Unity on 2021 iPad Pro

[John_Hillier]

Unity is a great tool for artists no matter if working in film, television or games. Is there any plan to bring Unity to the iPad Pro with it’s M1 processor, Thunderbolt 3, support for 6K video and up to 16GB RAM?

[Murgilod]

Why does this post read like you’re trying to sell Unity on a Unity forum?

[Neto_Kokku]

It’s not a matter of power. The iPad OS restrictions plus appstore rules makes such a thing as a full blown game engine editor pretty much impossible. Apps cannot generate native code, for starters, which is why you cannot use an iPad to create iPad apps.

There are mobile programming IDEs, but they are usually toys to mess around and learn coding, limited to javascript or other interpreted languages, or merely allow you to edit files which you upload elsewhere for compiling.

[Ryiah]

@Neto_Kokku

The iPad OS restrictions plus appstore rules makes such a thing as a full blown game engine editor pretty much impossible.

Below are the clauses which stood out to me the most but there are likely others you could make a case for.

• (iv) They may not download or install standalone apps, kexts, additional code, or resources to add functionality or significantly change the app from what we see during the review process.

• 2.5.2 Apps should be self-contained in their bundles, and may not read or write data outside the designated container area, nor may they download, install, or execute code which introduces or changes features or functionality of the app, including other apps. Educational apps designed to teach, develop, or allow students to test executable code may, in limited circumstances, download code provided that such code is not used for other purposes. Such apps must make the source code provided by the Application completely viewable and editable by the user.

• 4.7 HTML5 Games, Bots, etc.
  Apps may contain or run code that is not embedded in the binary (e.g. HTML5-based games, bots, etc.), as long as code distribution isn’t the main purpose of the app, the code is not offered in a store or store-like interface, and provided that the software (1) is free or purchased using in-app purchase; (2) only uses capabilities available in a standard WebKit view (e.g. it must open and run natively in Safari without modifications or additional software); your app must use WebKit and JavaScript Core to run third-party software and should not attempt to extend or expose native platform APIs to third-party software; (3) is offered by developers that have joined the Apple Developer Program and signed the Apple Developer Program License Agreement; (4) does not provide access to real money gaming, lotteries, or charitable donations; (5) adheres to the terms of these App Review Guidelines (e.g. does not include objectionable content); and (6) does not offer digital goods or services for sale. Upon request, you must provide an index of software and metadata available in your app. It must include Apple Developer Program Team IDs for the providers of the software along with a URL which App Review can use to confirm that the software complies with the requirements above.

[MDADigital]

A much better tool is a PC with a wacom pen.

[Ryiah]

@MDADigital

A much better tool is a PC with a wacom pen.

Only if you’re happy giving up the mobility for a desktop or many of its key features for a laptop. The OP only listed a few of its key features. Tablets often have high resolution displays but this one has a max sustained brightness of 1,000 nits with a peak of 1,600 nits with 2,596 dimming zones and it’s a high refresh rate at that.

While you can hit most of that with a desktop monitor you won’t be seeing that many dimming zones. Most displays only have a few hundred. The iPad Pro has a sufficient number that you won’t be able to see them on an individual basis unlike most if not all monitors on the market.

This entire generation of Apple hardware has achieved something no previous generation has. It’s made me want one of everything they’ve released.

[MDADigital]

@Ryiah

Only if you’re happy giving up the mobility for a desktop or many of its key features for a laptop. The OP only listed a few of its key features. Tablets often have high resolution displays but this one has a max sustained brightness of 1,000 nits with a peak of 1,600 nits with 2,596 dimming zones and it’s a high refresh rate at that.

While you can hit most of that with a desktop monitor you won’t be seeing that many dimming zones. Most displays only have a few hundred. The iPad Pro has a sufficient number that you won’t be able to see them on an individual basis unlike most if not all monitors on the market.

This entire generation of Apple hardware has achieved something no previous generation has. It’s made me want one of everything they’ve released.

A good PC-monitor can dim to correct ISF-level.

[Ryiah]

@MDADigital

A good PC-monitor can dim to correct ISF-level.

Once again when the best monitors only have a few hundred dimming zones it’s relatively easy to spot where the brightness starts and stops.

