FPS
Video playback 4K at 60FPS 4K at 60FPS
Video codecs - H.264
- H.265
- AV1
- VP9		 - H.264
- H.265
- AV1
- VP9
Audio codecs - AAC
- AIFF
- CAF
- MP3
- MP4
- WAV		 - AAC
- AIFF
- CAF
- MP3
- MP4
- WAV

Connectivity

Modem Snapdragon X71 -
4G support LTE Cat. 24 -
5G support Yes Yes
Download speed Up to 10000 Mbps Up to 7500 Mbps
Upload speed Up to 3500 Mbps Up to 3500 Mbps
Wi-Fi 6 6
Bluetooth 5.3 5.3
Navigation GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS

Info

Announced May 2024 October 2023
Class Flagship Flagship
Further details
Notes on M4 (iPad):
    - There is slightly slower (5-7%) version of M4 that uses 3 performance + 6 efficiency cores array in 256GB/512GB models of iPad Pro.

Cast your vote

So, which SoC would you choose?
133 (69.6%)
58 (30.4%)
Total votes: 191

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Comments

Please give your opinion on the comparison of M3 (iPad) and M4 (iPad), or ask any questions
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linda martin September 16, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Can i exchange iPad to huntersville, nc 28078?
+3 Reply
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Linda martin September 16, 2025 at 12:47 AM
can i bring my iPad m3 and exchange it for iPad m4 in huntersville, nc store?
+6 Reply
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LGs September 3, 2025 at 05:36 PM
The geekbench scores are 13800 for the one with less cores and 14700 for the full m4
+3 Reply
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LGs March 5, 2025 at 03:41 PM
M4’s gaming performance is definitely not worse
+31 Reply
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david June 1, 2025 at 04:01 PM
it 100 percent is man
+8 Reply
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