Apple's A12Z Under Rosetta Outperforms Microsoft's Native Arm-Based Surface Pro X

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Apple's Developer Transition Kit equipped with an A12Z iPad Pro chip began arriving in the hands of developers this morning to help them get their apps ready for Macs running Apple Silicon, and though forbidden, the first thing some developers did was benchmark the machine.


Multiple Geekbench results have indicated that the Developer Transition Kit, which is a Mac mini with an ‌iPad Pro‌ chip, features average single-core and multi-core scores of 811 and 2,871, respectively.


As developer Steve Troughton-Smith points out, the two-year-old A12Z in the ‌Mac mini‌ outperforms Microsoft's Arm-based Surface Pro X in Geekbench performance, running x86_64 code in emulation faster than the Surface Pro X can run an Arm version natively.

So the DTK with a two year old iPad chip runs x86_64 code, in emulation, faster than the Surface Pro X runs it natively 😅 Oh boy Qualcomm, what are you even doing? https://t.co/UAlZiwSsF8

— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) June 29, 2020

Averaging seven Geekbench 5 benchmarking results, Microsoft's Surface Pro X features a single-core score of 726 and a multi-core score of 2,831, meaning the A12Z outperforms the Surface Pro X in single-core testing and is on par or slightly better in multi-core performance.

Notably this is a native Arm64 build of GB5. ^ That's incredible that Rosetta outperforms native Surface Pro X.

— Darren Treat (@unaliasedme) June 29, 2020

The Surface Pro X features a Microsoft-designed 3GHz Arm processor based on the Qualcomm SQ1 chip.

Apple's DTK provided to developers is just a test machine using an older A12Z chip (it's the same as the A12X chip in the 2018 ‌iPad Pro‌ but with an extra GPU core unlocked). Apple's Arm-based Macs that run ‌Apple Silicon‌ will have new chips designed for the Mac and based on the A14 chip created for the 2020 iPhone lineup with a 5-nanometer process.

Apple says its ‌Apple Silicon‌ Macs will bring major improvements in performance and power efficiency, and the first Arm-based Mac is set to be released before the end of 2020.

Tag: Apple Silicon

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Apple Watch Executive Kevin Lynch Discusses New Sleep Tracking and Hand Washing Features

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Following WWDC last week, Apple's VP of Technology Kevin Lynch has taken time to discuss the Apple Watch's new sleep tracking and hand washing features in watchOS 7 with publications like The Independent, CNET, and TechCrunch.


While some third-party apps provide very detailed sleep analysis, Apple's implementation of sleep tracking is fairly basic, focusing only on duration of sleep, movement disturbances, and heart rate. Lynch told CNET that this simplicity was an intentional decision, noting that Apple did research and found that extra data was not entirely useful.

"Movement of your arm is an input, but it's not a complete picture of what's going on inside your brain," said Lynch, as an example.

"You can't really coach yourself to have more or less REM stages," he added. "We felt like that wasn't the best way Apple could add value here on sleep. We focused on the transition to the bed, which we think is way more actionable, and will result in people getting a better night's sleep, which then has secondary effects of perhaps your REM stages sorting themselves."

Lynch said that, through research, Apple ultimately determined that duration of sleep is the most important metric.

"In any of these adventures we go on when building things here we ask, what will make the most difference for people that, from a mainstream perspective, will be easy, helpful and empowering," Lynch told The Independent.

Like many other health features on the Apple Watch, the Sleep app provides positive reinforcement only. If users meet their sleep goals, they receive positive feedback, but if they do not, the Watch stays silent.

"There could be anxiety that people have about going to sleep, and that anxiety itself can actually cause more problems in terms of going to sleep," Lynch told CNET. "Many people are already well aware that they haven't been getting enough sleep, and so we're not adding to that, but we are positively acknowledging when you have achieved your goals."

As for hand washing coaching in watchOS 7, Lynch told TechCrunch that the functionality was the result of "years of work." The feature encourages users to wash their hands for a CDC-recommended 20 seconds by providing a countdown with haptic feedback. If a user opts in, the feature automatically activates when the sound of hand washing is detected.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 6, watchOS 7

Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

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Apple Shares Trailer for Short-Form Sports Docuseries 'Greatness Code'

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Apple today shared a trailer for "Greatness Code," a short-form sports docuseries that features stories from athletes like LeBron James, Tom Brady, Shaun White, Usain Bolt, and more.


The season features seven mini episodes, each examining a pivotal moment that defined an athlete's career. Episodes highlight the following athletes:

• Four-time NBA MVP, three-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist LeBron James


• Six-time Super Bowl champion and four-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady


• Olympic gold medalist and co-captain of the US Women's National Soccer Team Alex Morgan


• Record-holding Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Shaun White


• World's fastest man and eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt


• Five-time Olympic gold medalist and 15-time world champion swimmer Katie Ledecky


• 11-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater

"Greatness Code" will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 10, which is also the premiere date for "Little Voice" and WWII film "Greyhound," starring Tom Hanks.

‌Apple TV‌+ provides original movies and TV shows for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, plus there's a free year of service for those who have recently purchased an Apple device. For those who don't qualify for the free year, Apple offers a one-week free trial. The easiest way to get started with ‌‌Apple TV‌‌+‌ is to click or tap the button below to sign up for a free one-week trial, and then enter your information to confirm and activate your account.

Try Apple TV+ free for 1 week

You can also check out our step-by-step instructions for getting up and running from various devices.

Tags: Apple TV Shows, Apple TV Plus

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Deals: Apple's 2019 128GB iPod Touch Discounted to $274.99 on Amazon ($24 Off)

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Amazon today is discounting Apple's 128GB iPod touch from 2019 to $274.99, down from $299.00. This discount is a match of the previous Amazon low price seen on this model of the iPod touch, and it's only available in the Silver color option.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple updated the iPod touch in May of 2019 with an improved processor, support for Group FaceTime, augmented reality capabilities, and more. The Wi-Fi iPod touch is a device focused on letting users listen to music via Apple Music and play games from the App Store or using Apple Arcade.

$24 OFF

128GB iPod touch for $274.99

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week. If you're looking for audio devices to pair with an iPod Touch, visit our Best AirPods Deals and Best HomePod Deals guides to shop for the lowest prices on Apple's Bluetooth headphones and speaker.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals

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Best iPhone & iPad games 2020

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From puzzles and shooters to adventure games and RPGs, these are the 100 best iPhone & iPad games available in 2020 - complete with reviews, videos and download links

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Opinion: Amazon needs to stop listing Chromebooks with misleading information

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Clipboard history manager is on the way for Chromebooks

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