[MDADigital]

@Ryiah

Once again when the best monitors only have a few hundred dimming zones it’s relatively easy to spot where the brightness starts and stops.

ah you mean LED backlight? Isnt the iPAD OLED?

[Ryiah]

@MDADigital

ah you mean LED backlight?

Mostly. A device can have a high number of LEDs for its backlight but if the control circuitry has to manipulate them in large batches it somewhat undermines the quality. Most monitors divided their LEDs up into around 400 batches while the iPad Pro has 2,596 batches.

[MDADigital]

@Ryiah

Mostly. A device can have a high number of LEDs for its backlight but if the control circuitry has to manipulate them in large batches it somewhat undermines the quality.

I think its more important that the monitor can reach ISF calibration in the ambient lighting of your office. But yeah. I would love for OLED monitors to become a thing wo se can drop backlighting all together.

Cheap of apple not to have a OLED in their tablets

[Ryiah]

@MDADigital

Cheap of apple not to have a OLED in their tablets

One of the main limitations of OLED has been brightness. The iPad Pro uses Mini-LED which is brighter for now.

[MDADigital]

@Ryiah

One of the main limitations of OLED has been brightness. The iPad Pro uses Mini-LED which is brighter for now.

Also the M1 only beats AMD 5950x at one “task” and that is geekbench, which is a synthetic bench. So I would say a desktop with Zen 3 is still more productive than a M1 device. But, I guess a better compararision would be a Zen 3 laptop, havent looked that how they stack up against m1

[Ryiah]

@MDADigital

Also the M1 only beats AMD 5950x at one “task”

Only an idiot would purchase an iPad Pro expecting performance on par with a high-end desktop CPU. Once again like I mentioned above choosing a desktop here means losing mobility while choosing a laptop means losing features like the fantastic display.

[Ryiah]

@""

Thats how Apple market their M1 chip

You must be reading a completely different press release than me.

[MDADigital]

@Ryiah

One of the main limitations of OLED has been brightness. The iPad Pro uses Mini-LED which is brighter for now.

My One Plus 8 Pro has 1,444 nits so its definitely getting there, Though its AMOLED, I would die for a 27" OLED monitor @ 2560x1440

[Ryiah]

@MDADigital

My One Plus 8 Pro has 1,444 nits so its definitely getting there, Though its AMOLED, I would die for a 27" OLED monitor @ 2560x1440

Just be aware you would be losing brightness. Below is the review for the latest generation of OLED and it’s max sustained brightness is between 700 and 800 nits. It’s likely it will eventually get up there but it’ll be a while.

https://www.reviewed.com/televisions/content/sony-a90j-oled-tv-review

[MDADigital]

@Ryiah

Just be aware you would be losing brightness. Below is the review for the latest generation of OLED and it’s max sustained brightness is between 700 and 800 nits. It’s likely it will eventually get up there but it’ll be a while.

https://www.reviewed.com/televisions/content/sony-a90j-oled-tv-review

As long as it can reach ISF in my office ambient lighting I’m happy. Which they can at 1000 nits without tonemapping. So were are there soon.

edit: I wonder what a LG OLED at 27" could output. Should be able to yield better panels at lower sizes?

edit: also nits is not everything, my JVC N5 projector can output aroudn 200 nits in HDR mode. Meaning it needs to tonemap. But the picture quality is insane. Far more pleasing image than any TV

[khos]

@John_Hillier

Unity is a great tool for artists no matter if working in film, television or games. Is there any plan to bring Unity to the iPad Pro with it’s M1 processor, Thunderbolt 3, support for 6K video and up to 16GB RAM?

You can do this via RDP session to a PC

[Tanner555]

iPads having the full functionality, capabilities, and almost the same performance of the Apple Silicon Macs is more than inevitable at this point. It’s just a matter of Apple removing the restrictions of iPadOS by essentially merging the worlds of iPad and Mac. Similar to what Microsoft tried to do with Windows 8, without all the drama, restrictions, and a much sleeker operating system. You can switch from iPad mode to Mac mode seemlessly, similar to a phone switching from landscape to vertical viewing. It’s not rocket science. The exact same chip inside the iPad is also in all the Apple Silicon Macs.

I think Microsoft is eventually going to really push for a similar experience with their Surface Tablets running on ARM processors (no, the current models aren’t anywhere near as capable due to terrible performance and 64 bit limitations).